He started his directing career in the 70s and received recognition later in his career with The Hand That Rocks the Cradle in 1992.
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Hanson, who won a screenwriting Oscar and was nominated for best director for La Confidential, died of natural causes, a Los Angeles police spokesperson said. Some reports claim that he had been struggling with Alzheimer’s Disease in the years ahead of his death, but no official report has confirmed this as of yet.
Born on March 24, 1945 in Reno, Nevada, Curtis Hanson dipped his toe into the film industry as a photographer and editor for Cinema Magazine.
His more recent films included 2005’s In Her Shoes, a hit comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Shirley MacLaine, and 2012’s surfing biopic Chasing Mavericks.
He continued his success by making movies like The River Wild, Wonder Boys, and finally, 8 Mile, which was quite a shift of scenery for Curtis Hanson.
In an interview with EFE in 1997 during the film’s promotions, Hanson said the movie broke numerous rules of big studios. “I’m lucky I got to know him”, he told Billboard.
Kevin Bacon, who starred alongside Meryl Streep in The River Wild, described Hanson as a “great man”. Slim Shady spoke out on the 71-year-old 8 Mile director passing away this week.
Filmmaker Curtis Hanson at the International Book Fair in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Hanson had been a journalist and screenwriter before directing small indie projects. Hanson co-wrote the Oscar winning screenplay alongside Brian Helgeland in this movie adaptation of James Ellroy’s classic novel about corruption in the Los Angeles Police Department.
Hanson explored a different sort of darkness in “8 Mile”, the film starring Eminem that explored the gritty streets and trailer parks of Detroit and closely mirrored the rapper’s own younger life.
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It was a huge hit at the time, starring an incredible cast that included Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, James Cromwell, Danny DeVito and David Strathairn. “I mean if you don’t believe that then what are you left with?”
