Stars remember 'great' producer

Ismail Merchant (right) had a long partnership with James Ivory

Sir Anthony Hopkins, Ralph Fiennes and Lord Puttnam have led the film world's tributes to Merchant Ivory producer Ismail Merchant, who died on Wednesday.

With creative partner James Ivory, he made Oscar-winning period films such as Howards End and A Room With a View.

Fiennes, who worked on Merchant's new film The White Countess, described him as "a brave and individual producer".

Sir Anthony, who starred in Howards End and The Remains of the Day, said he was "a great man and a true pioneer".

"I'm deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Ismail Merchant," he said.

Helena Bonham Carter, who starred in A Room With a View, said he was a "one off".

In a statement, she said: "A great personality, a true original and a good friend. He was a life force who tore through life - for whom the word "impossible" had no meaning (even though he often proved it!)

He was the one and truly great maverick producer Sir Anthony Hopkins

"His spirit was unstoppable, sadly for us, his body wasn't. He shall remain vividly alive and aloud in my heart."

She added: "He was the spice of our lives. With him in it the world was Technicolor - today it has now turned black and white and very, very quiet. I knew him; I was very, very lucky."

Sir Anthony added: "He was the one and truly great maverick producer, a law to himself.

"He could charm the birds out of the trees, which had its very positive side (most of the time) and sometimes he could get you to work for nothing."

Producer Lord David Puttnam, who made Chariots of Fire and Midnight Express, said Merchant was "the one true independent film producer in Britain".

"He was an extraordinary man," he said. "Ismail was unique - he absolutely carved his own niche."

"He chose very serious pieces of work and the ideas came from within him."

Fiennes added he was "devastated" to hear of Merchant's death, saying: "There was no-one like him.

"Having just finished working with Ismail and James Ivory in Shanghai, I was full of admiration for their passion and commitment to the film we were making."

Stomach problems

Merchant died in a London hospital but the cause of death was unclear. A spokesman said the Indian-born producer had suffered from stomach problems over the past year.

Merchant Ivory won six Oscars since the pair's famous partnership began in 1961 with German-born screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala.

Their films, particularly the adaptations of EM Forster's A Room With a View and Howards End, helped revive audiences' tastes for period dramas.

Merchant produced almost 50 films for the company and turned his hand to directing on a handful of occasions.

Costume dramas

In an interview with the Associated Press last year, he said their films worked because they told good stories.

"It should capture something wonderful with some great characters whether it's set in the past or in the future," he said.

But he did not like such films just being referred to as costume dramas.

"People misunderstand," he once commented. "If you wear costume and you're in a stately home, yes, it's a costume drama. But people don't say that it's also a good story."