Serpo
21st August 2012, 02:45 AM
Family tell police Tony Scott did NOT have inoperable brain cancer... so what drove him to jump from a Los Angeles bridge?
Picture taken in Beverly Hills on July 23 shows Scott looking pained
Taken just weeks before he jumped 'without hesitation' from the Vincent Thomas Bridge as horrified tourists on a harbour cruise watched
A suicide note was later recovered at his office
Industry veteran famous for cult classic Top Gun along with Days of Thunder, Beverly Hills Cop II and Enemy Of The State
Planning a Top Gun sequel with Tom Cruise; prep work had already started
Had twin sons with third wife he met in 1994
By Louise Boyle (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Louise+Boyle), Michael Zennie (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Michael+Zennie) and Lydia Warren (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Lydia+Warren)
PUBLISHED: 01:02 GMT, 21 August 2012 | UPDATED: 09:26 GMT, 21 August 2012
Comments (16) (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2191271/Tony-Scott-death-Top-Gun-director-did-NOT-inoperable-brain-cancer-drove-jump.html#comments)
Share (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2191271/Tony-Scott-death-Top-Gun-director-did-NOT-inoperable-brain-cancer-drove-jump.html#socialLinks)
Director Tony Scott did not have inoperable brain cancer -- despite initial reports a terminal diagnosis was what drove him to commit suicide from a bridge in Los Angeles, his family told authorities the day after his death.
The 68-year-old blockbuster movie director, perhaps best known for 'Top Gun,' was said to have leaped to his death 'without hesitation' in an effort to spare his family the pain of watching his slow death, ABC News reported. Hours later, ABC backed away from that report.
The Los Angeles Times (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/08/tony-scott-didnt-have-brain-cancer-family-says.html) confirmed that Scott's family told the corner's office Scott did not have cancer -- or any major illness.
'The family told us it is incorrect that he has inoperable brain cancer,' Craig Harvey, a chief at the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office told the newspaper.
Scroll down for video
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/20/article-2191063-14A02FC9000005DC-743_634x717.jpg Disheveled: Director Tony Scott has died after leaping off a bridge in Los Angeles. Scott, who had brain cancer, was pictured looking pained as he dined out in Beverly Hills on July 23
TMZ (http://www.tmz.com/2012/08/20/tony-scott-suicide-no-brain-cancer-tumor/) were the first to report that Scott's wife Donna told authorities her husband was healthy, according to unnamed sources.
Donna Scott told investigators that rumors of a return of her husband's cancer was 'absolutely false,' TMZ says.
The celebrity news site also claims the preliminary results of an autopsy did not reveal the presence of cancer -- though more tests are needed.
The revelation, if proven true, begs the question -- what could have driven the successful director, whose films have grossed more than $2billion, to kill himself?
More...
A tale of two Scotts: How the soldier's sons from the north of England took Hollywood by storm (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2191005/Tony-Scott-How-soldiers-sons-north-England-took-Hollywood-storm.html)
'Tony Scott was my dear friend and I will really miss him': Tom Cruise pays tribute to Top Gun director after bridge suicide (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2190976/Tony-Scott-dead-Tom-Cruise-emerges-stony-faced-restaurant-hours-death-Top-Gun-director.html)
His older brother, Sir Ridley Scott, is flying from London to Los Angeles to be with Tony's family.
Tony Scott's tragic death comes just weeks after he was pictured looking pained as he left a Beverly Hills restaurant on July 23.
Scott had been in hospital earlier this summer and told friends it was for a hip operation. But they knew he had previously kicked cancer and some believe it had come back.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/21/article-2191271-14A19494000005DC-323_634x286.jpg Tragic: Los Angeles polie officers pulled the body of Tony Scott from the water beneath the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro, California
'He has been suffering from cancer and he had a relapse,' a source told the New York Post (http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/top_gun_director_dies_after_jumping_qUPiUsr9BQOLhD 3ByNBJlK). 'He wasn’t depressed, he was a lovely guy. On Sundays everyone went to his house, there would be the guy who worked in his local restaurant sitting by the pool by Michael Caine.'
