up their production and distribution. Since the formation of Fox 2000, Ziskin rounded up an impressive number of directors and writers. Among the films released were Edward Zwick's Gulf War drama Courage Under Fire (1996) and the romantic comedy One Fine Day (also 1996) and Pat O'Connor's Inventing the Abbotts (1997) and the big-budget disaster film Volcano (also 1997). Ziskin and Tom Rothman helped develop the script for The English Patient (1996) before studio head Bill Mechanic returned the rights to director Anthony Minghella, who then got it produced and distributed through Miramax. Ziskin executive produced As Good as It Gets (1997). The film received seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and three acting nods, and its stars, Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt, took home the leading role Oscars in the acting categories. Columbia Pictures After nearly five years in the same job, Ziskin resigned from Fox 2000 in November 1999 and within a month had a production deal at Columbia Pictures. After being tapped to serve as the first solo female producer of an Academy Awards telecast in 2002, Ziskin returned to the big screen with the highly anticipated feature version of Spider-Man (2002). The film was released in early May to widespread acclaim from critics, went on to break box office records, and became the highest-grossing film of its year. The success of the film led to two sequels, Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007). In 2002, Ziskin was also awarded the Crystal Award by Women in Film for her efforts at expanding the role of women in the entertainment industry. Breast cancer activism In February 2004, Ziskin was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer, a disease doctors had repeatedly missed previously because of the diffuse type of cancer she had. On May 28, 2008, Ziskin, along with Katie Couric, Sherry Lansing, the Entertainment Industry Foundation, the Noreen Fraser Foundation and Ellen Ziffren, announced the creation of the charitable organization Stand Up to Cancer. Death Ziskin died of breast cancer at her home in Santa Monica, California, on June 12, 2011, aged 61. Her final films were the franchise reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and The Butler (2013). She died a few weeks after principal filming ended on The Amazing Spider-Man but three weeks before filming began on The Butler. In 2012, the Athena Film Festival created an award to be given in her honor: The