RIP Sydney Pollack

Sadly, Sydney Pollack died of cancer at age 73. Pollack was a celebrated filmmaker, actor and producer who won the Academy Award for Best Director with Out of Africa. He had been nominated for both They Shoot Horses, Don't They and Tootsie. For popular films, he was director of The Firm. He recently starred with George Clooney in Michael Clayton, and when I saw him in it, I was quietly pleased because he had great presence and was an excellent character actor. He also had a somewhat timeless quality to him, at least for the last 10-15 years. He looked the same in Michael Clayton as he did in Husbands and Wives, or maybe I just though the aged well and so didn't tend to notice. Anyhow, best wishes to his friends and family. He was married to the same woman for 40 years, with whom he had three children.