Curtis Hanson — Director | Biography, Movies & Career

Biography

Curtis Lee Hanson (March 24, 1945 – September 20, 2016) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Born in Reno, Nevada, Hanson grew up in Los Angeles. After dropping out of high school, Hanson worked as photographer and editor for Cinema magazine. In the 1970s, Hanson participated as a writer for the horror film The Dunwich Horror (1970) and made his directorial debut the B-Movie Sweet Kill (1973), where he lacked creative control to fulfill his vision. While Hanson continued directing, he rose to prominence screenwriting critically acclaimed films such as The Silent Partner (1978), White Dog (1982), and Never Cry Wolf (1983).

After working on projects that kept him unsatisfied, he decided that he should write and direct thriller films based on the success of The Silent Partner. Hence, he followed up with The Bedroom Window (1987) where his writing and directing finally came to merge. By this point, his body of work made an impression on screenwriter David Koepp, who was convinced that he could handle the directorial duties for his script, which led to Bad Influence (1990). Finally he directed The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992), which was both a critical and commercial success.

Moving forward he directed the thriller The River Wild (1994), which grossed $94.2 million. Afterwards, he directed the acclaimed neo-noir crime film L.A. Confidential (1997) earning him the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as well as nominations for Best Picture and Best Director. The film was also nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival and is preserved by the Library of Congress in the National Film Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

His next directorial effort was the critically acclaimed comedy-drama Wonder Boys (2000). Then came the hip-hop drama 8 Mile (2002), starring rapper Eminem and based on his life experiences. The film was a triumph with critics and at the box-office grossing $242.9 million. Finally the romantic comedy In Her Shoes (2005), was also critically acclaimed and a financial success.

Prior to his 2014 retirement, due to poor health, Hanson directed Lucky You (2007), and Chasing Mavericks (2012), both had troubled productions and the final results did not come near his previous critical and financial accomplishments. Hanson's last significant directorial effort was the HBO television film Too Big to Fail (2011) receiving nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series or Movie and Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series or Movie. Hanson died of natural causes in 2016.

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