When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Already a subscriber? Log in .

You've reached your limit of one free article.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime .

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Exclusive International news coverage

Ad-free experience NEW

Weekly digital Magazine NEW

9 daily & weekly Newsletters

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Free trial

30-days free access, then $2.90
per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch
Sources

Top Gun Director, Tony Scott Dead In Apparent Suicide

NEW YORK TIMES, LOS ANGELES TIMES, VARIETY, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER (USA)

Worldcrunch

LOS ANGELES - Tony Scott, the British-born director of high-octane blockbusters like Top Gun and Days of Thunder, jumped to his death from a Los Angeles bridge on Sunday. He was 68, reports the New York Times.

NOOOOOOO!!! #TonyScott Why??? Thanks for doing a school out of your work. Godspeed. twitter.com/mundodelguy/st…

— PixL (@mundodelguy) August 20, 2012

His body was pulled out of the water by the Los Angeles Port Police, says the Los Angeles Times. Several witnesses told police they saw Scott get out of his car, which was parked on the Vincent Thomas Bridge, around 12:30pm. He then scaled a fence and jumped, according to law enforcement sources.

A note listing contact information was found inside Scott’s car; a suicide note was later found in his office.

Tony Scott, brother of Oscar-nominated director Ridley Scott, was known for helming such blockbusters as Spy Game, True Romance, Crimson Tide and Unstoppable, writes Variety. In recent years he had been more active as a producer of film and TV fare. Among his many TV projects were drama series The Good Wife and Numbers, and the mini-series Pillars of the Earth.

Scott was one of the first filmmakers to make the transition from commercials to features, writes the Hollywood Reporter. He directed thousands of TV spots.

In 1985, producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckenheimer signed Scott to direct Top Gun, impressed by a commercial he had done for Swedish automaker Saab, in which a car raced a fighter jet.

No more Tony Scott movies. Tragic day

— Ron Howard (@RealRonHoward) August 20, 2012

Tony Scott. Tony Scott was one of the, if not the, warmest and generous directors for whom I've ever worked. … tmblr.co/ZJsEOyRn4mk7

— Adam Goldberg (@TheAdamGoldberg) August 20, 2012

This is just tragic. A VERY successful filmmaker who chose to end his own life. Confuses me so much. Condolences to Tony Scott's family.

— Scott Weinberg (@scottEweinberg) August 20, 2012

Tony Scott was the best mentor - when he saw something punk rock that he could slip through the system... he pounced.

— Richard Kelly (@JRichardKelly) August 20, 2012

Deeply saddened to hear the news about Tony Scott. A fine film-maker and the most charming, modest man.

— Stephen Fry (@stephenfry) August 20, 2012

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

FOCUS: Israel-Palestine War

After Abbas: Here Are The Three Frontrunners To Be The Next Palestinian Leader

Israel and the West have often asked: Where is the Palestinian Mandela? The divided regimes between Gaza and the West Bank continues to make it difficult to imagine the future Palestinian leader. Still, these three names are worth considering.

Photo of Mahmoud Abbas speaking into microphone

Abbas is 88, and has been the leading Palestinian political figure since 2005

Thaer Ganaim/APA Images via ZUMA
Elias Kassem

Updated Dec. 5, 2023 at 12:05 a.m.

Israel has set two goals for its Gaza war: destroying Hamas and releasing hostages.

But it has no answer to, nor is even asking the question: What comes next?

The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the return of the current Palestinian Authority to govern post-war Gaza. That stance seems opposed to the U.S. Administration’s call to revitalize the Palestinian Authority (PA) to assume power in the coastal enclave.

For the latest news & views from every corner of the world, Worldcrunch Today is the only truly international newsletter. Sign up here.

But neither Israel nor the U.S. put a detailed plan for a governing body in post-war Gaza, let alone offering a vision for a bonafide Palestinian state that would also encompass the West Bank.

The Palestinian Authority, which administers much of the occupied West Bank, was created in1994 as part of the Oslo Accords peace agreement. It’s now led by President Mahmoud Abbas, who succeeded Yasser Arafat in 2005. Over the past few years, the question of who would succeed Abbas, now 88 years old, has largely dominated internal Palestinian politics.

But that question has gained new urgency — and was fundamentally altered — with the war in Gaza.

Keep reading...Show less

The latest