Adam Somner obit

Adam Somner Dies: Oscar-Nominated Producer, Longtime First AD For Steven Spielberg, Paul Thomas Anderson & Ridley Scott Was 57

 

He was not on the list.

Oscar-nominated producer Adam Somner, who was among the most in-demand first assistant directors in the business during the past few decades, died November 27 from anaplastic thyroid cancer. He was 57.

Somner was the go-to AD for the likes of Steven Spielberg (12 films), Paul Thomas Anderson (six) and Ridley Scott (six). He also worked multiple times with Scott’s brother Tony, Alejandro G. Iñárritu and James Mangold. His most recent films include Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, Steve McQueen’s Blitz and Anderson’s upcoming untitled Warner Bros. film starring Leonardo Di Caprio.

Somner, who had more than 75 AD credits on features, shorts and music videos, and fellow Licorice Pizza producer Sara Murphy were Oscar-nominated for their work on Anderson’s 2022 pic.

Somner’s dozens of films as first AD include Best Picture Oscar winners Birdman and Gladiator; Spielberg’s West Side Story, Lincoln, Munich, Warhorse and two Indiana Jones sequels; Scott’s Black Hawk Down, G.I. Jane and Kingdom of Heaven; and Anderson’s There Will Be Blood, Inherent Vice and The Master.

His feature credits for other celebrated filmmakers include James Mangold’s Ford v. Ferrari, Robert Redford’s Lions for Lambs, Tony Scott’s Man of Fire and Spy Game, Stephen Frears’ May Reilly, Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V, and Richard Attenborough’s Shadowland. Somner also worked on TV series including The Hunger, The Governor, Spender and The Wanderer.

“The job title ‘assistant director’ is insufficient to describe what Adam Somner was to me and the contribution he made to my films—just as my left arm is more than just an assistant to my right,” said Spielberg in a statement to Deadline. “He worked as AD, and producer and he performed both of those tasks with equal measures of devotion. He loved making movies. He loved being on the set. It was his gridiron. He was a cheerleader and ball carrier and at times I couldn’t tell if he was following my lead or I was following his. He made everyone who joined the crew feel like they were part of the family. He was a uniter and when things weren’t going according to plan, his English working-class wit and humor, could smooth out the problem through his under-the-breath cursing, laughter, and the backup plan he always seemed to have standing by. He was an icon in his field and an inspiration to anyone who wants a career in the mounting of productions—with the full recognition that it is as creative as it is organizational. Going back to work without Adam will never be the same.”

Somner said during an AFI Conservatory Q&A in 2020. “I think your job as good AD is to be a barometer to the set. If it’s tense, you try and make it less tense. If maybe it’s too slack, you try and snap it up, try and get it to where the chemistry is the right level to do good work.”

Among Somner’s more memorable demonstrations of that skill was overseeing the wild airplane orgy scene in The Wolf of Wall Street.

“It was all in the preparation,” he told DGA Quarterly. Somner choreographed the scene carefully, pairing off actors to create controlled scenes so everyone felt comfortable.

“It would be like, ‘You two are doing this over here,’ and ‘You two are doing that over there,’ and then sometimes I’d be with Marty and he’d be like, ‘Can you have something going on over there?’ We were working in a secure environment that was preset,” Somner said. “Everyone was prepped. So when we wanted them to go nuts, they could go nuts. Everyone was working in set boundaries.”

Scorsese said he “never would have been able to make The Wolf of Wall Street or Killers of the Flower Moon without him.

“Adam Somner was credited as an Assistant Director and a Producer on three of my pictures, but his presence meant more to me and to the films than any credits could really even indicate,” he said in a statement to Deadline. “Adam had a very special and very particular set of qualities—the organizational abilities and the discipline of a general on the battlefield; a unique ability to work as closely with me or with any director as two dancers doing a routine or two musicians bouncing off each other; and an extraordinary artistry when it came to organizing and orchestrating movement in the frame. Adam Somner embodied and practiced all of it. I would never have been able to make The Wolf of Wall Street or Killers of the Flower Moon without him, and we were in the middle of planning another project. He passed away far too early, and I will miss him terribly. He loved “making pictures,” as he put it. He was one of the finest collaborators I could ask for, and I know that my fellow directors would say the same.”

