Producer David R. Ellis dead at the age of 60

The man who brought us “Snakes on a Plane” was found dead in his hotel room in Johannesburg, South Africa Monday at the age of 60. While best known for his role as director of “Snakes on a Plane” Ellis enjoyed a long and successful career as a Hollywood stuntman working with movies such as “Days of Thunder,” “Misery,” “The Addams Family” and “Patriot Games.”

Starting out in Hollywood as an actor in 1975, Ellis quickly switched gears to stunt coordinating and eventually moved up to second unit directing. In 1996 he made his directorial debut with “Homeward Bound 2: Lost in San Francisco.”

Ellis was in Johannesburg working on a remake of the 1988 Japanese anime film “Kite” that was to star Samuel L. Jackson. The cause of death is still unknown but authorities do not suspect foul play at this time. Jackson took to Twitter today to say: “So sad to hear of David R. Ellis passing! So talented, so kind, such a Good Friend. He’ll be missed. Gone too soon!”