American film director James Foley lived from December 28, 1953, until May 6, 2025. The 36th Berlin International Picture Festival entered his 1986 picture, At Close Range. His film credits include The Chamber, which is based on John Grisham’s novel, and Glengarry Glen Ross, which is based on David Mamet’s play. Besides Fifty Shades of Grey, he directed Fifty Shades Freed (2018) and Fifty Shades Darker (2017).
James Foley Obituary : His Biography and Legal Legacy
James Foley Background and education
Foley was born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, to legal parents but raised on Staten Island. He graduated from SUNY Buffalo, a top state university, in 1978. He earned a master’s in film research and production from USC. During his final year, director Hal Ashby viewed his student film at a presentation party for the film school and encouraged him to write a screenplay for his new production company.
FoFoley began directing the low-budget teenage drama Reckless in 1984, despite the business going bankrupt before he finished scripting.came viable in that weird calculus of Hollywood just because someone else thought that I was viable,” stated Foley” This was his assessment.
In 1984, Foley directed his first film, Reckless, which starred Aidan Quinn and Daryl Hannah. He wrote and directed After Dark, My Sweet in 1990, based on a Jim Thompson novel. “After Dark, My Sweet is the picture that eluded audiences; it grossed less than $3 million, has been almost forgotten, and remains one of the purest and most uncompromising of modern film noir,” said Roger Ebert in his Great Movies list. Most significantly, it shows the characters’ loneliness and exhaustion. He directed Glengarry Glen Ross in 1992. His 1999 action film The Corruptor starred Mark Wahlberg and Chow Yun-Fat.
His 2003 picture Confidence starred Edward Burns. Halle Berry starred in his 2007 thriller Perfect Stranger. He directed 12 House of Cards episodes on Netflix. Working with cinematographer Juan Ruiz Anchía on five films and Madonna’s “Live to Tell” music video, he often collaborated.
Brain cancer killed Foley aged 71 on May 6, 2025, in his Los Angeles home.
Honoring James Foley
In moments like these, we feel the loss deeply. James Foley had a profound impact on many lives.
If you have any memories or thoughts to share, please feel free to leave a comment below. Let’s come together to remember and celebrate his life.
Leave a Reply