 

Licorice Pizza writer-director Anderson also paid tribute to Somner: “Adam loved making films more than anyone else ever in the history of the movie business. It was food and drink to him. He made everyone who worked with him feel safe,” said Anderson. “He saw everything from all sides at once and had a back up plan to the back up plan to the back up plan. He moved mountains and trucks and people like he was moving a salt shaker across a table. It was glorious to watch him work.

“He knew how to make a film better than anyone else. His intuition and talent was second only to how deeply funny and loving he was. Most of all and above everything, he was generous.

“For those of us lucky enough to work with him, we know going to work will never be the same or as much fun. I would rank him in the Kobe Bryant, Mick Jagger, Winston Churchill category of Legends. And that would be under-selling it.”

Somner also was awarded the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement/Feature Film for his work with Gonzalez Iñárritu on The Revenant. He also got Producers Guild & BAFTA Award noms for Licorice Pizza.

Somner is survived by his wife Carmen Ruiz de Huidobro, his children, Olivia and Bosco and his brother, Mark Somner.

A DGA scholarship in Somner’s name will be established with donation details forthcoming.

Second Unit or Assistant Director

Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson Event Film

first assistant director

Post-production

2025

 

Elliott Heffernan and Saoirse Ronan in Blitz (2024)

Blitz

6.3

first assistant director

2024

 

The Smile: Friend of a Friend (2024)

The Smile: Friend of a Friend

7.0

Music Video

first assistant director

2024

 

Thom Yorke in The Smile: Wall of Eyes (2023)

The Smile: Wall of Eyes

7.8

Short

first assistant director

2023

 

Benedict Cumberbatch in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

7.4

Short

first assistant director

2023

 

Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Lily Gladstone in Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

Killers of the Flower Moon

7.6

first assistant director

2023

 

Rachel Zegler and Ansel Elgort in West Side Story (2021)

West Side Story

7.1

first assistant director

2021

 

Sean Penn, Tom Waits, Christine Ebersole, Bradley Cooper, Harriet Sansom Harris, Maya Rudolph, Nate Mann, Cooper Hoffman, Benny Safdie, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Skyler Gisondo, and Alana Haim in Licorice Pizza (2021)

Licorice Pizza

7.1

first assistant director

2021

 

Christian Bale and Matt Damon in Ford v Ferrari (2019)

Ford v Ferrari

8.1

first assistant director

2019

 

Steven Spielberg, Ben Mendelsohn, George Michael, Simon Pegg, Mark Rylance, Perdita Weeks, Kamara Benjamin Barnett, Mandy June Turpin, T.J. Miller, Lena Waithe, Stephen Mitchell, Neet Mohan, Win Morisaki, Elliot Barnes-Worrell, Kae Alexander, Sarah Sharman, Robert Gilbert, Raed Abbas, Letitia Wright, Tye Sheridan, Asan N'Jie, Hannah John-Kamen, Cara Theobold, Olivia Cooke, Alphonso Austin, Amy Clare Beales, Jane Leaney, Kathryn Wilder, and Philip Zhao in Ready Player One (2018)

Ready Player One

7.4

first assistant director

2018

 

Justin Timberlake: Filthy (2018)

Justin Timberlake: Filthy

6.8

Music Video

first assistant director

2018

 

Timothy Hutton, Andrea Piedimonte Bodini, Nicola Di Chio, Nicolas Vaporidis, Guglielmo Favilla, Cherise Silvestri, and Giuseppe Bonifati in All the Money in the World (2017)

All the Money in the World

6.8

first assistant director: UK

2017

 

Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep in The Post (2017)

The Post

7.2

first assistant director

2017

 

Daniel Day-Lewis and Vicky Krieps in Phantom Thread (2017)

Phantom Thread

7.4

first assistant director

2017

 

Haim, Alana Haim, Danielle Haim, and Este Haim in Haim: Little of Your Love (2017)

Haim: Little of Your Love

6.9

Music Video

first assistant director

2017

 

Haim, Alana Haim, Danielle Haim, and Este Haim in Haim: Right Now (2017)

Haim: Right Now

7.4

Music Video

first assistant director

2017

 

