Director David R. Ellis has died, reports Deadline , on the cusp of production for his next film, the live-action anime adaptation, Kite . The actor, turned stuntman, turned second unit whiz, turned feature director, who made his directorial debut with 1996’s Homeward Bound 2 , before finding his niche with crowd-pleasing genre fare from Final Destination 2 to Snakes on a Plane and last year’s Shark Night 3D , was 60 years old at the time of his death. Ellis may have specialized in studio B-movies as a director (he also helmed Cellular , Asylum , and The Final Destination ), but he established an extensive body of second unit work on other filmmakers’ movies, including The Matrix Reloaded , Waterworld , Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone , The Perfect Storm , Master and Commander , and the upcoming 47 Ronin and R.I.P.D. Prior to his directing work, Ellis racked up an impressive filmography as a stunt player, with credits running the gamut including Smokey and the Bandit , Lethal Weapon , Road House , and the motorcycle stunts in Game of Death . Last year at Comic-Con, Movieline caught up with Ellis on the Shark Night 3D promo tour where he played a round of My Favorite Scene. ” The Birds !” Ellis said, picking the classic Hitchcock moment – coincidentally, one riffing on the creature horror theme. “The birds attacking Tippi Hedren is a great scene.” Cause of death is unknown; read more on Ellis’s passing here . I just love the fact that the same filmmaker gave us both of these cinematic gifts in one career. R.I.P. [ Deadline ] Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Original post:
R.I.P. David R. Ellis: ‘Snakes On A Plane’ Director, Action Vet Dead At 60