Another source added: 'He did have cancer, and for a while he was cancer free. He didn’t have any money problems or marriage problems.'
The beloved filmmaker, who directed movies including Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop II and Enemy Of The State and was the younger brother of director Ridley Scott, fell within feet of a cruise boat around 12.30 p.m. on Sunday as horrified tourists watched.
'He landed right next to our tour boat, and many of us saw the whole thing,' a witness, who had been on the cruise around the Los Angeles Harbour, told TMZ (http://www.tmz.com/2012/08/20/tony-scott-suicide-tour-boat-body-l-a-harbor-passenger-boat/).
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/20/article-2190834-149E71E8000005DC-709_634x422.jpg Hollywood tragedy: Film director Tony Scott, 68, has committed suicide by jumping from a bridge in LA
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/20/article-2190834-149E7820000005DC-277_634x739.jpg Marriage: Tony Scott with his third wife Donna whom he married in 1994
According to theContra Costa Times (http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_21349685/breaking-man-who-jumped-from-vincent-thomas-bridge), Scott climbed a fence on the south side of the bridge, which spans San Pedro and Terminal Island, at 12.30 p.m. on Sunday and leaped off 'without hesitation'.
TONY SCOTT'S PAINFUL DIAGNOSIS
Tony Scott reportedly committed suicide after learning he had inoperable brain cancer - a disease that would have caused him a great deal of suffering.
'Brain cancer' is an umbrella term for a range of diseases, the prognoses of which are different depending on the brain tissue affected and speed at which it is developing.
Brain cancer can be caused by brain cells themselves or when cancer spreads from another part of the body. Cancer cells grow to form a mass of cancer tissue - a tumour - that interferes with brain functions.
Symptoms vary widely but can include weakness, seizures, headaches, nausea and blurry vision. A sufferer's mental capacity, memory, speech and personality can also be affected.
Treatments include surgery, radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. Without treatment, death can occur within a short time span, but complete recovery does not often occur.
The cancer develops in around 22,000 people in the U.S. each year, and about 13,000 people die each year, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Several people called 911 around 12.35pm to report that someone had jumped off the bridge, according to Los Angeles police Lt. Tim Nordquist. Police are interviewing witnesses.
A dive team with Los Angeles Port Police pulled the body from the murky water around 3pm. It was taken to a dock in Wilmington and turned over to the county coroner's office.
Investigators found a note in Scott's black Toyota Prius, which was parked on the bridge, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The note listed names and contact numbers - including that of his wife - so police could call his friends to tell them of his death, TMZ (http://www.tmz.com/2012/08/20/tony-scott-suicide-contact-list-names-phone-numbers-bridge/)reported.
A suicide note was later found at his office but, while it is said to have been much more detailed than the note in his car, its contents were not revealed.
Simon Halls, a publicist who represents the Scott brothers, confirmed the death. 'The family asks for privacy during this time,' Halls said.
The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said an autopsy is planned and results could be expected as early as this afternoon.
The sudden death shook Hollywood and film fans as the successful director apparently had everything to live for.
He leaves behind twin sons and his wife Donna, a model and actress who had appeared in some of his films.
He was also in the early stages of developing a sequel to cult classic movie Top Gun with Tom Cruise and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. It was set for release in 2014, the L.A. Times reported.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/20/article-2190834-149E8D7B000005DC-289_634x519.jpg
Mixing with the A-list: Tony Scott and Tom Cruise on the set of Days Of Thunder in the 1980s
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/20/article-2190834-149F8671000005DC-653_634x470.jpg In mourning: Tom Cruise was spotted looking dishevelled as he left restaurant Madeos hours after Tony Scott's suicide. The two men were reportedly working on a Top Gun sequel
TONY SCOTT'S FILMOGRAPHY
The Hunger (1983) - His debut starred Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie as vampires. It was a commercial flop but became a cult classic
Top Gun (1986) - Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, and Val Kilmer turned this film into the highest-grossing of the year, $354million, and a pop-culture classic.
Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) - This Eddie Murphy film was the most highly-anticipated film of the year
Revenge (1990) – Scott left the action genre to work with Kevin Costner in this adultery thriller. It was a flop
Days of Thunder (1990) – Cruise returned for a film about the danger of NASCAR racing. Nicole Kidman and Robert Duvall played major roles
The Last Boy Scout (1991) - Bruce Willis starred in this big-budget action film that under-performed at the box office
True Romance (1993) – Ironically, this was Scott most critically-acclaimed film but also one of his biggest commercial flops
Crimson Tide (1995) – Another success for Scott in this thriller starring Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington
The Fan (1996) – Robert De Niro and Wesley Snipes star in a psychological thriller about fanatical baseball fans
Enemy of the State (1998) – Will Smith played opposite Gene Hackman in a big-budget spy thriller
Spy Game (2001) – More glowing reviews for another Scott spy thriller, this one starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt
Man on Fire (2004) – Denzel Washington as a CIA operative bent on revenge after his young charge is kidnapped in Mexico
Domino (2005) – Keira Knightley stars as a bounty hunter in LA. Panned by critics
Déjà Vu (2006) – A science fiction thriller starring Denzel Washington
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009) – Denzel Washington and John Travolta play opposite each other in this terrorism-related thriller.
Unstoppable (2010) – Scott again turned to Denzel. The critics enjoyed it and the public too spending $168million
On Friday, Cruise toured a naval Air Station near Fallon, Nevada, as part of prep work for the movie which, if it enjoys the same success of the first film, could be one of the biggest box office hits of the decade.
The actor is said to be crushed at news of the death, calling Scott 'a creative visionary whose mark on film is immeasurable', according to TMZ (http://www.tmz.com/2012/08/20/tom-cruise-tony-scott-death-suicide-statement/).
He added: 'Tony was my dear friend and I will really miss him ... My deepest sorrow and thoughts are with his family at this time.'
Scott, who ran Scott Free Productions with his brother, was also working on a movie called Killing Lincoln, based on the bestseller by Bill O'Reilly, and has a film starring Christian Bale out next year.
Scott was highly respected in the industry working on blockbusters with the creme of the A-list including Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Will Smith, Denzel Washington and John Travolta.
Tony was the first of the Scott brothers to enjoy blockbuster success with Top Gun, the top-grossing film of 1986 at $176 million.
The film, which also starred Kelly McGillis and Val Kilmer, was nominated for four Academy Awards and won the best song award for Take My Breath Away.
Scott teamed with Cruise again four years later on the hit Days of Thunder, and had the sequel to Top Gun in development.
Last year, Cruise, who was propelled to fame with the original film, told MTV: 'I said to Tony, I want to make another movie with him.
'We all want to make a film that is in the same kind of tone as the other one and shoot it in the same way as we shot Top Gun.'
It had been rumoured that Cruise's character would return as an instructor for a new class of recruits - but the actor said they were 'still working on it'.
Scott had also recently completed filming Out of the Furnace, a drama starring Christian Bale which is set to come out next year.
Scott was an avid rock climber and liked driving fast cars and motorcycles - but admitted that filmmaking was his real thrill.
'The biggest edge I live on is directing,' Scott said in an interview for his 1995 naval adventure Crimson Tide. 'That’s the most scary, dangerous thing you can do in your life.
'The scariest thing in my life is the first morning of production on all my movies. It’s the fear of failing, the loss of face and a sense of guilt that everybody puts their faith in you and not coming through.'
Tributes started to pour in for the celebrated director who made his last film Unstoppable in 2010, starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine.
