LONDON, Jan 8, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – British director Michael Apted, best known
for the generation-spanning TV documentary series “Up” and a 1990s James Bond
film, died on Friday at the age of 79, an industry group said.
He directed many films, including 1980’s “Coal Miner’s Daughter”, 1988’s
“Gorillas in the Mist” and the 1998 Bond film “The World is Not Enough”.
But he was best known for “Up”, a pioneering documentary series which
followed the lives 14 Britons from different backgrounds, starting from when
they were seven in 1964.
The series checked in on the 14 every seven years until they turned 63 in
2019, the work spanning an astonishing 56 years.
“Our hearts are heavy today as we mourn the passing of esteemed director,
longtime DGA leader and my friend Michael Apted,” said Thomas Schlamme,
president of the Directors Guild of America, a post once held by Apted.
“His legacy will be forever woven into the fabric of cinema,” Schlamme
said in a statement, praising the “steady hand, acerbic wit” of the “fearless
visionary”.
Kevin Lygo, the head of Britain’s ITV which aired “Up”, said the channel
was deeply saddened by his passing.
“The ‘Up’ series demonstrated the possibilities of television at its
finest in its ambition and its capacity to hold up a mirror to society and
engage with and entertain people while enriching our perspective on the human
condition,” he said in a statement.