Jean-Marc Vallée, the Canadian filmmaker behind critically-acclaimed dramas such as Dallas Buyers Club, Wild, and Big Little Lies died this week at the age of 58. Vallée was found dead in his cabin on the river outside Quebec City, likely due to a heart attack. He was reportedly preparing to host guests there for the Christmas holiday. Following the tragic news, his close collaborators, including Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon are paying tribute to him.
Nicole Kidman took to her Instagram to honor the late director, speaking about how she is “shattered” by Jean-Marc Vallée’s passing. You can check out her post below:
Nicole Kidman worked closely with Vallée on the challenging role of Celeste Wright in Big Little Lies, which earned them both Primetime Emmys in 2017. The actress said the late filmmaker was responsible for “some of the most rewarding professional experiences” of her career. As Kidman grieves the loss, colleagues, including Naomi Watts and Rita Wilson took to the comment section to offer their sympathies.
Reese Witherspoon also worked with Jean-Marc Vallée on Big Little Lies, along with their work on the 2014 film, Wild. Her tribute to the filmmaker included a number of on-set photos of the pair:
Their mutual co-star, Laura Dern (also in Big Little Lies and Wild), shared a sweet photo with her and Jean-Marc Vallée laughing together. She called him one of “our great and purest artists and dreamers”:
The filmmaker touched many of his collaborators in Hollywood, including Matthew McConaughey, who starred in his film, Dallas Buyers Club, in 2013 and would go on to win an Oscar for the role. The actor said that “love stories were everywhere in his eye” when speaking about Vallée's work.
Alongside McConaughey on Dallas Buyers Club was Jared Leto, who also took some time to pay tribute to the filmmaker. Leto shared that Jean-Marc Vallée changed his life with the role of Rayon. The actor shared a photo of him on the night he won a Golden Globe for their movie.
Jean-Marc Vallée was a director, film editor, screenwriter, and producer. He was born in Montreal in 1963, and got his start making short films in his home of Canada. His early films were C.R.A.Z.Y. and The Young Victoria, before finding his most acclaimed film in Best Picture nominee, Dallas Buyers Club. In the years following, he made Wild and Demolition and worked closely with Reese Witherspoon’s production company to develop Big Little Lies for HBO, along with making the miniseries, Sharp Objects, with Blumhouse and Amy Adams.
Vallée left behind an incredible body of work we’ll look to for generations to come. The Hollywood community and fans of his movies and TV projects will miss him. Here at CinemaBlend, we send our deepest sympathies to his family, friends, colleagues, and fans.