Sareum Srey Moch in First They Killed My Father (2017)

First They Killed My Father

7.2

first assistant director

2017

 

Mark Rylance and Ruby Barnhill in The BFG (2016)

The BFG

6.3

first assistant director

2016

 

Radiohead: Daydreaming (2016)

Radiohead: Daydreaming

8.4

Music Video

assistant director

2016

 

Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant (2015)

The Revenant

8.0

first assistant director: Montana, Argentina, Los Angeles

2015

 

Tom Hanks in Bridge of Spies (2015)

Bridge of Spies

7.6

first assistant director

2015

 

Joaquin Phoenix in Inherent Vice (2014)

Inherent Vice

6.6

first assistant director

2014

 

Edward Norton, Zach Galifianakis, Amy Ryan, Naomi Watts, Emma Stone, and Andrea Riseborough in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

7.7

assistant director: Montreal

assistant director: additional New York photography

2014

 

Leonardo DiCaprio, Chris Kerson, and Jonah Hill in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

The Wolf of Wall Street

8.2

first assistant director

2013

 

Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln (2012)

Lincoln

7.3

first assistant director

2012

 

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix, and Amy Adams in The Master (2012)

The Master

7.1

first assistant director

2012

 

Loom (2012)

Loom

6.3

Short

first assistant director

2012

 

Jeremy Irvine in War Horse (2011)

War Horse

7.2

first assistant director

2011

 

Jamie Bell and Joe Starr in The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

The Adventures of Tintin

7.3

first assistant director

2011

 

Johnny Depp, Alfred Molina, Ian Abercrombie, Ned Beatty, Harry Dean Stanton, Gil Birmingham, James Ward Byrkit, Isla Fisher, Bill Nighy, Timothy Olyphant, Stephen Root, Ray Winstone, and Abigail Breslin in Rango (2011)

Rango

7.3

first assistant director: emotion capture unit

2011

 

Denzel Washington and Chris Pine in Unstoppable (2010)

Unstoppable

6.8

first assistant director

2010

 

Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Cate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf, and Ray Winstone in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

6.2

first assistant director

2008

 

Tom Cruise, Robert Redford, and Meryl Streep in Lions for Lambs (2007)

Lions for Lambs

6.2

first assistant director

2007

 

Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood (2007)

There Will Be Blood

8.2

first assistant director

2007

 

Eric Bana in Munich (2005)

Munich

7.5

first assistant director

2005

 

Tom Cruise, Tim Robbins, Miranda Otto, Ed Vassallo, Michael Arthur, Becky Ann Baker, Gene Barry, David Alan Basche, John Michael Bolger, Justin Chatwin, Robert Cicchini, Vito D'Ambrosio, Marianne Ebert, John Eddins, Dakota Fanning, Daniel Franzese, Peter Gerety, Stephen Gevedon, Rick Gonzalez, Jim Hanna, Danny Hoch, Tracy Howe, Omar Jermaine, Erika LaVonn, Adam Lazarre-White, Mark Manley, Mariann Mayberry, Sharrieff Pugh, Ana Maria Quintana, Zoe Quist, Ann Robinson, Amy Ryan, Camillia Monet, John Scurti, Yul Vazquez, Lenny Venito, Jerry Walsh, Lisa Ann Walter, Christopher Evan Welch, Julie White, Marlon Young, David Harbour, Michael Brownlee, Rafael Sardina, Ty Simpkins, Tommy Guiffre, January LaVoy, Miguel Antonio Ferrer, Lorelei Llee, and Roz Abrams in War of the Worlds (2005)

War of the Worlds

6.5

first assistant director

2005

 

Orlando Bloom in Kingdom of Heaven (2005)

Kingdom of Heaven

7.3

first assistant director

2005

 

Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning in Man on Fire (2004)

Man on Fire

7.7

assistant director (uncredited)

2004

 

Tobey Maguire in Siskel & Ebert (1986)

Seabiscuit

7.3

first assistant director

2003

 

Sean Connery, Jason Flemyng, Tony Curran, Naseeruddin Shah, Stuart Townsend, Shane West, and Peta Wilson in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

5.8

first assistant director: la shoot

2003

 

Rowan Atkinson in Johnny English (2003)

