According to TMZ, paramedics responded to a call Tuesday afternoon, when Hanson went unconscious at his home in the Hollywood Hills. Police said he died of natural causes.
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Written and Directed by Curtis Hanson – L.A. Confidential (1997) was up for Best Picture and also earned him a directing nominee and won the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
Hanson’s latest directing releases were Too Big To Fail in 2011 and Chasing Mavericks in 2012, starring Gerard Butler. Eminem would win the Oscar for best song for Lose Yourself.
“8 Mile” star Eminem was one of the many celebrities to honor Hanson after the news broke.
“Thank you for believing in me and standing your ground”, Crowe said on Twitter. He proved himself particularly adept at thrillers, with 1992’s evil nanny drama The Hand That Rocks The Cradle and 1994’s Meryl Streep river rafting of doom flick The River Wild. “I knew going into it that he had experience performing and also adopting a character, Slim Shady”.
In a 2002 interview with Rolling Stone, Hanson described what he’d wanted to accomplish with 8 Mile. Paris Barclay, the Directors Guild of America’s (DGA) president said in a statement that they were greatly saddened after learning that Hanson passed away. 2000’s Wonder Boys is one of the best movies ever made about writing, with Michael Douglas and Tobey Maguire turning in two of the best performances of their careers. Hanson, who was recovering from complications after heart surgery, shared the directing credit with Michael Apted.
Also nominated for best director and best film, the film told the story of a group of corrupt LAPD officers and starred Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito and Kim Basinger.
Hanson is survived by his mother Beverly June Hanson, his brother Woody, his longtime partner Rebecca Yeldham, and their son Rio.
Actor Rob Lowe tweeted: “It was an honour to make Bad Influence with Curtis Hanson”.
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“Curtis Hanson believed in me and our insane idea to make a rap battle movie set in Detroit”, the 43-year-old rapper said in a statement to Billboard.
