Samuel Hadida Dies: French Distributor And Producer Of ‘Resident Evil’ & ‘True Romance’ Was 64
Samuel Hadida, the regarded indie French distributor and producer of films including the Resident Evil franchise and the Tony Scott-directed True Romance and Domino, has died at age 64. He passed away Monday at UCLA Santa Monica Hospital after a short illness, according to his brother Victor.
Hadida and Victor owned and managed Metropolitan FilmExport, a top French distributor of American indie films that they founded with their father David. A champion of indie cinema by bringing the likes of Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs and David Fincher’s Seven to French screens, he was a staple at festivals and markets for the past 40 years.
“Sammy’s passion and humor were infectious and his larger than life presence will certainly be missed,” Victor Hadida said. “We are committed to honoring his life by bringing to fruition the numerous development projects under the Davis Films banner that Samuel so loved as well as the upcoming productions that were so important to him.”
As a producer via his Davis Films, Hadida teamed with Claude Lelouch on Un+Une and The Best Years, a follow up to Lelouche’s 1967 Oscar winner A Man and a Woman. He had several film in various stages of production at the time of his death, including a long-in-the-works reboot of The Crow at Sony.
His producer credits also include the Silent Hill movies, The Rules of Attraction, The Black Dahlia, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen among manay others. Recent pics include The Hitman’s Bodyguard, Papillon and Hunter Killer.
Metropolitan has had long-term output deals over the years with the likes of New Line Cinema (which included the Lord of the Rings trilogy), Lionsgate (Hunger Games franchise) and DreamWorks.
Hadida is survived by his wife, Maryse Claire; their three grown children Laurent, Audrey and Aurelie; and a grandchild, Sasha.
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