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Tony Scott remembered by film community following suicide for his charm, huge success (slideshow)

Mike Roe |

The suicide of "Top Gun" director Tony Scott has shocked the film community. Scott leapt to his death off the Vincent Thomas Bridge over the Los Angeles Harbor Sunday afternoon; he was 68.

He didn't only direct "Top Gun" the film; he also directed the Kenny Loggins music video for the movie's song "Danger Zone," one of only two music videos he directed:

Directors, actors, critics and others reacted on Twitter. Fellow directors shared their thoughts:

Writer/director Joe Carnahan offered a particularly emotional response:

Others also spoke to the emotional impact:

Scott's work with Tom Cruise helped launch Cruise to stardom in films like "Top Gun" and "Days of Thunder." He also formed an attachment with Denzel Washington.

The studio he directed for, Fox, posted this:

Scott's production company recently purchased the rights to comic book creator Mark Millar's "Nemesis"; Millar is best known for his comic book-turned-film "Kick-Ass." Millar shared his thoughts on Scott's death, sharing his personal experience and stories.

Like others, Millar noted Scott's courtesy, writing, "He hated email and instead used to communicate with funny hand-written notes which his assistant would scan and mail to me and he'd tend to communicate this way or by postcard if we didn't speak by phone. ... I remember getting one of his cyber post-cards with a little drawing saying our scheduled call would be 30 mins late as he had a meeting and I think this pretty much sums him up: Polite and charming to a guy he barely knew and always keeping a personal touch in an industry where that's often the first thing to go."

You can see an interview Scott did about "Nemesis" here:

He's not the only famous director in the family — his brother is Ridley Scott. A new president was just named for their Fox-based production company last month. They'd recently co-produced Ridley Scott's film "Prometheus."

Tony Scott was often criticized as being all flash and no substance, but he produced hit after hit, most recently Denzel Washington's "Unstoppable." Scott directed movies like "Crimson Tide," "Enemy of the State," "Beverly Hills Cop 2" and more. He was a big part of the early career of Quentin Tarantino, directing "True Romance," as well as Shane Black, directing "The Last Boy Scout."

He also produced hit TV shows "The Good Wife" and "Numb3rs."

Before his death, Scott had also been set to direct a "Top Gun" sequel as his next project, with Cruise returning to star and Jerry Bruckheimer producing.

Scott reportedly left a suicide note in his car near where he jumped and another in his office, but the contents of those notes have yet to be released. He leaves behind a wife (his third) and twin sons.

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