Bradbury had an interesting encounter with Sergei Bondarchuk, the director of the Soviet film War and Peace, at a Hollywood award ceremony. Despite his late-life health challenges, including a stroke in 1999, Bradbury remained dedicated and passionate. He continued to make appearances at science-fiction conventions until his retirement in 2009. Despite these challenges, he continued writing, contributing an essay to The New Yorker about his inspiration for writing just a week before his death.