Robert Towne | |
|---|---|
 Towne in 2006 | |
| Born | Robert Bertram Schwartz November 23, 1934 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | July 1, 2024 (aged 89) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Pomona College |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1960–2017 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Jocelyn Towne (niece) |
Robert Towne (born Robert Bertram Schwartz; November 23, 1934 – July 1, 2024) was an American screenwriter and director. He started writing films for Roger Corman, including The Tomb of Ligeia in 1964, and was later part of the New Hollywood wave of filmmaking.
Towne wrote and won the Academy Award-winning original screenplay for Roman Polanski's Chinatown (1974); starring Jack Nicholson, widely considered one of the greatest screenplays ever written,[1] as well as its sequel, The Two Jakes (1990). For Hal Ashby, he penned the dramedies The Last Detail (1973) and Shampoo (1975). He collaborated with Tom Cruise on the films Days of Thunder (1990), The Firm (1993) and the first two installments of the Mission: Impossible franchise (1996, 2000).
Towne directed the sports dramas Personal Best (1982) and Without Limits (1998), the crime thriller Tequila Sunrise (1988), and the romantic drama Ask the Dust (2006).
- ^ Tobias, Scott (29 October 2019). "Being John Malkovich at 20: why the surrealist comedy demands a rewatch". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 July 2024. Retrieved 29 March 2020.