Cliff Notes – Fifty Shades director James Foley dies aged 71 after long struggle
- Filmmaker James Foley, known for directing the Fifty Shades sequels and Madonna’s music videos, passed away at 71 after a prolonged battle with brain cancer.
- Foley’s career was launched by a chance encounter with director Hal Ashby during a film school party, leading to his first directing opportunity.
- In addition to his work on Fifty Shades, Foley directed episodes of acclaimed series such as Twin Peaks, Hannibal, and House of Cards.
Fifty Shades director James Foley dies aged 71 after ‘long struggle’
James Foley is known for his work on the Fifty Shades franchise. The filmmaker James Foley has died aged 71 after a ‘years-long struggle’ with brain cancer.
The director, who is best known for being at the helm of sequels Fifty Shades of Grey: Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed as well as Who’s That Girl starring Madonna, had been fighting the disease for several years.
On Thursday, his publicist confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Foley ‘died peacefully in his sleep earlier this week’ after a ‘years-long struggle’.
His official cause of death is yet to be confirmed.
As well as his cinematic work, Foley also worked with the Queen of Pop on her Live to Tell, Papa Don’t Preach and True Blue music videos under the name Peter Percher.
He was also best man at her wedding to now-former husband Sean Penn in 1985.
His career was launched by a chance meeting.
Foley had a ‘years-long struggle’ with cancer before his death
After graduating from New York University and then USC in Los Angeles, he was able to jumpstart his career thanks to a chance meeting.
He told Film Freak Central: ‘I was very lucky, and in the perverse calculus of Hollywood I was in the last year of film school and shared a house with a guy.
‘There was a woman who was pursuing my friend so we had this film school party, which consisted of people projecting their student films onto a white wall and getting stoned.
He helmed the final two films in the series
‘And this girl came. Hal Ashby was pursuing her — she was pursuing my friend and Hal was pursuing her — and Hal called her up and asked to come to this party full of film students. Just as he walked through the door, my film was showing on the wall.
‘I’ll never know whether he was being polite or anything, but he told me he liked it and stuff and he was going to form a company that was going to produce other people’s movies and what did I want to do? I could write something and direct it.’
His directorial debut came in 1984 with Reckless, and after starting his collaborations with Madonna, he landed his second film in 1986 with At Close Range.
Foley also worked with Madonna and was her best man in 1985
He also directed episodes of Twin Peaks, Hannibal and House of Cards, with other credits including Fear and The Chamber.
‘What I love is that it’s fluid. I’ve had a very fluid career of ups and downs and lefts and rights, and I always just responded to what I was interested in at the moment and I was very unconscious about genre,’ he said during promo for Fifty Shades.
‘I’ve always just followed my nose, for better or for worse, sometimes for worse.’