Jeremy Thomas Tributes: Figures From Across The Industry Remember Legendary UK Producer Of ‘The Last Emperor’ & ‘Crash’
Veteran British film producer Jeremy Thomas has died at the age of 77, prompting tributes from across the film industry. His family announced that he passed away peacefully at his home in Oxfordshire on 11 September 2026, surrounded by loved ones, with the news breaking on the final day of the 83rd Venice Film Festival, where he had a producing credit on Werner Herzog's Bucking Fastard.
Thomas amassed more than 80 credits over a career spanning five decades, most notably Bernardo Bertolucci's Oscar-winning The Last Emperor, which won nine Academy Awards in 1987, as well as Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, Sexy Beast and Crash. Born in 1949 into a filmmaking family, he founded the independent production company Recorded Picture Company in the 1970s and later Hanway Films in 1998. Figures including Sony Pictures Classics' Tom Bernard, filmmaker Whit Stillman, Amazon's Scott Foundas and Edinburgh Film Festival's Paul Ridd praised him as a generous, singular and influential figure in cinema.
- Producer Jeremy Thomas, 77, has died in Oxfordshire
- Won nine Oscars for The Last Emperor in 1987
- Industry figures pay tribute to his 80+ film career
New here? Start with this
Jeremy Thomas was one of British cinema's most respected independent producers, known for backing bold, often risky films by acclaimed directors over a five-decade career. His company, Recorded Picture Company, founded in the 1970s, became a fixture of international arthouse filmmaking, and he later set up the sales and distribution outfit Hanway Films in 1998.
His best-known work includes Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor, which swept the Oscars in 1987, alongside films such as Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, Sexy Beast and Crash. He worked with major directors including Bertolucci and Werner Herzog, and was still actively producing at the time of his death, with a credit at the 2026 Venice Film Festival.
Thomas died on 11 September 2026 at the age of 77, prompting tributes from figures across the film industry who described him as an influential and generous presence in cinema. The tributes reflect his standing as a champion of independent, director-led filmmaking rather than mainstream studio productions.