He was one of the most prominent directors of the moment. Quebec filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée, to whom we owe the excellent Dallas Buyers Club and Wild films and the Big Little Lies series, died this Sunday, December 26 at the age of 58.
This Christmas weekend ends with sad news: Quebec director Jean-Marc Vallée died suddenly at the age of 58. As the site reports Variety and confirmed Radio Canada, the filmmaker behind the films Dallas Buyers Club, Wild, CRAZY or the series Big Little Lies died this Sunday, December 26 in one of his residences in Canada. Born in 1963 in Montreal, Quebec, Jean-Marc Vallee was the father of two children (from a marriage with the writer Chantal Cadieux) and the reasons for his death have not yet been communicated. According to the site People, the director died “suddenly and unexpectedly”. His business partner, producer Nathan Ross, responded to the sad announcement in a statement: “Jean-Marc was synonymous with creativity, authenticity, non-conformism. He was a true artist and a generous and loving guy. Everyone who worked with him could not help but see the talent and the vision that ‘he had (…) This maestro will be sorely missed, but his magnificent style and hard-hitting work will endure “.
Several Oscars for Dallas Buyers Club and a career on the small screen
If he got noticed by Hollywood with his film Blacklist, Jean-Marc Vallée is mainly known for his feature films CRAZY with Marc-André Grondin, Victoria: The Young Years of a Queen with Emily Blunt or even Wild with Reese Witherspoon. The filmmaker has acquired the recognition of the 7th art milieu with his poignant Dallas Buyers Club, a film awarded three Oscars in 2014 including Best Actor for Matthew McConaughey and Best Supporting Actor for Jared Leto. His latest feature film, Demolition with Jake Gyllenhaal, was released in 2016 in France. Jean-Marc Vallée also worked for television by creating the series Big Little Lies, worn by actresses Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley and Zoë Kravitz. He is also the originator of the mini-series Sharp Objects with Amy Adams.