James Foley, a veteran director that includes the film's Grengar Grenross and two sequels to “Fifty Shades of Grey,” and a sequel to two “Fifty Shades of Grey,” who also worked on the hit television series House of Cards, passed away Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 71 years old.
The cause was brain cancer, said Taylor Lomax, ID, the company representing Foley.
Foley made his directorial debut with the 1984 film “Reckless.” This is a drama about the high school romance between a rebellious, motorcycle-driving soccer player (Aidan Quinn) and a cheerleader (Daryl Hanna). Janet Maslin, who reviewed it in The New York Times, called it “unnatural and cliched,” but Foley said he “works hard to give the film a distinctive style.”
Foley continued to build a prominent career as director of films, television shows and music videos.
Among his most famous works is the film adaptation of the 1992 film Grengar Grenross. David Mamet's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1984 play is about a real estate salesman trying to achieve his goals in a tough economy. The film features an all-star cast that includes Al Pacino, Jack Lemon, Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin and Kevin Spacey, which was highly acclaimed, but didn't do well at the box office. (The play's revival is currently on Broadway.)
Foley was also known for directing Fifty Shades Darker (2017) and Fifty Shades Freed (2018). This was the final two installments of the “Fifty Shades of Grey” franchise, adapted from the El James trilogy and the second and third books of the lead actors, Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dohnon.
In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter in 2017, Foley said he was pleased that he was not pigeonholed as a filmmaker.
“In terms of what captivates me and what intrigus me, and what you find attractive in the year you spend making movies, something that is personally appealing, something that's not adhering to any kind of convention,” he said.
James Foley was born in Brooklyn on December 28th, 1953. His mother, Francis, managed the house. His father, James Vincent Foley, was a lawyer.
Foley grew up on Staten Island. He studied psychology at the University of New York, Buffalo University, and graduated in 1974. He had planned to attend medical school, but he changed his mind and decided to pursue a director instead after taking a six-week film production course at New York University. He won an MFA at the University of Southern California School of Film and Arts in 1979.
Speaking to a film and media studies student at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore in 2013, he recalled a screening for short films he made as part of a production course in New York.
“It was the first time I've ever had a response from so many people,” Foley said. “From that moment on, I decided I wanted to do it again.”
His film also included Close Range, a 1986 crime drama starring Sean Penn and Christopher Walken. The 1990 film adaptation of Jim Thompson's crime novel After Dark, My Sweet starred Jason Patrick, Rachel Ward and Bruce Dern. Includes “Fear” (1996), starring Mark Wahlberg and Reese Witherspoon. “The Chamber” (1996), Chris O'Donnell and Gene Hackman. “Perfect Stranger” (2007), Halle Berry and Bruce Willis.
Foley's credits as music video director included Madonna's “Live To Tell,” “True Blue,” and “Papa Don't Procheach.”
His first foray into television was an episode of “Twin Peaks” in 1991. He later directed 12 episodes in the first three seasons of the hit Netflix series, originally starring Mr. Spacey, about the abdomen of the US government, adapted from the BBC series of the same name. He also directed episodes of “Wayward Pines” and “Millions.”
Mr. Foley was survived by his brother Kevin. two sisters, Irene and Joe Ann Foley; ne, Quinn Foley. Another brother, Gerald, died before him.
“I had a very fluid career in ups and downs, left and rights, and I've always been answering what I'm interested in,” Foley told the Hollywood Reporter in 2017.
