Director Tony Scott jumps to death

LOS ANGELES — No one ever mistook Tony Scott for a great dramatist. He was a director critics loved to hate for his slick barrage of images at the expense of story. The filmmaker did not dazzle the imagination with visions of lost or alien worlds.The 68-year-old Scott died Sunday after jumping from a Los Angeles County bridge, authorities said. His death was being investigated as a suicide, Los Angeles County Coroner’s Lt. Joe Bale said.

It was a puzzling end for a filmmaker who had maintained a busy pace, with a sequel to “Top Gun,” his biggest hit, in the works.

“I can confirm that Tony Scott has passed away. The family asks that their privacy is respected at this time,” Scott’s spokesman. — AP