Director Ron Howard tweeted: 'No more Tony Scott movies. Tragic day.'
Documentary-maker Morgan Spurlock wrote: 'RIP Tony Scott - so sad to hear this.'
'Tony Scott. Damn. Great knowing you, buddy," added Sin City director Robert Rodriguez. 'Thanks for the inspiration, advice, encouragement, and the decades of great entertainment.'
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/20/article-2190834-149E9E16000005DC-750_634x401.jpg Cult classic: Director Tony Scott gives instructions to Tom Cruise on the set of Top Gun
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/20/article-2190834-149E71E4000005DC-16_634x398.jpg Family life: Director Tony Scott with his wife and sons at the premiere of The Taking Of Pelham 123 in 2009
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/20/article-2190834-149E711B000005DC-172_634x445.jpg Creative force: Tony Scott (left) with his elder brother Ridley at awards ceremony in Los Angeles two years ago
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/20/article-2190834-149E7253000005DC-316_634x443.jpg Loved: Scott, pictured at the premiere of Unstoppable in 2010, often wore the same red baseball cap
Val Kilmer, who also starred in Top Gun, wrote: 'RIP Tony. You were the kindest film director I ever worked for. You will be missed.'
'Tony Scott as a friend and a mentor was irreplaceable. Tone, wherever you are, I love you man. RIP,' director and producer Joe Carnahan said on Twitter.
Carnahan added that when his movie The Grey was finished, Scott called him to tell him he had seen it. He told Carnahan not to allow anybody to change anything in it.
'Tony always sent personal, handwritten notes & always drew a cartoon caricature of himself, smoking a cigar, with his hat colored in red,' Carnahan said.
Richard Kelly, who wrote the screenplay for Domino which Scott directed, added his condolences.
'Working with Tony Scott was like a glorious road trip to Vegas on desert back roads, a wild man behind the wheel, grinning,' the Donnie Darko director wrote. 'I felt safe.'
He added: 'Tony Scott was the best mentor - when he saw something punk rock that he could slip through the system ... he pounced.'
Picture taken in Beverly Hills on July 23 shows Scott looking pained
Taken just weeks before he jumped 'without hesitation' from the Vincent Thomas Bridge as horrified tourists on a harbour cruise watched
A suicide note was later recovered at his office
Industry veteran famous for cult classic Top Gun along with Days of Thunder, Beverly Hills Cop II and Enemy Of The State
Planning a Top Gun sequel with Tom Cruise; prep work had already started
Had twin sons with third wife he met in 1994
By Louise Boyle (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Louise+Boyle), Michael Zennie (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Michael+Zennie) and Lydia Warren (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Lydia+Warren)
PUBLISHED: 01:02 GMT, 21 August 2012 | UPDATED: 09:26 GMT, 21 August 2012
Comments (16) (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2191271/Tony-Scott-death-Top-Gun-director-did-NOT-inoperable-brain-cancer-drove-jump.html#comments)
Share (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2191271/Tony-Scott-death-Top-Gun-director-did-NOT-inoperable-brain-cancer-drove-jump.html#socialLinks)
Director Tony Scott did not have inoperable brain cancer -- despite initial reports a terminal diagnosis was what drove him to commit suicide from a bridge in Los Angeles, his family told authorities the day after his death.
The 68-year-old blockbuster movie director, perhaps best known for 'Top Gun,' was said to have leaped to his death 'without hesitation' in an effort to spare his family the pain of watching his slow death, ABC News reported. Hours later, ABC backed away from that report.
The Los Angeles Times (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/08/tony-scott-didnt-have-brain-cancer-family-says.html) confirmed that Scott's family told the corner's office Scott did not have cancer -- or any major illness.
'The family told us it is incorrect that he has inoperable brain cancer,' Craig Harvey, a chief at the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office told the newspaper.
