JILL SCOTT - SCOTT PAYS TRIBUTE TO MINGHELLA

Singer/actress JILL SCOTT is devastated at the unexpected death of director ANTHONY MINGHELLA. The British filmmaker, who the won Best Director Oscar for his 1996 movie The English Patient, died from complications following surgery for cancer of the tonsils and neck at London's Charing Cross Hospital last Tuesday (18Mar08). He was 54 years old. Scott worked with Minghella on the critically acclaimed TV movie The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency, a small-screen adaptation of Alexander MCCall Smith's books, and she admits she was left deeply saddened at the news of the director's passing. She says, "My heart aches with grief. Words cannot express how deeply he will be missed or how deeply he was loved." The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency was Minghella's final project before his untimely death.