‘Still Alice’ Director Richard Glatzer Dead at 63
Sad news to report: Richard Glatzer, who co-directed the movie Still Alice along with his husband Wash Westmoreland, passed away yesterday (March 10) from ALS. He was 63-years-old.
Still Alice, adapted from a novel by Lisa Genova, tells the story of a woman who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's Disease. Glatzer was diagnosed with ALS before eventually signing on to do the movie with his husband. Before his death, Glatzer spoke about the parallels between his story and the one he and Westmoreland ended up directing together via Still Alice and how much his illness ultimately informed his decision to do the movie justice. He said (quote via NPR), "My medical condition made reading the book quite difficult for me. It just cut too close to the bone. But once I'd finished it, I felt determined to make Still Alice into a movie. It really resonated with me."
Julianne Moore wound up taking home an Oscar last month for Best Actress just a few hours after Glatzer was hospitalized due to complications from his illness. According to TIME, he and Westmoreland made the best of the situation as they planned on watching the awards show from Glatzer's hospital bed together.
In her Oscars acceptance speech, Moore mentioned Glatzer, saying, "When Richard was diagnosed with ALS, Wash asked him what he wanted to do. Did he want to travel? Did he want to see the world? And he said he wanted to make movies. And that's what he did."
Our thoughts go out to Richard Glatzer's family and friends during this incredibly difficult time.