Scroll down for video
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/20/article-2191063-14A02FC9000005DC-743_634x717.jpg Disheveled: Director Tony Scott has died after leaping off a bridge in Los Angeles. Scott, who had brain cancer, was pictured looking pained as he dined out in Beverly Hills on July 23
TMZ (http://www.tmz.com/2012/08/20/tony-scott-suicide-no-brain-cancer-tumor/) were the first to report that Scott's wife Donna told authorities her husband was healthy, according to unnamed sources.
Donna Scott told investigators that rumors of a return of her husband's cancer was 'absolutely false,' TMZ says.
The celebrity news site also claims the preliminary results of an autopsy did not reveal the presence of cancer -- though more tests are needed.
The revelation, if proven true, begs the question -- what could have driven the successful director, whose films have grossed more than $2billion, to kill himself?
More...
A tale of two Scotts: How the soldier's sons from the north of England took Hollywood by storm (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2191005/Tony-Scott-How-soldiers-sons-north-England-took-Hollywood-storm.html)
'Tony Scott was my dear friend and I will really miss him': Tom Cruise pays tribute to Top Gun director after bridge suicide (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2190976/Tony-Scott-dead-Tom-Cruise-emerges-stony-faced-restaurant-hours-death-Top-Gun-director.html)
His older brother, Sir Ridley Scott, is flying from London to Los Angeles to be with Tony's family.
Tony Scott's tragic death comes just weeks after he was pictured looking pained as he left a Beverly Hills restaurant on July 23.
Scott had been in hospital earlier this summer and told friends it was for a hip operation. But they knew he had previously kicked cancer and some believe it had come back.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/21/article-2191271-14A19494000005DC-323_634x286.jpg Tragic: Los Angeles polie officers pulled the body of Tony Scott from the water beneath the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro, California
'He has been suffering from cancer and he had a relapse,' a source told the New York Post (http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/top_gun_director_dies_after_jumping_qUPiUsr9BQOLhD 3ByNBJlK). 'He wasn’t depressed, he was a lovely guy. On Sundays everyone went to his house, there would be the guy who worked in his local restaurant sitting by the pool by Michael Caine.'
Another source added: 'He did have cancer, and for a while he was cancer free. He didn’t have any money problems or marriage problems.'
The beloved filmmaker, who directed movies including Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop II and Enemy Of The State and was the younger brother of director Ridley Scott, fell within feet of a cruise boat around 12.30 p.m. on Sunday as horrified tourists watched.
'He landed right next to our tour boat, and many of us saw the whole thing,' a witness, who had been on the cruise around the Los Angeles Harbour, told TMZ (http://www.tmz.com/2012/08/20/tony-scott-suicide-tour-boat-body-l-a-harbor-passenger-boat/).
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/20/article-2190834-149E71E8000005DC-709_634x422.jpg Hollywood tragedy: Film director Tony Scott, 68, has committed suicide by jumping from a bridge in LA
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/20/article-2190834-149E7820000005DC-277_634x739.jpg Marriage: Tony Scott with his third wife Donna whom he married in 1994
According to theContra Costa Times (http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_21349685/breaking-man-who-jumped-from-vincent-thomas-bridge), Scott climbed a fence on the south side of the bridge, which spans San Pedro and Terminal Island, at 12.30 p.m. on Sunday and leaped off 'without hesitation'.
TONY SCOTT'S PAINFUL DIAGNOSIS
Tony Scott reportedly committed suicide after learning he had inoperable brain cancer - a disease that would have caused him a great deal of suffering.
'Brain cancer' is an umbrella term for a range of diseases, the prognoses of which are different depending on the brain tissue affected and speed at which it is developing.
Brain cancer can be caused by brain cells themselves or when cancer spreads from another part of the body. Cancer cells grow to form a mass of cancer tissue - a tumour - that interferes with brain functions.
Symptoms vary widely but can include weakness, seizures, headaches, nausea and blurry vision. A sufferer's mental capacity, memory, speech and personality can also be affected.
