English Patient director Minghella dies

Spokesman Jonathan Rutter said Minghella was operated on last week for a growth in his neck. He said the operation "seemed to have gone well. At 5 a.m. today he had a fatal haemorrhage."

Fifty-four-year-old Minghella directed the Academy Award-winning films The English Patient, Brokeback Mountain and The Talented Mr Ripley.

His most recent movie is based on the novels by Edinburgh academic Alexander McCall Smith

Minghella was born on the Isle of Wight, the son of Gloria and Scots-born Edward Minghella, ice cream factory owners.His younger brother, Dominic co-wrote the Highlands-based TV series Hamish MacBeth.

Coatbridge-born Edward, 85, who is based on the Isle of Wight, even created a special ice creams to celebrate his son's hit films including Cold Mountain and The English Patient.

His 1990 feature Truly, Madly, Deeply, a drama he had written and directed for the BBC received a cinema release and became a huge hit in the UK.

In 1996, he won the Academy Award for directing for The English Patient. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Adapted Screenplay for 1999's The Talented Mr Ripley and 2003's Cold Mountain.

In 2005 he directed a much-ridiculed party election broadcast for the Labour Party which depicted Tony Blair and Gordon Brown working together and was criticised for being insincere.

Minghella was recently in Botswana filming McCall Smith's novel, which is due to air on British television this week.

The book is the first in a series about the adventures of Botswanan private eye Precious Ramotswe, and a 13-part television series was recently commission by US network HBO.

Jeff Ramsay, press secretary to Botswanan President Festus Mogae, said Minghella's death was a "shock and an utter loss."

He said the director had been coming to the country ahead of the film and learning about Botswana.

"He had become known to quite a lot of people," Ramsay said, adding that this included the president.

"His Excellency met him and appreciated what he along with McCall Smith were doing. They were both very determined to try and get the film shot in Botswana and we appreciated that."

Ramsay said Minghella had told him how he had been forced to shoot Cold Mountain - set in the United States - in Romania and that it had "seemed wrong." He said this made the director "more sure that the film could only be shot in Botswana."

Ramsay described Minghella as a pleasant man who had had no airs or graces about him.

Born in 1954, Minghella grew up on the Isle of Wight and worked as a television script editor before making his directing debut in 1990 with Truly, Madly, Deeply.

His biggest hit was The English Patient, a romantic epic set against the backdrop of World War II that won nine Oscars, including best picture.

Minghella was married to Carolyn Choa and had two grown-up children, Max and Hannah.

He established his name firmly on the world stage in 1997 when The English Patient stole the headlines at the Oscars.

The film, an adaptation of Michael Ondaatje's Booker Prize-winning novel, almost swept the board at the ceremony, winning nine awards including Best Picture.

Ralph Fiennes, whose role in the film earned him a Best Actor nomination, said he was "devastated and shocked" by the news.

"Anthony possessed a sensitivity and alertness to the actor's process that very few directors have," he said.

"He directed most of The English Patient with an ankle in plaster, never losing his gentle humour and precision.

"He delighted in the contribution of everyone - he was a true collaborator."

Jude Law, who worked with Minghella "more than with any other director", said he had come to value him more as a friend than as a colleague.

"He was a brilliantly talented writer and director who wrote dialogue that was a joy to speak and then put it on to the screen in a way that always looked effortless," he said.

"He made work feel like fun. He was a sweet, warm, bright and funny man who was interested in everything from football to opera, films, music, literature, people and, most of all, his family whom he adored and to whom I send my thoughts and love. I shall miss him hugely."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "He was one of Britain's greatest creative talents, one of our finest screenwriters and directors, a great champion of the British film industry, and an expert on literature and opera.

"I counted him as a great friend, as did Sarah and our family.

"He will be deeply missed, but his contribution to British culture will be remembered for many years to come."

And former prime minister Tony Blair said of Minghella, who directed him in a party election broadcast for Labour: "Anthony Minghella was a wonderful human being, creative and brilliant, but still humble, gentle and a joy to be with.

"Whatever I did with him, personally or professionally, left me with complete admiration for him, as a character and as an artist of the highest calibre."

Sarah, Duchess of York, was another friend of the director.

"He was one of the finest gentlemen I have ever met," she said.

"He was always so proud of his family, particularly his son.

"It's a terrible loss and my heart goes out to them all."

Minghella, one of five children, grew up above the family's ice cream shop and a worker at one of the family's chain of shops said the news of Minghella's death was "really raw" for all those who knew him and his family.

And a woman at the family home in Ryde on the Isle of Wight said they were too upset to comment.

Chairman of Isle of Wight Council Roger Mazillius said: "I remember Anthony as a young man who used to attend live music events at the Wishing Well pub in Pondwell when I was the landlord. Like most islanders I followed his career closely.

"He was an extremely talented man who rose to the very pinnacle of his career and remained a tremendous ambassador for the Isle of Wight throughout.

"He had remarkable talent and the island was very proud of him. He will be greatly missed."

A former lecturer at Hull University, Minghella cut his teeth as a script writer and director in television, working on the BBC children's programme Grange Hill and ITV's Inspector Morse.

But in 1991 he made his debut as a film director with the tear-jerker Truly, Madly, Deeply, starring Alan Rickman and Juliet Stevenson.

The quirky love and ghost story put him on the map and won him a Bafta and a Writers' Guild of Great Britain trophy, which were followed by several other major awards.

In 1993 he directed Mr Wonderful, with Matt Dillon and Mary Louise Parker.

He followed up the success of The English Patient with The Talented Mr Ripley.

More recently he worked in Botswana with fellow Brit Richard Curtis making The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, an adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith's hit novel.

The film is due to be screened on BBC One over Easter.

Alan Yentob, BBC creative director, who commissioned Truly Madly Deeply, said: "Anthony was not only a wonderful film-maker but also a great champion of British cinema, an elegant advocate for the craft and a marvellous mentor for new talent."

And Culture Secretary Andy Burnham said: "Anthony Minghella was one of the finest film-makers of his generation.

"His death will be greeted with great sadness, not just in the film world but throughout the country.

"He made a great contribution to British cinema, both through his films, which were rightly recognised on the international stage, and through his leadership of the BFI, in developing a vision for its future.

"His latest film of The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, which is about to be shown for the first time, is just the latest of a great body of work."

Gwyneth Paltrow, speaking at a Prince's Trust event in London's Leicester Square, said: "He was a wonderful man, so incredibly talented. He was dedicated to making the best through art."

She said she felt "very, very" sorry for his family.

Richard E Grant told Sky News: "He was a man of extraordinary breadth and talent. He had a real generosity of spirit."