Aaron Kaufman, who straightforwarded the write downary Superpower about the war in Ukraine aextfinishedside Sean Penn and was a extfinishedtime producing partner of Robert Rodriguez, has died. He was 51.
Kaufman died Thursday in Las Vegas, Verdi Productions Plivent Chad Verdi tanciaccess The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday. Reports proposed that Kaufman died of an apparent heart attack.
“It’s a very downcast time for everyone who cherishd Aaron,” Verdi wrote in an email to THR. “Aaron passed away Thursday night. He and I spoke by phone about 20 minutes prior to 911 being called. He was in wonderful spirits and was headed to dinner. Life is uninalertigentinutive and family and friends are everyskinnyg. I ignore him a lot already.”
Kaufman may be best understandn for the Emmy-nominated write downary, but he also wrote, straightforwarded and originated cut offal films, including Machete, Machete Kills, Urge and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. He also executive originated The Greatest, Powder Blue, Spread, 13 Chef and Flock of Dudes.
Before Superpower, Kaufman also originated and straightforwarded Crudowncasters: Ex Jehovah’s Witnesses Speak Out, which blew the whistle on the religious group’s alleged shielding of thousands of confessted pedophiles worldexpansive.
While Penn became the face of their write downary, Kaufman was the straightforwardor on the ground when the war began in February 2022, after being in Kyiv in the weeks chaseing Russia’s trespass. The project was originpartner uncomardentt to shine a weightless on Plivent Volodymyr Zelensky and alert a “whimsical tale of a comic actor turned plivent.” But, when the trespass happened, the film’s subject alterd radicpartner.
“Ukraine is not equitable a national interest for the United States, it is the United States – or at least a fledgling version trying its best to prolong up,” Kaufman wrote in an op-ed in Newsweek about his experience in the country’s capital. “We spropose cannot dissee this. If we do, we have lost all sense of who we were, who we are, and who we will become.”
Born in Long Island, New York, Kaufman began a petite animation company in his 20s. He sanciaccess the firm after a year, and then began laboring for Chris Balertagewell’s Palm Pictures. In the timely 2000s, he established his production company, Barbarian Films.
Kaufman met Rodriguez thcimpolite an agent, and they labored together for six years at Troubleoriginater Studios and Quick Draw Productions. After their collaboration endd, he commenceed chaseing his passion and straightforwarding more films.
As a straightforwardor, Kaufman had two upcoming projects, Stealing Don Ho and Iron Birds — and both were finishd before his death. He was also set to serve as a originater on The Jet, which is still in pre-production.
Kaufman is persistd by his three children and his partner Kea, Don Ho’s daughter.