Treatments include surgery, radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. Without treatment, death can occur within a short time span, but complete recovery does not often occur.
The cancer develops in around 22,000 people in the U.S. each year, and about 13,000 people die each year, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Several people called 911 around 12.35pm to report that someone had jumped off the bridge, according to Los Angeles police Lt. Tim Nordquist. Police are interviewing witnesses.
A dive team with Los Angeles Port Police pulled the body from the murky water around 3pm. It was taken to a dock in Wilmington and turned over to the county coroner's office.
Investigators found a note in Scott's black Toyota Prius, which was parked on the bridge, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The note listed names and contact numbers - including that of his wife - so police could call his friends to tell them of his death, TMZ (http://www.tmz.com/2012/08/20/tony-scott-suicide-contact-list-names-phone-numbers-bridge/)reported.
A suicide note was later found at his office but, while it is said to have been much more detailed than the note in his car, its contents were not revealed.
Simon Halls, a publicist who represents the Scott brothers, confirmed the death. 'The family asks for privacy during this time,' Halls said.
The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said an autopsy is planned and results could be expected as early as this afternoon.
The sudden death shook Hollywood and film fans as the successful director apparently had everything to live for.
He leaves behind twin sons and his wife Donna, a model and actress who had appeared in some of his films.
He was also in the early stages of developing a sequel to cult classic movie Top Gun with Tom Cruise and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. It was set for release in 2014, the L.A. Times reported.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/20/article-2190834-149E8D7B000005DC-289_634x519.jpg
Mixing with the A-list: Tony Scott and Tom Cruise on the set of Days Of Thunder in the 1980s
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/20/article-2190834-149F8671000005DC-653_634x470.jpg In mourning: Tom Cruise was spotted looking dishevelled as he left restaurant Madeos hours after Tony Scott's suicide. The two men were reportedly working on a Top Gun sequel
TONY SCOTT'S FILMOGRAPHY
The Hunger (1983) - His debut starred Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie as vampires. It was a commercial flop but became a cult classic
Top Gun (1986) - Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, and Val Kilmer turned this film into the highest-grossing of the year, $354million, and a pop-culture classic.
Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) - This Eddie Murphy film was the most highly-anticipated film of the year
Revenge (1990) – Scott left the action genre to work with Kevin Costner in this adultery thriller. It was a flop
Days of Thunder (1990) – Cruise returned for a film about the danger of NASCAR racing. Nicole Kidman and Robert Duvall played major roles
The Last Boy Scout (1991) - Bruce Willis starred in this big-budget action film that under-performed at the box office
True Romance (1993) – Ironically, this was Scott most critically-acclaimed film but also one of his biggest commercial flops
Crimson Tide (1995) – Another success for Scott in this thriller starring Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington
The Fan (1996) – Robert De Niro and Wesley Snipes star in a psychological thriller about fanatical baseball fans
Enemy of the State (1998) – Will Smith played opposite Gene Hackman in a big-budget spy thriller
Spy Game (2001) – More glowing reviews for another Scott spy thriller, this one starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt
Man on Fire (2004) – Denzel Washington as a CIA operative bent on revenge after his young charge is kidnapped in Mexico
Domino (2005) – Keira Knightley stars as a bounty hunter in LA. Panned by critics
Déjà Vu (2006) – A science fiction thriller starring Denzel Washington
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009) – Denzel Washington and John Travolta play opposite each other in this terrorism-related thriller.
Unstoppable (2010) – Scott again turned to Denzel. The critics enjoyed it and the public too spending $168million
On Friday, Cruise toured a naval Air Station near Fallon, Nevada, as part of prep work for the movie which, if it enjoys the same success of the first film, could be one of the biggest box office hits of the decade.
The actor is said to be crushed at news of the death, calling Scott 'a creative visionary whose mark on film is immeasurable', according to TMZ (http://www.tmz.com/2012/08/20/tom-cruise-tony-scott-death-suicide-statement/).
