LOS ANGELES 聴 No one ever mistook Tony Scott for a great dramatist. He was a director critics loved to hate for his slick barrage of images at the expense of story. The filmmaker did not dazzle the imagination with visions of lost or alien worlds, like brother Ridley Scott.Tony Scott was as populist as they come in Hollywood, a man of action films, pure and simple. From Tom Cruise as a daring fly boy in 1986聮s 聯Top Gun聰 to Denzel Washington mutinying against an unstable captain in 1995聮s 聯Crimson Tide聰 or trying to slow a runaway train in 2010聮s 聯Unstoppable,聰 director Scott mastered sky, sea and earth in the name of movie adrenaline.The 68-year-old Scott died Sunday after jumping from a Los Angeles County bridge, authorities said. His death was being investigated as a suicide, Los Angeles County Coroner聮s Lt. Joe Bale said.It was a puzzling end for a filmmaker who had maintained a busy pace, with a sequel to 聯Top Gun,聰 his biggest hit, in the works.聯I can confirm that Tony Scott has passed away. The family asks that their privacy is respected at this time,聰 Scott聮s spokesman, Simon Halls, said in a statement.The younger brother of Ridley Scott, whose Roman epic 聯Gladiator聰 won best-picture at the Academy Awards for 2000, Tony Scott was partners with his sibling in a production company, collaborating on film, TV and advertising projects.But despite blockbuster success on some of his own movies, Tony Scott always was overshadowed by his brother, a three-time directing nominee at the Oscars whose films include 聯Alien,聰 聰Blade Runner,聯 聰Thelma and Louise聯 and this summer聮s 聰Prometheus.聯Tony Scott never was in the running for an Oscar, and critics often slammed his movies for his hyper-kinetic style and an emphasis on style over substance.Still, he was the first of the Scott brothers to enjoy blockbuster success with 聯Top Gun,聰 the top-grossing film of 1986 at $176 million. Scott teamed with Cruise again four years later on the hit 聯Days of Thunder,聰 and he made five films with Washington, including 聯Man on Fire,聰 聰Deja Vu聯 and 聰The Taking of Pelham 123.聯Other Scott films include 聯True Romance,聰 written by Quentin Tarantino, 聯The Fan,聰 with Robert De Niro, and 聯Enemy of the State,聰 starring Will Smith.While Ridley Scott had an auspicious start to his film career with 1977聮s acclaimed period drama 聯The Duellists聰 and 1979聮s 聯Alien,聰 Tony Scott bombed with his debut, 1983聮s supernatural romance 聯The Hunger,聰 with David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve.He vaulted into Hollywood聮s top ranks the next time out, with 聯Top Gun,聰 followed a year later by 聯Beverly Hills Cop II,聰 both with producer Jerry Bruckheimer.The two brothers ran Scott Free Productions and were working jointly on a film called 聯Killing Lincoln,聰 based on the bestseller by Bill O聮Reilly. Along with countless commercials, their company produced the CBS dramas 聯NUMB3RS聰 and 聯The Good Wife聰 as well as a 2011 documentary about the Battle of Gettysburg for the History Channel.Tony Scott said he gained perspective by mixing things up between film, TV and commercials.聯I like changing the pace of my life, changing my discipline,聰 he said in a 2007 interview. 聯It gives me ideas for how to see the world differently.聰
