But then in 2004, Man on Fire came along, and it was a revelation. Working from a brilliant script by Brian Helgeland, the film was a fresh, hyper-kinetic, no-holds-barred emotional thrill ride. Boldly taking the film's first hour to build the genuinely heartwarming relationship between Denzel Washington's Creasy and Dakota Fanning's Pita, Scott and Helgeland perfectly put the audience into the same frame of mind that Creasy was in. When she's taken, we are as bloodthirsty as he is. Scott's fresh and original use of antique hand-cranked cameras, 360-degree spinning dollies and frenetic editing worked brilliantly as a method of inserting us into the fractured mind of a man lost in a cesspool of vengeance and violence. Add one of Washington's most intense performances of his career and a superb supporting cast, the film is a perfectly crafted revenge thriller. Needless to say, it was a bloody masterpiece! It was afterward that Armon showed me Beat the Devil, a nine-minute short film that Tony directed for BMW Films and producer David Fincher. Clive Owen, returning as "The Driver," escorts James Brown (yes, the James Brown) to a meeting with The Devil (yes, the Devil, played by Gary Oldman in one of his craziest, most wonderfully over-the-top performances, which is saying a lot for anyone familiar with the great Oldman's work). Brown wants to renegotiate his contract with ol' Satan that he first struck in the 50s, which gave him his unique style of song and dance. The Devil agrees, but only if The Driver can beat his driver (Danny Trejo) in a drag race down the Sunset Strip. In a short that was made before Man on Fire, Beat the Devil is a dress rehearsal for many of the frenzied filmmaking he would start bringing into his features. The style of the short is such a sensory overload, that coupled with the film's zany premise the final product can only be described as "batshit crazy," but it's oh so wonderfully batshit crazy! When Domino followed and cranked the style of Man On Fire up to eleven, it seemed like critics and audience members had had enough of this trippy new style. It was simply too much for them, and the ambitious though somewhat fractured screenplay did not help matters much. Nevertheless, we still loved it. The greatest thing about Tony was that the older he got, the more experimental he became. The more willing he was to push the limits of the conventional. He didn't sit back and coast through a project, he always challenged himself, and he challenged us. This is what made him one of those filmmakers who we desperately awaited to see what he would do next. Up there right with Martin Scorsese, Michael Mann, the Coen Brothers, David Fincher, Steven Spielberg, and Tony's big brother Ridley. It seemed like we and only a few others knew about this secret weapon that was pushing the limits of the medium and making incredible experimental films masked as Hollywood escapist movies. We were taken aback by the restraint he demonstrated in his 2006 film Deja Vu, but realized upon reflection that it was the right choice for the deeply layered screenplay. Even when what would end up being his final two films, 2009's The Taking of Pelham 123 and 2010's Unstoppable were somewhat conventional in comparison to his recent work, though they still managed to possess some of that Tony Flair. And even if they were conventional, they were still above and beyond most other action films around. I remember watching Unstoppable and thinking This is good, but I know he's just occupying himself while he prepares something amazing to unleash himself upon!
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| Screenwriter Brian Helgeland (RIGHT) and director Tony Scott (LEFT) |
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There's a different kind of finality when a filmmaker passes on than when an artist, writer or musician dies. There are potential novels yet to be published, not to mention potentially discarded manuscripts abandoned in the bottom desk drawer, waiting to be uncovered and released by the writer's estate. The same is true of musicians who could have countless unreleased recordings lying in the vaults that could be released periodically over the coming years. This is not the case with filmmakers. A director does not have any unreleased films in the drawer. Maybe some short films or early student experiments, but no features. Yesterday afternoon, the anticipation for the next Tony Scott film ended, as did Tony and my shared journey as filmmaker and audience member.
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My grief intertwines with a sense of guilt, for here I am grieving for a filmmaker whom I only knew through the work he did, trying to cope with the thought of never seeing a new Tony Scott film again. Meanwhile, his friends and family mourn a loss unlike any I can imagine. They've not lost a favorite director, they've lost a husband, a father, a brother, and a friend. His death is heartbreaking for countless reasons. Heartbreaking we lost one of the finest filmmakers of today, heartbreaking his family and friends lost a loved one, heartbreaking he went before his time, and heartbreaking that he went of his own will.
If any good could be found in this tragic loss, it's that perhaps his passing will entice people to revisit the films of his they loved, and maybe even the films they weren't ready for at the time. All day, I've been pleased at the overwhelming support that Tony has been receiving from fans and the Hollywood community. It's nice to see an underrated filmmaker get his due, though I think we would all prefer it under far less tragic circumstances. A wonderful, but now sadly discontinued podcast known as The Hollywood Saloon paid a terrific tribute to Tony back in 2005 to coincide with the release of Domino, his follow-up to his masterpiece, Man on Fire. Tony's career deserves to be remembered, and listening to this fine tribute that podcast creators Andy Siems and John Jansen paid to him while he was alive--and taking the cinematic medium to the limit--is a good place to start.
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| Click above to listen to the show. |
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| Tony Scott 1944-2012 |
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