Pollack won an Oscar for his 1985 film Out of Africa. He was also nominated for his 1969 film, They Shoot Horses, Don't They? and the 1982 Tootsie, starring Dustin Hoffman.

He was also an actor and producer; Michael Clayton, which he co-produced and starred in last year was nominated for an Oscar, but did not win.

Ironically, his collaborator and co-producer -- they ran a company called Mirage Enterprises -- the British director Anthony Mingella died in February after surgery for cancer.