Pascal Chaumeil, the French filmmaker best known for 2010's Heartbreaker and last year's A Long Way Down, passed away Thursday. He was 54.
Chaumeil's widow, Camille, confirmed her husband died of cancer to the Agence France Presse on Monday, via Screen Daily. The French cinema Guild l'ARP considered him a "filmmaker without borders," who was respected, will-liked and renowned for his gentleness.
With his filmmaking ambitions beginning at 15, Chaumeil dug his way into the business primarily as a first and second unit director throughout the '80s and '90s. Most notably, he worked with Luc Besson during this time on Leon: The Professional, The Fifth Element and The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc. He went on to serve as a television director throughout the early-to-mid '00s before he got his big break with his rom-com hit, Heartbreaker.
From there, he directed 2012's A Perfect Plan, a.k.a. Fly Me to the Moon, starring Diane Kruger, and then A Long Way Down, starring Pierce Bronsan, Aaron Paul, Imogen Poots and Toni Collette. Throughout this time, he kept his foot in television by helming various episodes of Fais pas ci, fais pas ca and a couple installments of Spotless, before returning to cinema for one last time with the upcoming i>Old Jobs, which reunited him with his Heartbreaker star Romain Duris.
He only recently finished work on his now-last film before he passed. The film, centered on an unemployed factory worker (Duris) who takes a hitman job to make ends meet, is slated for release in France this January.
Image courtesy of INFphoto.com
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