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The filmmaker, whose doc was meant to be lighthearted and shine a lightweight on President Volodymyr Zelensky, was additionally the longtime producing companion of Robert Rodriguez.
The filmmaker, whose doc was meant to be lighthearted and shine a lightweight on President Volodymyr Zelensky, was additionally the longtime producing companion of Robert Rodriguez.
Aaron Kaufman, who directed the documentary Superpower in regards to the conflict in Ukraine alongside Sean Penn and was a longtime producing companion of Robert Rodriguez, has died. He was 51.
Kaufman died Thursday in Las Vegas, Verdi Productions President Chad Verdi informed The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday. Reviews indicated that Kaufman died of an obvious coronary heart assault.
“It’s a really unhappy time for everybody who liked Aaron,” Verdi wrote in an e-mail to THR. “Aaron handed away Thursday night time. He and I spoke by telephone about 20 minutes previous to 911 being known as. He was in nice spirits and was headed to dinner. Life is brief and household and associates are every part. I miss him loads already.”
Kaufman could also be greatest identified for the Emmy-nominated documentary, however he additionally wrote, directed and produced a number of movies, together with Machete, Machete Kills, Urge and Sin Metropolis: A Dame to Kill For. He additionally government produced The Biggest, Powder Blue, Unfold, 13 Chef and Flock of Dudes.
Earlier than Superpower, Kaufman additionally produced and directed Crusaders: Ex Jehovah’s Witnesses Converse Out, which blew the whistle on the spiritual group’s alleged defending of 1000’s of admitted pedophiles worldwide.
Whereas Penn turned the face of their documentary, Kaufman was the director on the bottom when the conflict started in February 2022, after being in Kyiv within the weeks following Russia’s invasion. The venture was initially meant to shine a lightweight on President Volodymyr Zelensky and inform a “whimsical story of a comic book actor turned president.” However, when the invasion occurred, the movie’s topic modified radically.
“Ukraine is not only a nationwide curiosity for america, it’s america – or at the least a fledgling model attempting its greatest to develop up,” Kaufman wrote in an op-ed in Newsweek about his expertise within the nation’s capital. “We merely can’t ignore this. If we do, we’ve misplaced all sense of who we had been, who we’re, and who we’ll turn into.”
Born in Lengthy Island, New York, Kaufman started a small animation firm in his 20s. He bought the agency after a 12 months, after which started working for Chris Blackwell’s Palm Footage. Within the early 2000s, he based his manufacturing firm, Barbarian Movies.
Kaufman met Rodriguez by means of an agent, and so they labored collectively for six years at Troublemaker Studios and Fast Draw Productions. After their collaboration concluded, he began following his ardour and directing extra movies.
As a director, Kaufman had two upcoming initiatives, Stealing Don Ho and Iron Birds — and each had been accomplished earlier than his demise. He was additionally set to function a producer on The Jet, which continues to be in pre-production.
Kaufman is survived by his three youngsters and his companion Kea, Don Ho’s daughter.
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