Neal Jimenez, ‘River’s Edge’ Screenwriter and Director of ‘The Waterdance,’ Dead at 62
thewrap.comNeal Jimenez, the writer-director behind a string of acclaimed films in the 1980s and 1990s, including the thriller “River’s Edge” and his directorial debut, the semi-autobiographical drama “The Waterdance,” died Dec.
11 from heart failure, his family has announced. He was 62.Paralyzed in a hiking accident while he was a student at UCLA in 1984, Jimenez paved the way for disability representation with “The Waterdance,” the 1991 drama starring Eric Stoltz as a writer struggling to recover after being paralyzed from the neck down.
Based in part on his own recovery, the film was released to critical acclaim and won Best First Feature and Best Screenplay at the 1992 Independent Spirit Awards.Jimenez also wrote the screenplays for “For the Boys” (1991), “Sleep With Me” (1994) and “Hideaway” (1995 among other things.)“My brother had a passion for writing and creating.
The clack of typing seemed to daily come through his bedroom walls. He had drawers full of typed pages and journals filled with his words and ink doodles.
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