Andras Hamori obit

Andras Hamori, Producer of ‘The Sweet Hereafter’ and ‘eXistenZ,’ Dies at 71

He emerged from Hungary and Toronto to guide such other films as ‘Sunshine,’ ‘The Gate,’ ‘Chéri’ and ‘Owning Mahowny.’ 

He was not on the list.

Andras Hamori, the Hungarian film and television producer whose credits included Atom Egoyan‘s The Sweet Hereafter, István Szabó’s Sunshine and David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ, has died. He was 71.

Hamori died Sept. 2 in Budapest after a long illness that prevented him from working in recent years, his friend Mia Taylor announced.

Hamori, who worked out of Toronto early in his career and was a partner in Alliance Entertainment, also guided the cult horror classic The Gate (1987), starring Stephen Dorff in his first major role; Stephen Frears’ Chéri (2009), starring Michelle Pfeiffer; and the 2014 History Channel miniseries Houdini, starring Adrien Brody.

The Sweet Hereafter (1997), which earned Egoyan Oscar nominations for best director and adapted screenplay, revolved around a school bus accident in a Canadian town that killed 14 children.

Sunshine (1999) told the story of several generations of a Jewish family set against the backdrop of Hungarian history. It starred Ralph Fiennes, was nominated for three Golden Globes and won Canada’s Genie Award for best picture.

After teaming with Cronenberg on Crash (1996), Hamori reunited with the iconic Canadian filmmaker on eXistenZ (1999), starring Jennifer Jason Leigh as a woman caught in a deadly video game that she had created.

Hamori was born on July 17, 1953, in Budapest as the only son of Sandor and Zsuzsa, a Jewish couple who survived the Nazi occupation of Hungary and met and married after World War II.

He worked as a film critic and made several short films in the 1970s, but his ambition was to be a movie producer. Hungarian-Canadian theater director John Hirsch encouraged him to come to Toronto, and he defected in 1981, moving into Hirsch’s basement.

In Toronto, he worked for producer and fellow Hungarian Robert Lantos and eventually became a partner in Alliance.

Later, Hamori moved to Los Angeles to launch H2O Motion Pictures and returned to Hungary as the producer he had aspired to be, shooting projects in his home country. He also gave himself the occasional cameo in his films.

His résumé included The Magic Hunter (1994), from Hungarian director Ildikó Enyedi; Lynne Ramsay’s Morvern Callar (2002); Max (2002), starring John Cusack; Owning Mahowny (2003), starring Philip Seymour Hoffman; Fateless (2005), directed by Lajos Koltai; Fugitive Pieces (2007), starring Rosamund Pike; and Formula 51 (2001) and The Samaritan (2012), both starring Samuel L. Jackson.

Survivors include his children, Chloe, Ben and Jake.

Producer

Diego Luna in Casanova (2015)

Casanova

7.0

TV Movie

co-producer

2015

 

Adrien Brody in Houdini (2014)

Houdini

7.3

TV Mini Series

executive producer (as András Hámori)

2014

2 episodes

 

Vinyl (2012)

Vinyl

5.9

executive producer

2012

 

Samuel L. Jackson and Ruth Negga in The Samaritan (2012)

The Samaritan

5.6

producer

2012

 

Bibliothèque Pascal (2010)

Bibliothèque Pascal

7.0

producer

2010

 

That's for Me! (2009)

That's for Me!

executive producer

2009

 

Michelle Pfeiffer in Chéri (2009)

Chéri

6.1

producer

2009

 

Fugitive Pieces (2007)

Fugitive Pieces

6.9

executive producer

2007

 

Opium: Diary of a Madwoman (2007)

Opium: Diary of a Madwoman

6.4

producer

2007

 

David Schwimmer, Simon Pegg, and Alice Eve in Big Nothing (2006)

Big Nothing

6.7

producer

2006

 

Marcell Nagy in Fateless (2005)

Fateless

7.0

producer

2005

 

Minnie Driver, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and John Hurt in Owning Mahowny (2003)

