Academy Award-nominated producer Adam Sumner, who was among the industry's most sought-after assistant directors over the past few decades, died Nov. 27 of anaplastic thyroid cancer. He was 57 years old.
Sumner has been the go-to destination for the likes of Steven Spielberg (10 films), Paul Thomas Anderson (six films), and Ridley Scott (six films). He also worked several times with Scott's brother Tony, Alejandro G. Iñárritu and James Mangold. One of his most recent films is Martin Scorsese Moonflower KillersSteve McQueen Raid Anderson's upcoming untitled film from Warner Bros. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
Sumner, who has more than 75 credits in features, short films and music videos, and his colleague Licorice pizza Producer Sarah Murphy has been nominated for an Academy Award for her work on Anderson's 2022 picture.
Sumner's film scores in the first trailer include Best Picture Oscar winners Birdman and Gladiator; Spielberg West Side Story, Lincoln, Munich, War Horse And two Indiana Jones sequel; Scott Black Hawk Down, GI Jane and Kingdom of Heaven; And Anderson there will be blood, Inherent vice and Mr.
His distinguished credits with other famous filmmakers include James Mangold ford vs ferrari, Robert Redford lion to lambs, Tony Scott Fire man and spy game, Stephen Frears may riley, Kenneth Branagh henry v, And Richard Attenborough Shadowland. Sumner has also worked on television series including Hunger, ruler, spender and The wanderer.
“The title ‘assistant director’ is inadequate to describe what Adam Sumner was to me and the contribution he made to my films, just as my left arm is more than just a sidekick to my right arm,” Spielberg said in a statement to Deadline. . “He worked as a publicist and producer and performed both tasks with equal dedication. He loved making movies. He loved being on the set. It was his network. He was a cheerleader and a ball-carrier, and sometimes I couldn't tell if he was following my lead or That I was following him. He made everyone who joined the crew feel like part of the family. He was an unifier, and when things weren't going according to plan, his wit and working-class English sense of humor could work things out. The insults, the laughter, and the backup plan he always seemed to have on hand. He was an icon in his field and an inspiration to anyone who wanted a career in product formulation—with the full admission that it was as creative as it was organizational. Going back to work without Adam wouldn't be the same Never the same.
“I think your job as a good AD is to be a barometer for the group,” Sumner said during an AFI Conservatory Q&A in 2020. If it's stressful, try to make it less stressful. If it's too slow, you try to exploit it, you try to get it to where the chemistry is at the right level to do well.
Among Sumner's most memorable displays of this skill was supervising a wild orgy scene in an airplane The Wolf of Wall Street.
“It was all in the works,” he said. DGA Quarterly. Sumner carefully choreographed the scene, combining the actors to create manageable scenes so everyone felt comfortable.
“He'd be like, 'You two do.' ” this Here,” and “You two are doing it.” Which “Over there,” and sometimes I'll be with Marty and he'll say, “Could something happen over there?” “We were working in a safe environment that had been prepared in advance,” Sumner said. “Everyone was prepared. So when we wanted them to make money, they could make money. Everyone was working within certain limits.
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Scorsese said he “would never have been able to do it.” The Wolf of Wall Street or Moonflower Killers Without him.
“Adam Sumner was credited as assistant director and producer on three of my pictures, but his presence meant more to me and the films than any credits could really indicate,” he said in a statement to Deadline. “Adam had a very special, very specific set of qualities – the organizational abilities and discipline of a general on the battlefield; a unique ability to work as closely with me or any director as two dancers doing a routine or two musicians jumping at each other; and extraordinary artistry when It's about organizing and coordinating movement in the frame. Adam Sumner embodied and practiced all of that I would never have been able to do The Wolf of Wall Street or Moonflower Killers Without him, we would be in the middle of planning another project. He left too soon, and I will miss him terribly. He liked to “take pictures,” as he put it. He was one of the best collaborators I could ask for, and I know my fellow directors would say the same.
Licorice pizza Writer-director Anderson also paid tribute to Sumner, saying: “Adam loved filmmaking more than anyone in the history of filmmaking. He had food and drink for him. “He made everyone he worked with feel safe,” Anderson said. “He saw everything from all sides.” At one time, he had a backup plan for a backup plan for a backup plan. He moved mountains, trucks, and people as if he were moving a salt shaker on a table. It was glorious to watch him work.
He knew how to make a movie better than anyone else. His intuition and talent were second only to how fun and loving he was. Most of all, he was generous.
“For those of us lucky enough to work with him, we know that going to work would never be as fun or as much fun. I would put him in the category of legends Kobe Bryant, Mick Jagger, and Winston Churchill. That would sell him less.”
Sumner also received a DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement/Feature Film for his work with Gonzalez Iñárritu in The return. He also received Producers Guild & BAFTA Award nominations Licorice pizza.
Sumner is survived by his wife, Carmen Ruiz de Huidobro, his children, Olivia and Bosco, and his brother, Mark Sumner.
A DGA Scholarship will be established in Somner's name with donation details forthcoming.
Watch Sumner and Murphy's discussion Licorice pizza With Deadline's Anthony D'Alessandro during his 2022 contenders panel below:
