'The Man Who Fell To Earth' Director Nicolas Roeg Dies At 90
Nicolas Roeg — the British director behind The Man Who Fell to Earth and Don't Look Now — [...]
Nicolas Roeg — the British director behind The Man Who Fell to Earth and Don't Look Now — passed away Friday night, according to reports. He was 90.
Roeg started his career at 20 years old when he first got an entry-level job at London's Marylebone Studios, eventually rising the ranks to camera operator on films like Tarzan's Greatest Adventure and The Trials of Oscar Wilde. Roeg served as a cinematographer on the second unit of Lawrence of Arabia.
He spent over two decades in the film industry before getting his first directing gig on Performance (1970), a film in which starred rock star Mick Jagger in a supporting role.
Roeg's big break came when he cast musician David Bowie for the lead role in The Man Who Fell to Earth, a science fiction movie about an alien who travels to Earth in an attempt to gather water for his drought-stricken home planet.
"David's performance was something quite unique," Roeg said in 2013 regarding Bowie's performance. "He never came on like a rock star — he used his part to explore ideas of rock idolatry and celebrity. David was very clever and creative in that way."
Roeg's last big studio film came in 1990 as he directed a live-action adaption of Roald Dahl's children's novel The Witches. The film earned acclaim from both fans and critics but didn't do well at the box office, grossing just over $15 million. The Witches went on to be nominated for five Saturn Awards including Best Actress (Anjelica Huston), Best Make-up (John Stephenson), and Best Supporting Actress (Mai Zetterling).
After The Witches, Roeg only directed three more movies — Cold Heaven (1992), Two Deaths (1995), and Puffball (2007).
Roeg attributed his rise from cameraman to cinematographer to director to a no-nonsense attitude and remaining true to who he was. In a 2005 interview with The Guardian, Roeg talked about a "row" he had with an exec overseeing on of his movies.
"He said, 'They won't get it, Nic,' and I said, 'No, they'll get it; it's you who's not getting it, because you're trying to force something that's different into being the same,'" he said. "People usually arrive to see something with an open mind. I want to make them feel something emotionally, but not by planning how to get them there."
Roeg is survived by his third wife Harriet Harper and six children — Waldo, Nico, Sholto, Luc, Max, and Statten.
