Jean-Marc Vallée, director of 'Dallas Buyers Club,' dies at 58
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Wednesday, November 13, 2024


Jean-Marc Vallée, director of 'Dallas Buyers Club,' dies at 58
Patricia Clarkson, who won for supporting actress for the miniseries “Sharp Objects,” got a hug from her director Jean-Marc Vallée, at HBO’s Golden Globes after party at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., Jan. 6, 2019. Elizabeth Lippman/The New York Times.

by Livia Albeck-Ripka



NEW YORK, NY.- Jean-Marc Vallée, the award-winning Canadian director of the film “Dallas Buyers Club” and the hit HBO show “Big Little Lies,” was found dead over the weekend at his cabin outside Quebec City. He was 58.

His publicist, Bumble Ward, said his death had been unexpected. Vallée was found Sunday by friends who were going to visit him, said Lt. Benoit Richard, a spokesperson for the Sûreté du Québec Police Department. The cause and further details were not immediately available.

Vallée was known for a naturalistic and generous approach to filmmaking that colleagues said brought out the best in those he worked with. He avoided artificial lighting — and even rehearsals. Vallée also became known for directing several films and television series with strong female leads.

His first feature film, “Liste Noire” (“Black List”), a 1995 thriller that follows the trial of a judge, was nominated for several Genie Awards, the Canadian equivalent of the Oscar, including for best picture. Ten years later he directed and co-wrote “C.R.A.Z.Y.,” a coming-of-age film, whose success helped catapult him to Hollywood.

In 2009, Vallée directed “The Young Victoria,” starring Emily Blunt, which explored the early years of Queen Victoria’s rule. The film received several major awards and nominations.

He was best known for the critically acclaimed “Dallas Buyers Club” (2013), a drama based on the true story of Ron Woodroof, a Texas electrician and rodeo rider who, after receiving a diagnosis of HIV in 1985, fought to get medication (illegal in the United States at the time) for himself and others with the virus.

Matthew McConaughey, who played Woodroof, said he dropped 50 pounds by ingesting nothing but vegetables, egg whites, fish and tapioca pudding — and “as much wine as I wanted to drink,” The film was nominated for six Oscars, winning three, including best actor for McConaughey and best supporting actor for Jared Leto.

In a recent Vanity Fair article adapted from the book “Never Silent: ACT UP and My Life in Activism,” activist Peter Staley recounted his long battle to make sure homophobia and AIDS denialism did not make it into the film. He said that he put Vallée “through hell and back” but that the director “kept the promise he’d once emailed me: that in all his films, he tries to ‘capture humanity and reveal the beauty behind it.’ ”

The next year, Vallée directed “Wild,” also based on a true story, which starred Reese Witherspoon as author Cheryl Strayed during a solo hike on the Pacific Crest Trail. That film was also nominated for several major awards, including an Oscar nomination for best actress.




“Big Little Lies” won several Emmys and an award from the Directors Guild of America. A cutting tale of violence and class in the wealthy beachside town of Monterey, California, it starred Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Zoë Kravitz, Laura Dern, Shailene Woodley and Meryl Streep.

Vallée later directed the HBO miniseries “Sharp Objects,” set in small-town Missouri, which starred Amy Adams as a troubled reporter. It was nominated for eight Emmy Awards.

“It’s true that my last projects were featuring mainly female characters,” Vallée said in an interview published by HBO in 2018. “So, am I the lucky guy? Maybe — maybe I am. I’m not afraid of intelligent, strong women. You got to create a space where they’re going to feel respected and comfortable.

“We pushed the envelope in order to capture something that feels real and authentic,” he added. There were no storyboards, shot lists or reflectors used in making “Sharp Objects” because he preferred to allow the actors to express themselves.

“I’m reacting to what they’re doing, instead of being active and telling them, this is what I’ll do with the camera,” he said, adding: “I love it. You know, I’m like a kid on a set, a kid playing with a huge toy and having fun.”

Vallée was born March 9, 1963, in Montreal. He studied filmmaking at the Collège Ahuntsic and the University of Quebec in Montreal. He is survived by two sons, Alex Vallée and Emile Vallée, and his siblings Marie-Josée Vallée, Stéphane Tousignant and Gérald Vallée.

In a statement, Nathan Ross, Vallée’s producing partner and close friend, described him as a “true artist” who stood for “creativity, authenticity and trying things differently” and added, “It comforts knowing his beautiful style and impactful work he shared with the world will live on.”

Vallée was set to direct and serve as executive producer of another show for HBO, “Gorilla and the Bird,” a limited series based on a memoir of the same name about a public defender who suffers a psychotic break.

In an interview with The New York Times in 2018, Vallée described his work as attempting to expose the flaws and imperfection in human nature.

“I see that I seem to be attracted to these stories and to underdog characters,” he said. He added, “The humanity, the beautiful humanity, is dark.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.










Today's News

December 28, 2021

These churches have been closed, but their artifacts live on

Is Disney the Met's fairy godmother?

'Mary Quant: Fashion Revolutionary' opens at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki

As other Arab states falter, Saudi Arabia seeks to become a cultural hub

Jean-Marc Vallée, director of 'Dallas Buyers Club,' dies at 58

White Cube Hong Kong presents an exhibition by Damien Hirst.

Diana Al-Hadid joins Kasmin

The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego will reopen after major expansion by Selldorf Architects

India Art Fair announces 2022 edition

North Carolina Museum of Art presents 'Alphonse Mucha: Art Nouveau Visionary'

Brand new name, brand new concept: Schoenenkwartier

Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome hosts artistic collaboration by Anna-Sophie Berger and Teak Ramos

Exhibition bring together more than forty works by Martha Wilson

Pixlr Genesis, a NFT-based movement to build the world's largest decentralized art museum on the metaverse

SALT Galata hosts 'Belkıs Hanım and Onur Efendi'

GIANT presents an exhibition spanning over 15 years of Sarah Maple's career

Multaka-Oxford refugee project at Oxford University Museums supported by £1m funding from Alwaleed Philanthropies

VMFA's treasured Mellon Collection returns to Richmond

The first solo museum exhibition of Karla Knight's decades-long career debuts a new body of work

Online exhibition celebrating a new generation of image-makers shaping the future of photography

Hollywood tests the limit of marquee names a single film can hold

Pouya Afshar's multi-media story of displacement, migration, and resiliency on view at Craft Contemporary

The Contemporary Dayton presents three exhibitions that explore protest

Kehrer Verlag publishes 'Ragnar Axelsson's Where the World is Melting'

Get the Best Dish Soap Dispenser for your Kitchen: A Blog about the Best Dish Soap Dispenser and How You Can Use It

The Review In Eyewear Trends

Changing Language Service Providers? How to Pick the Right Alternative

How can link building help you with your SEO strategy?




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Holistic Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful