"The biggest edge I live on is directing. That's the scariest, most dangerous thing you can do in your life."
Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was a British director and producer born in Tynemouth, North Shields.
He was best known for making films in the action genre, most notably Top Gun, The Last Boy Scout, True Romance, Crimson Tide, Spy Game and Man on Fire.
He was the younger brother of fellow filmmaker Ridley Scott. He tragically jumped off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in Los Angeles, California, at age 68 on August 19, 2012, believing he had cancer. Tragically, a subsequent autopsy found no evidence of cancer, suggesting he may have been in remission when he took his own life.
Films directed by Tony Scott:
- The Hunger (1983)
- Top Gun (1986)
- Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
- Revenge (1990)
- Days of Thunder (1990)
- The Last Boy Scout (1991)
- True Romance (1993)
- Crimson Tide (1995)
- The Fan (1996)
- Enemy of the State (1998)
- Spy Game (2001)
- Man on Fire (2004)
- Domino (2005)
- Déjà Vu (2006) (2006)
- The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (2009)
- Unstoppable (2010)
Series directed/produced by Tony Scott
- AFP American Fighter Pilot (2002)
- NUMB3RS (2005-2010)
- The Good Wife (2009-2012)
- The Pillars of the Earth (2010)
Tony Scott and his works provide examples of:
- In Memoriam: Top Gun: Maverick was dedicated to him, which he had intended to direct himself. Tragically, he died by suicide a day before Tom Cruise was scheduled to meet with him to discuss development, and the movie fell into Development Hell for several years.
- Exodus: Gods and Kings, directed by his brother Ridley, was also dedicated to him.
- Pigeonholed Director: Tony stuck mostly to action and suspense-thriller movies.
- Production Posse: Was an established director in Jerry Bruckheimer's stable of filmmakers, and directed Denzel Washington in five movies. He was also fond of casting Christopher Walken, Val Kilmer and James Gandolfini, all of whom appeared in True Romance. Tom Cruise, Gene Hackman, Brad Pitt, Mickey Rourke and Tom Sizemore each did two films with him.
- Hans Zimmer was his main composer during the early 1990s, while all his films from Enemy of the State onward were scored by Harry Gregson Williams.
- He also favoured working with editors Chris Lebenzon, Michael Tronick, Christian Wagner, and Billy Weber, and cinematographers Paul Cameron, Jeffrey L. Kimball, Dan Mindel, and Dariusz Wolski.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: With his older brother Ridley. While Ridley made more of a personal stamp on his work, Tony was criticized for being a "gun-for-hire". While Ridley dabbled in various genres, Tony exclusively stayed in the action genre.
- Signature Style: High-octane action featuring heroes stacked against strong odds who always win in the end. Bonus points if Jerry Bruckheimer is involved.
