Michael Cimino at Heaven’s Gate – he was 77 years old
Although he directed a few films in the decades after “Heaven’s Gate,” Cimino kept a low profile, and plastic surgery made him almost unrecognizable. He resurfaced at the Cannes Film Festival for a screening of his 1996 film “Sunchaser.” He appeared at Cannes again in 2007 for his final film venture, a three-minute contribution to the multi-director anthology “Chacun son gout.” He obliquely addressed the rumor that he was transitioning into a woman, saying there were many false rumors about him, part of a “personal assassination”; he said if a detractor wants to prevent a person from working, the next best thing is to “destroy them personally.”
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Due to his movie Year of the Dragon (1985), he was made an honorary Colonel in the Thailand Air Force.
Directed 4 actors in Oscar nominated performances: Jeff Bridges, Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and Meryl Streep. Walken won for his performance in The Deer Hunter (1978).
Living in Paris, France, where he has published two successful novels and is working on a third…plus another screenplay. [February 2004]