A former photographer, freelance writer of Hollywood-themed articles and editor of Cinema magazine, Curtis Hanson honed his filmmaking skills by writing screenplays for low-budget thrillers before establishing himself as a director of Oscar-caliber work. Born on March 24, 1945 in Reno, NV, Hanson grew up in Los Angeles, CA. As a youngster, Hanson came to appreciate all forms of storytelling—he read the works of Dickens, Twain and Conrad—but he especially fell in love with filmmaking. While in high school, he and old friend Willard Huyck (who later penned “American Graffiti”) picked up an 8mm camera and shot a film that mimicked Fellini’s “8 ½.” He then turned the Hanson home into a movie theater and charged friends and neighbors 50 cents to see his first film—from that point on a director was born.
Dissatisfied with the discipline of going to high school, Hanson dropped out. He eventually found his way onto a film set by way of taking photos of Faye Dunaway that helped the actress land her seminal role in “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967). Hanson used his clout with Dunaway to get onto the set where he interviewed director Arthur Penn and star Warren Betty. He then segued into the filmmaking side by co-writing "The Dunwich Horror" (1970), a cheaply-executed adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s story courtesy of schlock producer Roger Corman. Hanson became a director with the genuinely unsettling Tab Hunter cult flick "The Arousers/Sweet Kill" (1973), then segued to producing as the associate producer (and screenwriter) of "The Silent Partner” (1978), starring Elliot Gould and Christopher Plummer. With maverick director Samuel Fuller, Hanson also co-wrote the screenplay of the long-unreleased—due to undeserved charges of racism (and consequently overrated in some quarters)—melodrama, "White Dog" (filmed 1982, released 1991). He also contributed to the script for the atypical Disney nature film, "Never Cry Wolf" (1983).
After trying his hand making a kids' adventure ("The Little Dragons" 1980) and a teen sex comedy ("Losin' It" 1983, with a young Tom Cruise), Hanson came into his own as a suspense specialist in the late 1980s and early 90s. He wrote and directed "The Bedroom Window" (1989), a surprisingly good Hitchcock homage, and followed up by directing the slick, "Strangers on a Train"-like psychological suspense film "Bad Influence" (1990), starring Rob Lowe and James Spader. Hanson finally enjoyed a runaway box-office success with "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" (1992), a compelling, expertly acted and cannily directed nanny-from-hell thriller that starred a startlingly creepy Rebecca DeMornay. He advanced to the genre A-list with "The River Wild" (1994), a tense adventure set in the great outdoors that starred Meryl Streep in her action movie debut and featured a top-notch supporting cast including Kevin Bacon and David Strathairn.
Hanson used his new-found clout in Hollywood to make the seemingly adaptation-proof "L.A. Confidential" (1997), despite its labyrinth plot, eighty speaking parts and numerous locations too many to count—all demanding the budget of a studio movie. The result was an impeccably crafted, densely plotted and surprisingly fast-paced tale of police corruption in the City of Angels in the 1950s, making “L.A. Confidential” the best American film noir since Roman Polanski's "Chinatown" (1974). Along with co-writer Brian Helgeland, Hanson faithfully captured the L.A. of James Ellroy's pulp novel, giving great attention to period detail in the background while shooting a contemporary movie focused on the characters and their emotions. Photographed primarily in a naturalistic style that emphasized practical lighting whenever possible, "L.A. Confidential" deviated momentarily from its dark palette for some memorable fantasy images contrasting blue with brilliant pink and orange light before reverting to the darkness, which carried to powerful extreme in the film's climactic scene. Although it featured relative unknowns Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce, along with the more familiar Kim Basinger, Danny De Vito and Kevin Spacey, the real star was Los Angeles, growing up before our very eyes.
Hanson's masterful work on "L.A. Confidential" elevated him out of conventional, journeyman thriller and onto Hollywood's A-list of directors-the film also earned him an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, as well as snaring a supporting actress trophy for Basinger and turning Russell Crowe into a bona fide star. Rather than plunge into a whirlwind of new commitments, Hanson instead continued to nurture thoughtful, literate material. His next effort was "Wonder Boys" (2000), a film based on author Michael Chabon's acclaimed novel about a college professor and author (Michael Douglas), who has been unable to finish a massive follow-up to his one highly-praised novel, and his quirky relationship with a young, troubled student (Tobey Maguire). Although the story has some wobbly moments and sends some mixed messages, Hanson shot it with flair, style and sensitivity, wresting top-notch performances from Douglas, Maguire and supporting players Robert Downey, Jr., Katie Holmes and Frances McDormand.
Hanson next turned his skilled hand a seemingly much more unconventional film: "8 Mile" (2002), a street-level drama played out in the hip-hop world of urban Detroit, starring and loosely based on the life of Grammy-winning rapper Marshall Mathers III, aka Eminem. Adopting a raw, gritty documentary filmmaking style, Hanson was able to garner a compelling, intense performance from Eminem in his first on-screen role, as well as strong work from Brittany Murphy, Mekhi Pfifer and his "L.A. Confidential" star Basinger. Continuing to demonstrate his diversity, Hanson next took on what might have been a conventional chick flick in other hands: "In Her Shoes" (2005) starred Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette as close but opposite sisters (Diaz the sexy, irresponsible party girl, Collette the plain achiever with low self-esteem) who have a severe falling out and slowly learn to appreciate each other and themselves when brought back together by the maternal grandmother (Shirley MacLaine) they thought was long dead.
Continuing to keep critics off balance with his choice of genre, Hanson next directed the coming-of-age relationship drama “Lucky You” (2007). Huck Cheever (Eric Bana), an exceptionally talent poker player whose emotions tend to get the better of him, falls for Billie Offer (Drew Barrymore), a young singer from Bakersfield with more talent than heart. Both are adept at reading people—but while Billie seeks emotional truth in order to sympathize with other’s pain, Huck looks to take advantage of his opponents across the table while avoiding long-term commitments in his personal life. After the two meet, Huck realizes that in order to win Billie over, he must learn to play cards the way he has been living life and live his life the way he has been playing cards.