Tragic news: while the rest of Hollywood was partying the night away at the 83rd annual Academy Awards, director Gary Winick passed away from brain cancer after a prolonged battle. Winick was perhaps best known for directing 13 Going On 30 and Letters to Juliet, the latter of which he helmed after his first surgery. He was 49 years old.
Winick had been directing since 1989 horror movie Curfew. He made headlines when his indie gem Tadpole sold to Miramax in 2002 for $6 million, and in the following years divided his time between directing features like Bride Wars and Charlotte’s Web and producing independent features like Puccini for Beginners and the Oscar-nominated Pieces of April.
Hollywood Reporter reports that a private funeral service is being planned, and that the family is asking that mourners and well-wishers donate to charity.
All of us here at Crave Online are saddened by the Winick family’s loss and send them our dearest sympathies.