Owning Mahowny

7.0

producer (produced by)

2003

 

John Cusack and Noah Taylor in Max (2002)

Max

6.4

producer

2002

 

Morvern Callar (2002)

Morvern Callar

6.8

executive producer

2002

 

Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Carlyle in Formula 51 (2001)

Formula 51

6.3

producer

2001

 

The Third Lie

7.0

Short

producer

2000

 

Sunshine (1999)

Sunshine

7.5

producer

1999

 

A Room for Romeo Brass (1999)

A Room for Romeo Brass

7.5

executive producer

1999

 

Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh in eXistenZ (1999)

eXistenZ

6.8

producer

1999

 

Rachael Leigh Cook, Kirsten Dunst, Gaby Hoffmann, and Monica Keena in Strike! (1998)

Strike!

6.6

executive producer

1998

 

The Sweet Hereafter (1997)

The Sweet Hereafter

7.4

executive producer

1997

 

Rosanna Arquette, Elias Koteas, James Spader, and Deborah Kara Unger in Crash (1996)

Crash

6.4

co-executive producer

1996

 

Antonio Banderas and Rebecca De Mornay in Never Talk to Strangers (1995)

Never Talk to Strangers

5.2

producer

1995

 

Büvös vadász (1994)

Büvös vadász

6.2

producer

1994

 

Alan Rickman and Amanda Ooms in Mesmer (1994)

Mesmer

5.8

co-producer

1994

 

Rob Stewart in Tropical Heat (1991)

Tropical Heat

7.6

TV Series

executive producer

1991–1993

44 episodes

 

City Boy (1992)

City Boy

5.9

TV Movie

executive producer

1992

 

Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris (1992)

Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris

7.3

TV Movie

producer

1992

 

South of Wawa (1991)

South of Wawa

7.0

executive producer

1991

 

Lori Singer and Marcia Cross in Storm and Sorrow (1990)

Storm and Sorrow

5.5

TV Movie

producer

1990

 

Gate 2: The Trespassers (1990)

Gate 2: The Trespassers

4.8

producer

1990

 

Daughter of Darkness (1990)

Daughter of Darkness

5.1

TV Movie

producer

1990

 

Food of the Gods II (1989)

Food of the Gods II

4.1

executive producer

1989

 

Louis Gossett Jr., Maury Chaykin, Jason Blicker, Colm Feore, Sharon Hacohen, Mark Humphrey, and Clark Johnson in Iron Eagle II (1988)

Iron Eagle II

3.9

executive producer

1988

 

Scott Hylands and Jeff Wincott in Night Heat (1985)

Night Heat

7.4

TV Series

supervising producer

producer

1985–1988

15 episodes

 

Mare Winningham and Dorian Harewood in God Bless the Child (1988)

God Bless the Child

7.3

TV Movie

producer

1988

 

Amy Madigan in Nowhere to Hide (1987)

Nowhere to Hide

5.8

producer

1987

 

The Gate (1987)

The Gate

6.0

co-producer

1987

 

Separate Vacations (1986)

Separate Vacations

4.5

associate producer

1986

 

Big Deal (1985)

Big Deal

4.7

producer

1985

 

Night Magic (1985)

Night Magic

6.3

production executive

1985

 

Heavenly Bodies (1984)

Heavenly Bodies

5.2

associate producer

1984

 

Additional Crew

A Room for Romeo Brass (1999)

A Room for Romeo Brass

7.5

head of production: Alliance Atlantis

1999

 

Joshua Then and Now (1985)

Joshua Then and Now

6.5

production executive: RSL

1985

 

American Playhouse (1980)

American Playhouse

7.3

TV Series

assistant to producer

1984

1 episode

 

Actor

Michelle Pfeiffer in Chéri (2009)

Chéri

6.1

Silver Haired Industrialist

2009

 

Scott Hylands and Jeff Wincott in Night Heat (1985)

Night Heat

7.4

TV Series

Rob Carver

1986

1 episode