Johnny English

6.3

first assistant director

2003

 

The Cat Returns (2002)

The Cat Returns

7.1

second assistant director

2002

 

Josh Hartnett in Black Hawk Down (2001)

Black Hawk Down

7.7

first assistant director: second unit

2001

 

Brad Pitt and Robert Redford in Spy Game (2001)

Spy Game

7.1

second assistant director

2001

 

Promo Poster

Just Visiting

5.7

second assistant director: UK

2001

 

Anthony Hopkins in Hannibal (2001)

Hannibal

6.8

second assistant director

2001

 

Zoe (2001)

Zoe

6.8

first assistant director: London

2001

 

Russell Crowe in Gladiator (2000)

Gladiator

8.5

second assistant director

2000

 

The Mummy (1999)

The Mummy

7.1

second assistant director

1999

 

The Avengers (1998)

The Avengers

3.8

second assistant director

1998

 

Demi Moore in G.I. Jane (1997)

G.I. Jane

6.0

second assistant director

1997

 

Event Horizon (1997)

Event Horizon

6.6

second assistant director: additional unit

1997

 

The Hunger (1997)

The Hunger

6.2

TV Series

second assistant director

1997

2 episodes

 

Glenn Close in 101 Dalmatians (1996)

101 Dalmatians

5.7

second assistant director

1996

 

Julia Roberts in Mary Reilly (1996)

Mary Reilly

5.8

second assistant director

1996

 

White Squall (1996)

White Squall

6.6

second assistant director

1996

 

Janet McTeer in The Governor (1995)

The Governor

7.2

TV Series

second assistant director

1995–1996

 

Jason Scott Lee, Bombay, Lowell, Shadow, Casey, Buck, and Teddy in The Jungle Book (1994)

The Jungle Book

6.1

second second assistant director

1994

 

Richard Dean Anderson in MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday (1994)

MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday

6.1

TV Movie

second assistant director

1994

 

The Wanderer (1994)

The Wanderer

8.2

TV Series

second assistant director

1994

1 episode

 

MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis (1994)

MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis

6.3

TV Movie

second assistant director

1994

 

Spender (1991)

Spender

7.5

TV Series

second assistant director

1993

1 episode

 

Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger in Shadowlands (1993)

Shadowlands

7.3

assistant director: second unit

1993

 

Screen One (1985)

Screen One

6.8

TV Series

second assistant director

1993

1 episode

 

Roberto Benigni in Son of the Pink Panther (1993)

Son of the Pink Panther

3.9

co-second assistant director

1993

 

Andie MacDowell and Liam Neeson in Deception (1992)

Deception

5.0

second assistant director: second unit

1992

 

Gérard Depardieu in 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)

1492: Conquest of Paradise

6.4

assistant director

1992

 

Patrick Swayze in City of Joy (1992)

City of Joy

6.5

third assistant director

1992

 

John Gielgud, Morgan Freeman, Stephen Dorff, Simon Fenton, Fay Masterson, Alois Moyo, and Guy Witcher in The Power of One (1992)

The Power of One

7.1

second assistant director

1992

 

Kevin Costner in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

6.9

third assistant director

1991

 

Sean Connery, Michelle Pfeiffer, John Mahoney, Roy Scheider, Klaus Maria Brandauer, and James Fox in The Russia House (1990)

The Russia House

6.1

third assistant director

1990

 

Lena Olin and Robert Redford in Havana (1990)

Havana

6.1

third assistant director (uncredited)

1990

 

Steve Guttenberg, Tom Selleck, Ted Danson, and Robin Weisman in Three Men and a Little Lady (1990)

Three Men and a Little Lady

5.5

third assistant director: UK (uncredited)

1990

 

Sean Astin, Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, D.B. Sweeney, Billy Zane, Harry Connick Jr., Tate Donovan, Reed Diamond, Courtney Gains, and Neil Giuntoli in Memphis Belle (1990)

Memphis Belle

6.9

third assistant director: aerial unit

1990

 

The Old Man and the Sea (1990)

The Old Man and the Sea

6.7

TV Movie

third assistant director (uncredited)

1990

 

Treasure Island (1990)

Treasure Island

7.0

TV Movie

assistant director: second unit, Jamaica

1990

 

Kenneth Branagh in Henry V (1989)

Henry V

7.5

third assistant director

1989

 

Great Balls of Fire! (1989)

Great Balls of Fire!

