Curtis Hanson

15 films directed 4 Awards 4 Nominations

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".

Most directed genres

Recurring actors

Awards and nominations

2002 European Film Award for Best Non-European Film Nominated
1998 Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
1998 Edgar Awards
1998 Writers Guild of America Award
1998 Academy Award for Best Picture Nominated
1998 Academy Award for Best Director Nominated
— National Board of Review Award for Best Film
— Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay Nominated

The career in numbers

US$ 245 mi Total budget from 9 film(s) with data
US$ 711 mi Total box office from 11 film(s) with data
US$ 27 mi Average budget from 9 film(s) with data
US$ 65 mi Average box office from 11 film(s) with data
6.5 Average rating from 12 film(s) with data
2.5× Return on investment from 9 film(s) with data

Budget and box office do not exist for every film in our records. Averages are computed over the films that carry the figure, and the count beside each one says how many.

Films directed

Film	Year	Budget	Box office	Rating
Chasing Mavericks	2012	—	US$ 8 mi	7.0
Too Big to Fail	2011	—	—	6.9
Lucky You	2007	US$ 55 mi	US$ 8 mi	5.7
In Her Shoes	2005	—	US$ 83 mi	6.2
8 Mile	2002	US$ 41 mi	US$ 243 mi	7.1
Wonder Boys	2000	US$ 35 mi	US$ 33 mi	6.8
L.A. Confidential	1997	US$ 35 mi	US$ 126 mi	7.8
The River Wild	1994	US$ 45 mi	US$ 94 mi	6.5
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle	1992	US$ 12 mi	US$ 88 mi	6.9
Bad Influence	1990	US$ 7 mi	US$ 13 mi	6.0
The Bedroom Window	1987	US$ 8 mi	US$ 13 mi	6.3
Evil Town	1987	—	—	3.8
The Children of Times Square	1986	—	—	6.3
Losin' It	1983	US$ 7 mi	US$ 1 mi	5.0
The Little Dragons	1980	—	—	5.4

Directors