He added: 'Tony was my dear friend and I will really miss him ... My deepest sorrow and thoughts are with his family at this time.'
Scott, who ran Scott Free Productions with his brother, was also working on a movie called Killing Lincoln, based on the bestseller by Bill O'Reilly, and has a film starring Christian Bale out next year.
Scott was highly respected in the industry working on blockbusters with the creme of the A-list including Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Will Smith, Denzel Washington and John Travolta.
Tony was the first of the Scott brothers to enjoy blockbuster success with Top Gun, the top-grossing film of 1986 at $176 million.
The film, which also starred Kelly McGillis and Val Kilmer, was nominated for four Academy Awards and won the best song award for Take My Breath Away.
Scott teamed with Cruise again four years later on the hit Days of Thunder, and had the sequel to Top Gun in development.
Last year, Cruise, who was propelled to fame with the original film, told MTV: 'I said to Tony, I want to make another movie with him.
'We all want to make a film that is in the same kind of tone as the other one and shoot it in the same way as we shot Top Gun.'
It had been rumoured that Cruise's character would return as an instructor for a new class of recruits - but the actor said they were 'still working on it'.
Scott had also recently completed filming Out of the Furnace, a drama starring Christian Bale which is set to come out next year.
Scott was an avid rock climber and liked driving fast cars and motorcycles - but admitted that filmmaking was his real thrill.
'The biggest edge I live on is directing,' Scott said in an interview for his 1995 naval adventure Crimson Tide. 'That’s the most scary, dangerous thing you can do in your life.
'The scariest thing in my life is the first morning of production on all my movies. It’s the fear of failing, the loss of face and a sense of guilt that everybody puts their faith in you and not coming through.'
Tributes started to pour in for the celebrated director who made his last film Unstoppable in 2010, starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine.
Director Ron Howard tweeted: 'No more Tony Scott movies. Tragic day.'
Documentary-maker Morgan Spurlock wrote: 'RIP Tony Scott - so sad to hear this.'
'Tony Scott. Damn. Great knowing you, buddy," added Sin City director Robert Rodriguez. 'Thanks for the inspiration, advice, encouragement, and the decades of great entertainment.'
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/20/article-2190834-149E9E16000005DC-750_634x401.jpg Cult classic: Director Tony Scott gives instructions to Tom Cruise on the set of Top Gun
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/20/article-2190834-149E71E4000005DC-16_634x398.jpg Family life: Director Tony Scott with his wife and sons at the premiere of The Taking Of Pelham 123 in 2009
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/20/article-2190834-149E711B000005DC-172_634x445.jpg Creative force: Tony Scott (left) with his elder brother Ridley at awards ceremony in Los Angeles two years ago
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/20/article-2190834-149E7253000005DC-316_634x443.jpg Loved: Scott, pictured at the premiere of Unstoppable in 2010, often wore the same red baseball cap
Val Kilmer, who also starred in Top Gun, wrote: 'RIP Tony. You were the kindest film director I ever worked for. You will be missed.'
'Tony Scott as a friend and a mentor was irreplaceable. Tone, wherever you are, I love you man. RIP,' director and producer Joe Carnahan said on Twitter.
Carnahan added that when his movie The Grey was finished, Scott called him to tell him he had seen it. He told Carnahan not to allow anybody to change anything in it.
'Tony always sent personal, handwritten notes & always drew a cartoon caricature of himself, smoking a cigar, with his hat colored in red,' Carnahan said.
Richard Kelly, who wrote the screenplay for Domino which Scott directed, added his condolences.
'Working with Tony Scott was like a glorious road trip to Vegas on desert back roads, a wild man behind the wheel, grinning,' the Donnie Darko director wrote. 'I felt safe.'
He added: 'Tony Scott was the best mentor - when he saw something punk rock that he could slip through the system ... he pounced.'