Jim Spellman/Getty Images for Film at Lincoln Center
British director Michael Apted died Thursday evening at the age of 79. Apted was a prolific film director perhaps most well-known for directing the Up series, a documentary series about fourteen 7-year-olds. Apted continued to do a new installment about whichever members of the group chose to participate every seven years. The series began in 1964 and went on until 2019, when the film’s subjects were 63. Apted was also famous for directing Coal Miner’s Daughter, Gorillas in the Mist and Gorky Park, among many other movies. “A fearless visionary as a director and unparalleled guild leader, Michael saw the trajectory of things when others didn't, and we were all the beneficiaries of his wisdom and lifelong dedication,” said Thomas Schlamme, head of the Directors Guild of America, where Apted was president for six years. The cause of Apted’s death is not yet known.
