Joel Zimmerman, a longtime member of the Directors Guild of America, died on Oct. 1 after a three-year battle with brain cancer, his brother, Michael, said. He was 58.
In 1981, Zimmerman came to Los Angeles, where he began working in film and commercial production. He was a staff producer at Industrial Light & Magic and a freelance commercial assistant director and producer for such Hollywood production houses as Rhythm + Hues, Anonymous Content, Believe Media and Partizan.
In 2010, Zimmerman relocated to the Detroit area to become manager of studio operations and production services for Michigan Motion Pictures Studios, working on films that included Oz: The Great and Powerful, Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Real Steel.
Born in Harlingen, Texas, Zimmerman was raised in Farmington Hills, Mich., and he attended Harrison High School and then Central Michigan University.
In addition to his brother, survivors include his wife, Lisa, and their daughters Georgia and Juliet; his father, Robert, and his mother, Barbara; and his other siblings Patricia, Stephen and Jennifer.
Donations can be made to Henry Ford Hermelin Brain Tumor Center in Detroit or Angela Hospice in Livonia, Mich.
