A small, intimate and private ceremony was held on a Santa Monica beach last December to mark the first anniversary of the death of Quebec filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée, reports The Hollywood Reporter. A year after his sudden disappearance, the cast and crew of the film Dallas Buyers Club and series Big little lies gathered to pay their respects.
The director of the film CRAZY, who died suddenly amid a pandemic on Christmas Day 2021 — the coroner attributed his death to a “fatal arrhythmia resulting from severe coronary artery atherosclerosis” — his “Hollywood family” hadn’t had a chance to get together to be to honor life.
In what has been described as a “small and intimate private gathering,” various actors, writers, producers, crew, producers and executives from Vallée’s projects such as the Dallas Buyers Club, Big Little Lies, the Sharp Objects series and the film attended Wilde traveled to Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica for a service under the sun – supported by HBO and Searchlight – and hosted by his two sons, Émile and Alex.
After the eulogies, guests walked along the Pacific Ocean during the afternoon’s “magic hour” before throwing roses into the sea.
All guests left with a “mixtape” made by one of Jean-Marc Vallée’s sons. A huge music lover, the filmmaker had a tradition of offering compilations of his favorite songs to his cast and production crew.
“He liked the beach when he was in town,” Nathan Ross, one of his producing partners, told The Hollywood Reporter. The afternoon was perfect and appropriate. Although it’s been a year, it’s clear those who were there were still mourning the seismic loss. He and his work will be missed.”
The Montreal-born director was found dead at his new country house in Berthier-sur-Mer on December 25, 2021 at the age of 58. He died of natural causes after being struck by a heart attack upon arrival.