Director Sidney Lumet died today at age 86.

[Megan]

Dad was sad today. And asked him why
Director Sidney Lumet died today at age 86.
I watched the opening of Dog Day Afternoon with him.
Love it and he said the film made him a career in writing.
Forever grateful.
A very talented director has left us.
Life is short. So guys work hard and achieve your dreams.
But not in vacuum. Embrace life with good and bad, and your writing will shine. One day we will be 80 or 90 years old and then our life and dreams is over. Very frustrating but we have to give it our BEST.

kEEP writing guys

Megan,

[joea]

Awful news, especially for screenwriters.

Lumet was an angel to writers. He considered the words sacred, the intentions of the writer paramount and did everything he could to simply and faithfully present the story. He started as a stage actor but eventually became a writer himself, penning the screenplay to (among others) 1990's Q & A. So he knew what it was like.

His book, Making Movies, is an essential book for writers, in my view. And gives a lot of insight into his process and the thought process of directors in general.

On the 10 films of his that I've seen, Twelve Angry Men and Network rate the highest. But I also enjoyed, Fail-Safe, The Hill, Serpico, Dg Day Afternoon, The Verdict, Q & A and Before the Devil Knows Your Dead. The only one I didn't particularly enjoy was Murder on the Orient Express.

Lumet's movies were always smart, always interesting, and always tried to say something. In a world of cheap and shameless commercialism, he was a beacon.