Charles “Chuck” Russell, the director of Hollywood blockbusters like The Mask, The Scorpion King, and Eraser, has died at the age of 74.
The filmmaker died Wednesday at his home in San Diego, his attorney confirmed to Variety. While no cause of death was
revealed, TMZ reported local authorities responded to a report of an unconscious man at Russell’s house.
Like many Hollywood filmmakers, Russell got his start in horror movies, working in production on indies like 1981’s Hell Night before producing and co-writing his first screenplay, the Dennis Quaid-starring 1984 sci-horror flick Dreamscape.
Russell wrote and directed two films in the horror genre — the well-received 1987 Freddy Krueger sequel A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors and The Blob remake in 1988 — before stepping behind the camera on more big-budget and commercial fare, starting with the Jim Carrey-led superhero comedy The Mask in 1994.
The director next helmed the Arnold Schwarzenegger action flick Eraser in 1996 and the Kim Basinger horror film Bless the Child. In 2002, Russell helped Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson jump from wrestler to box office champ with The Mummy sequel The Scorpion King.
After that hit, Russell took a 15-year break from filmmaking, but did step back behind the camera to produce a 2010 episode of Fringe.
In addition to his serving as director, Russell is also credited as producer on cult 1980s comedies like Girls Just Want to Have Fun and Back to School, as well as the Michael Mann-directed Collateral.
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