OSCAR-WINNING BRITISH FILM MAKER JOHN DALY HAS DIED

     Oscar-winning British film maker John Daly has died in a Los Angeles hospital at the age of 71.
     Daly, who presided over back-to-back best picture Oscar-winning movies Platoon in 1987 and The Last Emperor the following year as executive producer, died in Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre on Friday morning after a long battle with cancer, his daughter Jenny Daly has revealed.
     Among his many other movies, Daly produced Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1984 smash hit The Terminator.
     During his career, Daly, who was chairman of Film and Music Entertainment, was credited with helping launch the careers of many top directors and actors.
     Daly helped to produce films that earned 13 Oscars for best picture and 21 Oscar nominations, as well as numerous Golden Globes and other awards, during a career that spanned four decades.
     His companies boosted the careers of directors such as Oliver Stone, with whom he made Platoon and Salvador, Bernardo Bertolucci, together they made The Last Emperor, and Robert Altman, who collaborated with him on Images.
     Among the actors he turned into stars were Denzel Washington, Keanu Reeves and Julia Roberts.
     "John was truly a giant in the industry who changed filmmaking for the better," said Lawrence Lotman, chief financial officer and acting chief executive officer of Film and Music Entertainment.
     Daly, who was born in London, entered the entertainment business in 1967 when he joined with late British actor David Hemmings to form Hemdale, a company that managed rock bands such as Yes and Black Sabbath.
     Hemdale later became a leading independent film producer and distributor in the U.K. with movies such as Tommy.
     Daly hit his stride as a film producer in the 1980s. Under his stewardship, Hemdale produced more than 100 films that grossed more than US$1.5 billion.
     Daly has been head of Film and Music Entertainment since 2003.
     In 2004, he produced, co-wrote and directed The Aryan Couple, starring Martin Landau, which received awards at film festivals around the world.
     He is survived by three sons and a daughter.