(Tony Scott and Denzel Washington on the set of Man on Fire)

On Sunday, the news broke that one of masters of the Hollywood blockbuster, director/producer Tony Scott had died at the age of 68, committing suicide by jumping off the Vincent Thomas Bridge, near Los Angeles.

While Tony Scott’s most heralded films were in the 80′s and 90′s, like Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop 2, Revenge (which was the inspiration of R.Kelly’s epic “Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)” video), and my personal favorite True Romance (written by Quentin Tarantino)…he was still extremely active and successful. In more recent years, Tony directed Unstoppable, announced plans for a Top Gun 2, and teamed up with his brother and fellow Hollywood heavyweight Ridley Scott to produce Prometheus and one of the best dramatic series on TV, The Good Wife. In fact, Tony and Ridley also produced a new sci-fi/horror TV special Coma, which is set to debut in less than two weeks on A&E.

(True Romance: Brad Pitt, Michael Rapaport, Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette)

With so much amazing work on his plate, as well as a wife and twin sons, why would Tony Scott take his own life? The knee-jerk reaction was to blame the wild Hollywood lifestyle that can take such a gilded toll. But an unnamed source gave ABC News has given a much more compelling reason: cancer.

Read more, and watch a clip from Tony and Ridley’s Coma series, after the jump

(Tony and Ridley Scott)

According to the ABC News, a source close to the Scott family has told them that the UK-born director had inoperable brain cancer.
police report that Tony Scott was seen jumping off the 185-foot bridge without hesitation. There was a note in his car with contact information, and he left several notes for loved ones as well.

Check out a preview of Coma, the A&E mini-series from Tony and Ridley Scott…as of now, still debuting on Sept 4th. I was so excited to see them team up for yet another project, especially one for TV and set in a sci-fi/horror genre like Prometheus and Alien.

(one of the best bad guys on film: Gary Oldman as Drexyl Spivey, in True Romance)