Tony Scott

Director Tony Scott established himself in the mid-1980s as one of mainstream Hollywood's more reliable and stylish action filmmakers. Scott built a solid reputation with his work for producers Jerry Bruckheimer and the late Don Simpson on several of the highest grossing films, starting with "Top Gun" (1986), a high-concept action movie that made a mega-star out of the film's lead, Tom Cruise. Scott also scored a cult-like triumph with the underrated "True Romance" (1993), penned by rising indie filmmaker Quentin Tarantino. After helming the commercially viable action thriller "Crimson Tide" (1995), he directed "Enemy of the State" (1998), a rich and compelling political thriller that many considered to be the best film in the Scott canon. As he focused more on producing quality television movies and miniseries like "The Gathering Storm" (HBO, 2002) and "The Company" (TNT, 2007), Scott continued making stylish commercial films, though his tragic suicide in August 2012 cut short a brilliant career that always managed to maintain significant audience interest.