James Foley, Director of ‘Glengarry Glen Ross,’ ‘House of Cards’ and ‘Fifty Shades,’ Dies at 71

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James Foley, a renowned filmmaker hailing from Brooklyn, who worked with A-list celebrities such as Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Madonna, Mark Wahlberg, among others, throughout his 30-year-plus career in movies, television, and music videos, has passed away. He was 71 years old.

Foley passed away peacefully during sleep earlier in the week, after battling brain cancer for several years, according to his representative.

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Foley’s rep confirmed that he died peacefully from brain cancer this week, which he had been fighting for a long time.

Foley started his journey as a feature film director with “Reckless” in 1984, featuring Aidan Quinn and Daryl Hannah. This was the beginning of numerous collaborations with Madonna, as he directed her “Dress You Up” music video first, followed by many others like “Live to Tell,” “Papa Don’t Preach,” “True Blue,” “Who’s That Girl,” and “The Look of Love.

In 1986, his subsequent film was “At Close Range,” featuring Sean Penn and Christopher Walken. He then directed “After Dark, My Sweet” starring Jason Patric, Rachel Ward, and Bruce Dern, as well as an episode of “Twin Peaks.” Later, in 1992, he took on the direction of “Glengarry Glen Ross,” based on a script by David Mamet.

The movie was set in the thrilling realm of property development, featuring stars like Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, and Kevin Spacey. Pacino received an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor due to his performance in the film. Later on, Foley and Pacino joined forces again for the 1995 release, titled “Two Bits.

1996 marked the debut of Foley’s suspenseful movie “Fear,” featuring Mark Wahlberg and Reese Witherspoon in lead roles. Despite earning only $20.8 million at the box office, this film played a crucial role in launching the careers of its stars, who have since risen to prominence as two highly successful actor-producers within Hollywood.

Following his role in “Fear”, Foley collaborated with Gene Hackman and Chris O’Donnell for the 1996 film “The Chamber”. He then joined Mark Wahlberg again for the 1999 action movie “The Corruptor”, sharing screen time with Chow Yun-Fat. In 2003, he worked alongside Edward Burns, Rachel Weisz, Andy Garcia, Dustin Hoffman, and Paul Giamatti in the film “Confidence”. Lastly, he acted alongside Halle Berry and Bruce Willis for the 2007 thriller “Perfect Stranger.

After a while, Foley moved on to television work, directing one episode of Hannibal and then joining House of Cards for Netflix’s debut series. Over time, he directed 12 episodes of that highly praised show. Additionally, he took up the camera for two episodes of Billions on Showtime.

Instead, let’s shift focus back to the silver screen, where he assumed control of the “Fifty Shades” series from Sam Taylor-Johnson. He directed the last two installments, namely “Fifty Shades Darker” and “Fifty Shades Freed”, both starring Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan.

He moved back to the movies and took over the “Fifty Shades” series from Sam Taylor-Johnson. He directed the last two films, “Fifty Shades Darker” and “Fifty Shades Freed”, with Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan in the lead roles.

Back in 2017, during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Foley discussed his smooth career transitions. He explained how effortlessly he shifted from television to film, and even ventured into different genre territories.

What I enjoy most about it is its flexibility. My career has been a flexible journey with its share of highs and lows, twists and turns, and I’ve simply pursued what captured my interest at the time, often without much regard for genre. When discussing my new projects in the upcoming Fifty Shades series, this is what I find least appealing – the tendency to categorize someone or label them as a ‘type’ of actor, such as ‘He makes this kind of movie, so if we’re making that type of movie, let’s get him and he’ll make it similar to his previous works.’ This repetition holds no appeal for me personally. Instead, I’ve always preferred to trust my instincts, sometimes leading me astray, but I prefer the adventure.

To me, the top and bottom aspects of this industry are quite similar. The downside is that you can easily be typecast, but luckily for me, I haven’t fallen into that trap yet. This means that I’m still able to make films, even though I move around a lot in my projects. One advantage of Hollywood is its flexibility, as a director’s success isn’t always linear – a director might have both critical and commercial triumphs, but this rarely leads to a continuous string of similar victories, which seems to be the case for no one.

Foley leaves behind his brother, Kevin, as well as his sisters Eileen and Jo Ann. Additionally, he has a nephew named Quinn. Regrettably, another brother of his, Gerard, preceded him in death.

More to come.

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2025-05-08 22:55