Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée has passed away at the age of 58, reported Deadline. Vallée was behind films like Dallas Buyers Club and Wild as well as TV shows Big Little Lies and Sharp Objects.
The Deadline report said that the director died at his cabin near the Canadian city of Quebec.
A Montreal native, he kicked off his career with music videos in mid-1980s. His filmmaking career began in early 1990s with acclaimed short films like Stéréotypes and Les Fleurs magiques. He debuted with his first feature in 1995 with a thriller film called Black List.
He was a well-regarded director before Dallas Buyers Club, but it was with this Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, and Jennifer Garner starrer his career, as they say, blew up.
Dallas Buyers Club was based on the true story of Ron Woodroof, a man who was diagnosed with AIDS. Back then, not much known about the disease and it was highly stigmatised. Woodroof underwent an experimental treatment and got unapproved medicines to treat his symptoms. He also distributed the drugs to other patients in what he called the Dallas Buyers Club.
The film received universal critical acclaim and went on to win several awards. It clinched two Oscars — Best Actor for Matthew McConaughey and Best Supporting Actor for Jared Leto.
Vallée’s last feature film was 2015’s Demolition. After his film career, he went on to have a successful stint in television with the aforementioned HBO shows.
He is survived by his two sons, Alex and Émile.
