Harry Dean Stanton, who starred in Repo Man, Paris, Texas, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me and Big Love in a career that spanned over seven decades, died peacefully Friday afternoon.

In addition to his movie career, Stanton also had a lifelong love of music, frequently playing in Los Angeles with his Harry Stanton Band. 

He will be deeply missed.

No man like this man. Ever. Never again. Bye bye, we love you.

Somehow, you pulled words out of the sky in a way we cannot imitate to express who you are and offer our thanks. There was a world before you, but it was not nearly as colourful. There were men and women before you, but fewer glorious creatures in between. There was music before you, but not as electrifying. There was lyricism before you, but not as otherworldly. You gave us thoughts to awaken our own. You gave us worlds to wander in, places to go that were not on any map. We did not need a window. You were our glass. How can we say enough to thank you? We cannot. But we will keep you with us. Where will you float to now?  KT/DL

(David Bowie, 1947-2016)

image Elmar J. Lordemann

of public interest. I realize now that I really had no choice in the matter. Spock and Star Trek were very much alive and there wasn’t anything that I could do to change that.

Leonard Simon Nimoy beamed up on February 27, 2015 from his Bel Air home

I feel that cinema should be like a box of surprises, like a magic box. And in that world, anything is allowed to enter, as long as it’s always treated with a spirit of “Pop!”. ..I think cinema should be like magic, a surprise, that’s all.

Jesús Franco

Jesús “Jess” Franco, the doyen of B-movies,  who directed more than 180 films, many starring his lifelong companion Lina Romay, passed away at the age of 82 on 2 April 2013 in Málaga, Spain.
He had been working on what was to be his final feature film, Al Pereira vs the Alligator Women at the time of his passing.

R.I.P.

RIP Kōji Wakamatsu

Kôji Wakamatsu has passed away on October 17 2012 in Tokyo. The 76-year-old director was injured when he was struck by a taxi while crossing a busy Tokyo intersection. He never recovered from the injuries. Koji, who directed Go, Go Second Time Virgin and Ecstasy of Angels was one of the most important directors of the Pinky film (pink eiga).

Wakamatsu’s independent films of the late 1960s were very low-budget, but often artistically done works, usually concerned with sex and extreme violence mixed with political messages. His films were usually produced for less than 1,000,000 yen (about $5,000), necessitating extreme cost-cutting measures including location shooting, single-takes, and natural lighting. His early films were usually in black and white with occasional bursts of color for theatrical effect.

While directing many successful and critically praised Pink Films, Wakamatsu also became known for giving young filmmakers their first experience in working in the industry.

His 2010 film, Caterpillar, competed for the Golden Bear at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival

In 2011, a new film on the last days of acclaimed novelist and political activist Yukio Mishima, focusing on the stream of events leading to the so-called Ichigaya incident of November 25th, 1970, was announced as being on its stage of full completion. The film entitled 11.25 Jiketsu No Hi, Mishima Yukio To Wakamonotachi [11.25自決の日、三島由紀夫と若者たち] competed in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

via | PAS UN AUTRE wiki

Heiko ahoy!

Heiko Daxl has always been fascinated by motion. Images in motion, media in motion, and, like the center of his interest, he himself has always been in motion. Constantly creating new films, triggering projects, curating and cooperating throughout the world.

It would need a big book to cover all his activities, from the co-founding of the Experimental Film Workshop Osnabrueck back in 1980,  an annual festival for experimental film art, which in 1988 became the European Media Art Festival, to this year´s exhibition at his latest art space, mim-and-more.

He, together with his wife and partner, Ingeborg Fuelepp, was always searching for new experiments, joyfully presenting their latest discoveries.

Friends of Directors Lounge will remember many films and curated programs by this Dream Team. Since our early years they have been regulars till today.

Heiko Daxl passed away last Monday.

He will remain among us, frolicking in an art world that wouldn’t be the same without him.

Team DL

A rigorous life: Vadim Glowna dead at 70

German actor Vadim Glowna, a regular in film and  television drama who was also a successful director and screenwriter, has died after a short illness. He was 70.

Glowna,well known for his soft, rough voice, was rarely the leading man but he shined in supporting roles, among them performances in Chris Kraus’ Four Minutes (2006) and Oskar Roheler’s No Where To Go (2000), both of which won German Film Awards for best film of the year. His one major international production was in Sam Peckinpah’s WWII drama Cross of Iron (1977) alongside James Coburn and Maximilian Schell.

A multi-talent, Glowna won the golden camera honor at the Cannes film festival for his directorial debut Desperado City in 1981.  His sophomore effort, Dies rigorose Leben, won an honorable mention at the Berlin film festival in 1983. He also helmed dozens of episodes of German TV drama. Glowna was married to the Russian actress Vera Tschechowa from 1967 until the late 1980s. Glowna’s last performance was as Jorge Da Costa in Tom Fontana’s bad pope series Borgia.

sources: The Hollywood Reporter

still from Desperado City via Abschied von Vadim Glowna: Herz für Außenseiter – SPIEGEL/ddp images