According to the website TMZ Hanson was found dead at his home in California on Tuesday afternoon by paramedics responding to a call of an unconscious man.
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“Confidential” earned him an Oscar (for screenwriting) and vaulted him to A-list status as a screenwriter and director, has died”, reports The Hollywood Reporter.
A producer and screenwriter as well as a director, Hanson won an Oscar in 1997 for Best Adapted Screenplay for the neo-noir crime film “L.A. Confidential“.
Kim Basinger won Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her role in the film, which was also nominated for its cinematography, art direction, sound, editing and score. 1997’s LA Confidential put Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce on the A-list and saw Hanson adapt author James Ellroy’s sprawling post-war police thriller into one of the decade’s finest films.
Hanson most recently directed the 2011 HBO movie on the financial crisis “Too Big To Fail” and the 2012 Gerard Butler surfing movie “Chasing Mavericks”.
Curtis Hanson has died aged 71. The movie, about a struggling battle rapper trying to push his career forward while dealing with poverty and dysfunctional family issues, was also critically acclaimed remains one of the most celebrated hip-hop movies ever made.
Hanson also explained that he didn’t want 8 Mile to get pigeonholed as only a “rap movie”. Hanson started working with writing and directing indie pics. 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.
After L.A. Confidential, Hanson directed Wonder Boys – an adaptation of Michael Chabon’s novel of the same name – and followed it with 8 Mile.
Update: In a statement, Eminem said, “Curtis Hanson believed in me and our insane idea to make a rap battle movie set in Detroit”.
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. “I will miss him”.
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Eminem has led tributes to director Curtis Hanson, thanking him for starting his acting career by casting him in 8 Mile.