6.3

third assistant director: UK (uncredited)

1989

 

Sean Connery, Harrison Ford, Denholm Elliott, Michael Byrne, Alison Doody, and John Rhys-Davies in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

8.2

third assistant director: second unit

1989

 

Producer

Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson Event Film

producer

Post-production

2025

 

Elliott Heffernan and Saoirse Ronan in Blitz (2024)

Blitz

6.3

producer

2024

 

Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Lily Gladstone in Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

Killers of the Flower Moon

7.6

executive producer

2023

 

Rachel Zegler and Ansel Elgort in West Side Story (2021)

West Side Story

7.1

executive producer

2021

 

Sean Penn, Tom Waits, Christine Ebersole, Bradley Cooper, Harriet Sansom Harris, Maya Rudolph, Nate Mann, Cooper Hoffman, Benny Safdie, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Skyler Gisondo, and Alana Haim in Licorice Pizza (2021)

Licorice Pizza

7.1

producer (produced by)

2021

 

Christian Bale and Matt Damon in Ford v Ferrari (2019)

Ford v Ferrari

8.1

co-producer

2019

 

Steven Spielberg, Ben Mendelsohn, George Michael, Simon Pegg, Mark Rylance, Perdita Weeks, Kamara Benjamin Barnett, Mandy June Turpin, T.J. Miller, Lena Waithe, Stephen Mitchell, Neet Mohan, Win Morisaki, Elliot Barnes-Worrell, Kae Alexander, Sarah Sharman, Robert Gilbert, Raed Abbas, Letitia Wright, Tye Sheridan, Asan N'Jie, Hannah John-Kamen, Cara Theobold, Olivia Cooke, Alphonso Austin, Amy Clare Beales, Jane Leaney, Kathryn Wilder, and Philip Zhao in Ready Player One (2018)

Ready Player One

7.4

executive producer

2018

 

Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep in The Post (2017)

The Post

7.2

executive producer

2017

 

Daniel Day-Lewis and Vicky Krieps in Phantom Thread (2017)

Phantom Thread

7.4

executive producer

2017

 

Sareum Srey Moch in First They Killed My Father (2017)

First They Killed My Father

7.2

executive producer

2017

 

Mark Rylance and Ruby Barnhill in The BFG (2016)

The BFG

6.3

co-producer

2016

 

Tom Hanks in Bridge of Spies (2015)

Bridge of Spies

7.6

executive producer

2015

 

Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)

Exodus: Gods and Kings

6.0

co-producer

2014

 

Joaquin Phoenix in Inherent Vice (2014)

Inherent Vice

6.6

executive producer

2014

 

Leonardo DiCaprio, Chris Kerson, and Jonah Hill in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

The Wolf of Wall Street

8.2

co-producer

2013

 

Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln (2012)

Lincoln

7.3

co-producer

2012

 

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix, and Amy Adams in The Master (2012)

The Master

7.1

executive producer

2012

 

Jeremy Irvine in War Horse (2011)

War Horse

7.2

co-producer

2011

 

Jamie Bell and Joe Starr in The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

The Adventures of Tintin

7.3

associate producer

2011

 

Denzel Washington and Chris Pine in Unstoppable (2010)

Unstoppable

6.8

co-producer

2010

 

Additional Crew

Madame Sousatzka (1988)

Madame Sousatzka

6.6

assistant to location manager

1988

 

Frank Sinatra, Christopher Lloyd, Kathleen Turner, Joanna Cassidy, Bob Hoskins, Jim Cummings, and Charles Fleischer in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

7.7

production runner: UK

1988

 

Consuming Passions (1988)

Consuming Passions

5.5

runner

trainee

1988

 

Gene Hackman, Mariel Hemingway, Jon Cryer, Christopher Reeve, Jackie Cooper, Margot Kidder, Marc McClure, and Mark Pillow in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

3.7

production runner

1987

 

Duet for One (1986)

Duet for One

6.7

key production runner

1986

 

Strong Medicine (1986)

Strong Medicine

6.5

TV Movie

key production runner

1986