Director Claude Berri passes away at age 74.

Oh merde... French cinema just lost one of his mentors. Legendary filmmaker Claude Berri died from from a serious neurological condition last week-end. As a director, he was responsible for many French blockbusters, including Germinal, the famous Emile Zola adaptation starring Gerard Depardieu, Jean de Florette and its sequel Manon Des Sources, the movie that made Emmanuelle Beart an international star. When wearing the producer's hat, Berri was responsible for an impressive number of films such as the first two Asterix, Patrice Chéreau's La Reine Margot, Claude Miller's La petit voleuse and many more. This is a major loss as Claude Berri was always a supporter of both popular and author cinema. He will be missed.