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J. Todd Anderson, the storyboard artist behind films like “The Nice Guys” and “Raising Arizona” and a longtime Coen Brothers collaborator, has died following a battle with cancer. He was 67.
His death was confirmed in
a Facebook post on Oct. 3 by his “Filmically Perfect” podcast co-host, George Willeman. “My erstwhile pod-partner, J. Todd Anderson, passed away October 2nd in California,” Willeman wrote. “We had gotten together just a few months back, making plans to bring the show back as we still have/had lots of movies to talk about. While that cannot happen now, we hope to keep the website alive so that our old episodes can still be enjoyed.”
His sister, Kimberly Patterson, confirmed his death to the non-profit FilmDayton, which also shared a post to social media.
Anderson first began his work as a storyboard artist in the late 1980s with the Joel and Ethan Coen-written comedy “Raising Arizona.” From there on out, Anderson remained a frequent collaborator with the Coen Brothers, going on to storyboard each of their films. This included “Miller’s Crossing,” “Fargo,” “The Big Lebowski,” “The Ladykillers,” “True Grit,” “Hail, Caesar!” and “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” in addition to their solo projects like “Drive-Away Dolls” and “Honey Don’t” from Ethan and “The Tragedy of Macbeth” from Joel.
Beyond the Coen Brothers, he is credited with having worked on 1989’s “Twister,” 1991’s “The Addams Family,” 2009’s “Whip It,” 2018’s “The Predator,” and 2016’s “The Nice Guys.” Over his career, he was nominated for three Art Directors Guild awards for “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” and “Hail, Caesar!” He also directed 1999’s “The Naked Man” and 2008’s “My Mummy.”
Born John Todd Anderson in Springfield, Ohio, he later attended Wright State University. The Tom Hanks Center for Motion Pictures at the university shared a tribute to Anderson on Facebook.
“A diverse storyteller, he directed two features, published a book of his storyboards for ‘The Big Lebowski,’ co-hosted Filmically Perfect (listen below), and wrote the words and music for the pop musical ‘Nativity.’ He also generously shared his stories and knowledge with emerging filmmakers whenever they asked,” they wrote. “Rest well, JT. We’ll raise a glass to you tonight.”
