Michael Cimino

Michael Antonio Cimino (/tʃɪˈmiːnoʊ/ chim-EE-noh, Italian: [anˈtɔːnjo tʃiˈmiːno]; February 3, 1939 – July 2, 2016) was an American filmmaker. He achieved fame as the director of The Deer Hunter (1978), which won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.

With a background in painting and architecture, Cimino began his career as a commercial director in New York. He moved to Los Angeles in 1971 to take up screenwriting, co-writing Silent Running (1972) and Magnum Force (1973). Cimino made his directorial debut with Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974), which became one of the year's highest grossing films. He followed his debut's success with The Deer Hunter, earning him widespread renown.

After The Deer Hunter Cimino was given creative control of his next film, Heaven's Gate (1980). The film was negatively received and became one of the biggest box office bombs of all time. Cimino directed four subsequent films, none of which were critically or commercially successful. His final feature-length film The Sunchaser was released in 1996, although Cimino had many projects left unfinished at the time of his death.