Kerry Washington and Elisabeth Moss are teaming up for a new series on Apple TV+.
14.03.2024 - 22:07 / deadline.com
Sam Mercer, who produced seven M. Night Shyamalan films including The Sixth Sense, headed Lucasfilm‘s Industrial Light & Magic and was location manager on several classic 1980s pics, has died. He was 69.
His wife Tegan Jones told Deadline that Mercer died February 12 of younger-onset Alzheimer’s.
“He was the best big brother I could have hoped for,” Shyamalan said in a statement. “He made every movie a family, and I’ve tried to emulate that in every film since.”
Mercer moved to Los Angeles from Weston, MA, to work in the movie industry. He began his career as a location manager on such 1980s gems as Stripes, National Lampoon’s Vacation, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Peggy Sue Got Married and The Witches of Eastwick before moving to Walt Disney Studios.
There he worked as a production executive, supervising movies including Good Morning Vietnam and Dead Poets Society, which earned Robin Williams his first two Best Actor Oscar nominations. After being promoted to VP Motion Picture Production at Disney’s Hollywood Pictures, Mercer oversaw such films as Best Picture Oscar nominee Quiz Show, The Joy Luck Club, Born Yesterday, Swing Kids, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and Arachnophobia.
After leaving Disney, Mercer transitioned to independent producing. He worked on Congo (1995) and Relic (1997) before linking up with Shyamalan as an executive producer on the Bruce Willis-led smash The Sixth Sense. Also starring Haley Joel Osment, the film was a global sensation, grossing $672.8 million to become the No. 2 movie of 1999, behind only Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.
“Sam and I started working together when I was in my mid-20s,” Shyamalan said. “He taught me that the culture of a set comes from the top down. He led with
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