Celebrities pay tribute to Minghella

LONDON, March 18 (UPI) -- Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said he was saddened by the death of English filmmaker Anthony Minghella at the age of 54.

"I am really shocked and very sad," Blair said in a statement issued to the BBC. "Anthony Minghella was a wonderful human being, creative and brilliant, but still humble, gentle and a joy to be with. Whatever I did with him, personally or professionally, left me with complete admiration for him, as a character and as an artist of the highest caliber."

BBC creative director Alan Yentob also described Minghella's sudden death, reportedly from a brain hemorrhage, as "a terrible shock."

Calling him "a great champion of British cinema," Yentob said Minghella was "an elegant advocate for the craft and a marvelous mentor for new talent."

Actor Jude Law said after working with Minghella on three films, he had "come to value him more as a friend than as a colleague."

"He was a sweet, warm, bright and funny man who was interested in everything from football to opera, films, music, literature, people and most of all his family, whom he adored and to whom I send my thoughts and love. I shall miss him hugely," Law said in a statement.