James Foley has sadly died at the age of 71.
The heartbreaking news was confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday (May 8), with the statement revealing that the filmmaker, best known for directing Fifty Shades sequels, died "peacefully in his sleep earlier this week".
Foley's official cause of death has not yet been announced, but his publicist revealed that he was struggling with “years-long" brain cancer.
Born on December 28, 1953, Foley graduated from New York University and later USC in Los Angeles.
His big break came while he was still in film school. During a student party, his short film happened to be playing on a wall just as legendary director Hal Ashby walked in.
“Just as [Ashby] walked through the door, my film was showing on the wall,” Foley said, cited by Metro. “I’ll never know whether he was being polite or anything, but he told me he liked it and stuff, and he was going to form a company that was going to produce other people’s movies, and what did I want to do? I could write something and direct it.”
That pivotal conversation led to his directorial debut in 1984 with Reckless, a launchpad that quickly propelled him into the Hollywood spotlight. The movie starred Aidan Quinn and Daryl Hannah and was written by Chris Columbus.
Soon after, Foley released his second film, At Close Range (1986), and opened the door to one of his most notable creative partnerships - with pop icon Madonna.
He directed the 66-year-old in the film Who’s That Girl and helmed three of her classic music videos: 'Live to Tell', 'Papa Don’t Preach', and 'True Blue', using the pseudonym Peter Percher.
Their close relationship extended off-screen too, with Foley serving as best man at Madonna’s 1985 wedding to Sean Penn.
Over the years, the late director built an eclectic body of work. He directed psychological thrillers like Fear and The Chamber, and transitioned into television with episodes of Twin Peaks, Hannibal, and House of Cards.
In the 2010s, Foley returned to mainstream prominence with the Fifty Shades franchise, directing both Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed.
The sequels to the blockbuster Fifty Shades of Grey, based on the best-selling novels by E.L. James, brought in a combined $714 million at the global box office.
Reflecting on his winding career while promoting the Fifty Shades films, Foley said: “What I love is that it’s fluid. I’ve had a very fluid career of ups and downs and lefts and rights, and I always just responded to what I was interested in at the moment, and I was very unconscious about genre."
"I’ve always just followed my nose, for better or for worse, sometimes for worse," he added.
Since news of his death, fans and filmmakers alike have been paying tribute across social media.
"Damn, RIP James Foley. A small but mostly excellent body of work, full of tough, moody genre fare. An underrated guy, we don’t have many of these artists anymore," one supporter said.
Another admirer shared: "I grew up watching the films of James Foley--from RECKLESS on. His style is synonymous with the 80s film aesthetic, in addition to influencing generations of filmmakers. RIP."
A third added: "I’m saddened to hear that the versatile and underrated James Foley has passed away. Time to revisit my personal favourite of his filmography, At Close Range. RIP."
Our thoughts are with Foley's loved ones at this time.