• Stanley S. Canter (1932-2007) - Producer of Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes and its sequel, Tarzan and the Lost City. He also produced St. Ives, starring Charles Bronson, W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings, starring Burt Reynolds, and Hornet's Nest, starring Rock Hudson. He died of cardiovascular complications October 12, in Santa Monica, California. (Variety)
• Robert Goulet (1933-2007) - Singer and actor who appears in Beetlejuice, Scrooged, Atlantic City and The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear. He also provided the singing voice for Wheezy the Penguin in Toy Story 2. Read Patrick's full post here.
• Ray Gravell (1951-2007) - Actor and rugby pro who appears in Damage and Darklands. He died of diabetes October 31, in Spain. (BBC)
• Evelyn Hamann (1942-2007) - German actress who starred in Ödipussi, Pappa ante Portas and Piratensender Powerplay. She died of lymphoma October 29, in Hamburg. (The Hollywood Reporter)

As much as I disapprove of most remakes, I don't really have an issue with Akira Kurosawa's films being redone. The thing is, Kurosawa was a master of remakes, having continually reworked John Ford and Shakespeare. And in turn, his films have been remade as or have influenced later classics, like The Magnificent Seven and Star Wars. Sure, it's worth complaining about The Weinstein Co. remaking The Seven Samurai, because, well, it's The Weinstein Co. But I see little issue with the news, courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, that Japanese studio Toho, which produced the original, is working on a redo of The Hidden Fortress. This is the film, after all, that is constantly cited as the basis for Star Wars, and if it's good enough in the hands of George Lucas, it could be good enough in the hands of special effects wizard-turned-director Shinji Higuchi (The Sinking of Japan). Cast as General Makabe, the part originated by the legendary Toshirô Mifune, is super-tall (for his country) actor Hiroshi Abe (Godzilla 2000). The part of Princess Uehara will be played by Masami Nagasawa (Godzilla: Final Wars).

One issue that Kurosawa fans may have with this remake, and The Hollywood Reporter already points this out, is that the two comical peasant characters, Tahei and Matashichi, are being condensed into one character called "Takezo". The character will still serve the same function, with his point of view being the film's perspective, but unless he talks to himself a lot, he just won't be the same. Aside from inspiring R2-D2 and C-3PO, Tahei and Matashichi have obviously influenced other pairings, including the recent characters Ragetti and Pintel from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Perhaps Toho believes we've seen enough of such duos? The new singular version, "Takezo", will be played by Jun Matsumoto, best known as a member of the boy band Arashi.

• Edward Behr (c.1926-2007) - British writer of Half Moon Street, starring Sigourney Weaver. He also appears as himself in Otto Preminger's doc Rosebud. (International Herald Tribune)
• Jo Durden-Smith (1941-2007) - Documentary filmmaker who wrote and directed A Horse Called Nijinski, which was narrated by Orson Welles, and produced the rock docs The Stones in the Park, The Doors Are Open and Johnny Cash in San Quentin. He died following a stroke May 10, in the UK. (Guardian)
• Kei Kumai (1930-2007) - Japanese filmmaker who directed The Sea Is Watching (pictured), which was written by Akira Kurosawa. He also directed Tunnel to the Sun, Lady Ogin and Death of a Sea Monster, all starring Toshiro Mifune, and The Sea and Poison, which won the Silver Bear at the 1987 Berlin Film Festival. He died of a brain hemorrhage May 18, in Tokyo. (Variety)
• Bruno Mattei (1931-2007) - Italian cult filmmaker who directed Hell of the Living Dead (aka Zombie Creeping Flesh), Womens Prison Massacre, Violence in a Woman's Prison, Rats: Night of Terror and Zombie 3. He was also the co-editor of Jesus Franco's 99 Women, for which he also directed the hardcore sequences, and Count Dracula. He died of cancer May 21, in Rome. (Contact Music)
• Bud Molin (1925-2007) - Editor on all of Carl Reiner's films between 1970 (Where's Poppa?) and 1993 (Fatal Instinct). He also edited They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!, Police Academy 3: Back in Training, The Man With One Red Shoe and Up the Academy, for which he was also the second unit director. He died May 21 in Rancho Mirage, California. (Variety)
• Charles Nelson Reilly (1931-2007) - Actor and television personality who played "Don Don Canneloni" in Cannonball Run II and appears in an uncredited role in Elia Kazan's A Face in the Crowd. He also voiced characters in Don Bluth's All Dogs Go to Heaven, Rock-A-Doodle and A Troll in Central Park. He died of complications from pneumonia May 25, in Los Angeles. (NY Times)
• G. Srinivasan (c.1958-2007) - Indian producer of Mani Ratnam's last four films, including the director's latest, Guru, which stars Aishwarya Rai. He died May 27 when he fell into a 50-foot gorge near Halan, India. (Earthtimes.org)
• Robert Sully (1918-2007) - Actor who appears in Meet Me in St. Louis, A Guy Named Joe and When Worlds Collide. He died May 15 in Santa Barbara, California. (Santa Barbara News-Press)
• Alberto Verso (1941-2007) - Italian costume designer for Ripley's Game and The Truce and assistant costume designer for The Night Porter, Waterloo and Visconti's L'Innocente. He died May 16 in Rome. (IMDb)
• Ben Weisman (1921-2007) - Composer of the scores to Andy Warhol's L'Amour and Ed Wood's short Crossroads of Laredo. He also wrote tunes for many of Elvis' movies, including Jailhouse Rock, King Creole, Clambake, Blue Hawaii and Roustabout. He died May 20 in Los Angeles. (Variety)
  
• Gretchen Wyler (1932-2007) - Actress who played one of the few female characters in The Devil's Brigade and "Aunt Kissy" in Private Benjamin. She died of complications from breast cancer May 27, in Fresno, California. (FresnoBee.com)