George Armitage, who directed, wrote and produced movies together with “Grosse Pointe Blank” and “Miami Blues,” died Saturday in Playa del Rey, his son Brent confirmed. He was 83.
Raised in Hartford, Conn., Armitage began out within the twentieth Century Fox mailroom earlier than changing into affiliate producer on the long-running sequence “Peyton Place” within the Nineteen Sixties. He met Roger Corman on the Fox lot and moved into characteristic movies, writing the Corman-produced 1970 comedy “Fuel! – Or – It Grew to become Essential to Destroy the World in Order to Save It.”
He continued making movies for Corman and his brother Gene Corman, shifting into directing with “Personal Responsibility Nurses.” The 1972 Blaxploitation movie “Hit Man,” which he directed and co-wrote, starred Pam Grier and Bernie Casey. Subsequent up was “Vigilante Power,” with Kris Kristofferson and Jan-Michael Vincent, and the TV film “Sizzling Rod.”
“Kaplan, Demme, Dante, Arkush and me… We have been making little 45 RPM rock ’n’ roll motion pictures. Identical material as early rock songs and similar lack of respect till… That is what made us totally different even from Roger, who was half a technology forward, a liberal however no rocker,” he told Film Comment in 2015.
Armitage’s subsequent movie as director, the 1990 comedic thriller “Miami Blues,” was primarily based on a Charles Willeford novel. Starring Alec Baldwin and Fred Ward, it garnered consideration for Jennifer Jason-Leigh’s efficiency. Additionally in 1990, Armitage co-wrote cop actioner “Final of the Most interesting.”
He was Emmy-nominated for co-writing the 1996 TV film “The Late Shift,” the story of the rivalry between David Letterman and Jay Leno over who would succeed Johnny Carson.
Armitage subsequent directed the well-received comedy “Grosse Pointe Clean,” starring Dan Aykroyd, John Cusack and Minnie Driver within the story of knowledgeable murderer who is distributed to the suburb the place his highschool reunion is happening.
“With ‘Grosse Pointe Clean’ I shot three motion pictures concurrently. We shot the script as written, we shot a mildly understated model, and we shot a very over-the-top model, which often was what was used. We solid that film—and I’ve solid most motion pictures—by having the actors are available in and skim, then throwing the script out and saying: “Okay, let’s improvise.” That’s what I used to be snug with. I say to the actors: “You might be creating the character. That is written, these are the parameters, that is the define. Now you are taking this, make it your personal, and produce me, carry me, carry me,” Armitage advised Movie Remark.
His closing credit score was the 2004 crime pic “The Large Bounce,” starring Owen Wilson and Morgan Freeman in a narrative co-written by Elmore Leonard.
He was a longtime member of the WGA, DGA and the Academy.
He’s survived by his spouse of 63 years, Sharon, son Brent, a writer-producer, and grandchildren Caroline and Nick.
