To say that movie producer Jeremy Thomas was British cinema royalty did not quite do justice to his meritocratic, democratic instincts. A brilliant and inexhaustibly creative man, self-effacingly charming and quietly spoken in a world of loudmouths and show-offs, and hypervigilant for new talent, was more like a cross between an entrepreneur, an enigmatically clever and kindly Cambridge don and the movie world’s favourite cool uncle, or maybe cool great-uncle.

War for the sake of vengeance

Among the pleasures of writing a regular column for CounterPunch is the chance to revisit subjects treated earlier. I don’t do it often – there’s always new issues to discuss – but in the present historical circumstances, a reconsideration feels necessary.

Jeremy Thomas, one of the UK’s most prominent independent film producers of the last 50 years, died on September 11. He was 77 years old.

His family announced his death in a statement on Saturday.

“Jeremy Thomas, the celebrated British producer of The Last Emperor and of over 40 other films, has died, at the age of 77,” it reads. “Thomas passed away peacefully at his country home in Oxfordshire late on Friday 11th, surrounded by his family and loved ones.”

Thank you, Jeremy. It has been a gift to know you and work together a little. Here’s wishing you fair winds and following seas, dear friend.

Love,
Viggo

An Israeli soldier has shot a Palestinian man, wounding him in the leg, as settlers confronted villagers by grazing livestock on Palestinian-owned land in the town of Faqqua in the occupied West Bank.

Witnesses said a group of settlers had entered the area with their livestock, prompting residents to try to stop them. Israeli forces then intervened and, according to men at the scene, opened fire at residents. One of them shot Qassem Hussam, a Palestinian man in his mid-30s, wounding him in the leg.