Curtis Hanson

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 got involved in filmmaking starting with participating to the writing Daniel Haller's The Dunwich Horror (1970) and his directorial debut Sweet Kill (1973), where he lacked creative control to fulfill his vision. While Hanson continued directing, he rose to prominence by being involved in the writing of critically acclaimed films. This includes Daryl Duke's The Silent Partner (1978), Samuel Fuller's White Dog and Carroll Ballard's Never Cry Wolf (1983).

Moving forward, Hanson's directorial efforts started to get some attention with The Bedroom Window (1987), and Bad Influence (1990). Eventually, he had a breakthrough with The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992), which made $140 million at the box-office. Afterwards Hanson had a streak of generally well reviewed and commercially successful films The River Wild (1994), L.A. Confidential (1997), Wonder Boys (2000), 8 Mile (2002), and In Her Shoes (2005).

For his work of L.A. Confidential, Hanson won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 1998, for co-writing with Brian Helgeland, along with additional nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and for competing for the Palme d'Or at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.

Up until 2014, Hanson continued to produce and direct. During this time, he fell ill and it led him to retire. Hanson died of natural causes in 2016.