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Robert Towne

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Robert Towne
Towne in 2006
Born
Robert Bertram Schwartz

(1934-11-23)November 23, 1934
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedJuly 1, 2024(2024-07-01) (aged 89)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma materPomona College
Occupations
  • Screenwriter
  • director
  • producer
  • actor
Years active1960–2017
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1977; div. 1982)​
Luisa Gaule
​
​
(m. 1984)​
Children2
RelativesJocelyn 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).

Early life

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Towne was born Robert Bertram Schwartz in Los Angeles, California,[2][3] the son of Helen and Lou Schwartz, a clothing store owner and property developer. He grew up in San Pedro and Rolling Hills and attended Chadwick School.[4][5] He was of Romanian-Jewish descent through his father, and Russian-Jewish descent through his mother; the family was Jewish.[5] He had a younger brother, Roger,[2] who co-wrote the 1984 film The Natural starring Robert Redford.[6]

He graduated from Pomona College in Claremont, California, studying philosophy and literature.[7][8] After college, Towne served in the U.S. Army before doing odd jobs including working as a tuna fisherman.[8]

Career

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Roger Corman

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Towne originally sought work as a writer and actor. He took an acting class with Roger Corman taught by Jeff Corey where his classmates also included Jack Nicholson (with whom he shared an apartment), Irvin Kershner, and Sally Kellerman.[9]

Corman was known for giving work to untested people of talent. Towne wrote the screenplay for the Corman-financed Last Woman on Earth (1960), in which Towne also played one of the lead roles.

The following year he also starred in the Corman-financed Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961).

Television

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Towne started writing for television on such programs as The Lloyd Bridges Show, Breaking Point, The Outer Limits, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E..

He also wrote a screenplay for the Corman-directed The Tomb of Ligeia (1965). In 1981 Towne said "I worked harder on... [that] screenplay for him than on anything I think I have ever done."[9]

Towne went back to working in television when Corman hired him to write a script for a Western, which became A Time for Killing (1967). Corman left the project during filming and Towne took his name off the credits. Towne said later he "hated" the film.[10]

Script doctor

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Towne's script for A Time for Killing had been read and admired by Warren Beatty, who asked Towne to help out on the script for Bonnie and Clyde (1967). Towne later claimed his main contributions were removing the ménage à trois relationship between Bonnie, Clyde, and W.D., making some structural changes.[11] Towne was on set during filming and continued to work during post-production. The film was a huge success and although Towne's contribution was credited only as a "special consultant", he began to earn a reputation in Hollywood as a top script doctor.[12]

Towne was credited on Villa Rides (1968), which he later said he did as a favor for Robert Evans, head of Paramount. He hated the experience.[13]

Towne did uncredited work on the scripts for Drive, He Said (1971), directed by Jack Nicholson; Cisco Pike (1972), which Towne said turned into "a pretty good movie" but where he got "so angry with the director" he took his name off;[10] and The New Centurions (1972), where he was to share credit with Stirling Silliphant but asked for his name to be taken off after he saw the film.[14]

He did uncredited work for Francis Ford Coppola during the making of The Godfather (1972), mostly the final scene between Michael and Vito, shortly before Vito dies.[12] Coppola thanked Towne in his Academy Award speech for Best Screenplay.

Towne also did some work on The Parallax View (1974) at the behest of star Warren Beatty.

The Last Detail, Chinatown, and Shampoo

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Towne received acclaim and was nominated in the Best Original and Adapted Screenplay categories for his scripts The Last Detail (1973), Chinatown (1974), and Shampoo (1975). He won for Chinatown.[15][16][17] He later said it was inspired by a chapter in Carey McWilliams's Southern California Country: An Island on the Land (1946) and a West magazine article on Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles.

According to Sam Wasson's The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood, Towne "secretly employed an old college friend named Edward Taylor as his uncredited writing partner for more than 40 years." (Taylor died in 2013).[18][19]

Towne was credited for his work on The Yakuza (1975) and did script doctoring on The Missouri Breaks (1976), Orca (1977) and Heaven Can Wait (1978).

Director

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Towne turned to directing with Personal Best (1982). He also wrote the script for Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, hoping to direct, but Personal Best was a financial failure, and he had to sell the Greystoke script. He grew dissatisfied with the production and credited his dog, P. H. Vazak, with the script. Vazak became the first dog nominated for an Academy Award for screenwriting.[20]

Towne did uncredited work on Deal of the Century (1983), 8 Million Ways to Die (1986) ([21]), Tough Guys Don't Dance (1987) and Frantic (1988).

His second feature film as director was Tequila Sunrise (1988), which he wrote back in the early 1980s. Towne told The New York Times that Tequila Sunrise is "a movie about the use and abuse of friendship."[16]

The Two Jakes

[edit]

Towne expressed his disappointment in The Two Jakes in many interviews.[citation needed] He told writer Alex Simon, "In the interest of maintaining my friendships with Jack Nicholson and Robert Evans, I’d rather not go into it, but let’s just say The Two Jakes wasn’t a pleasant experience for any of us. But, we’re all still friends, and that’s what matters most."[22]

In a November 5, 2007, interview with MTV, Jack Nicholson claimed that Towne had written the part of Gittes specifically for him and had conceived Chinatown as a trilogy, with the third film set in 1968 and dealing in some way with Howard Hughes.[23] Towne said he did not know how the rumour started and denied any planned trilogy.

Tom Cruise

[edit]

Towne wrote the script for Days of Thunder (1990) and formed a close friendship with its star Tom Cruise.

He was one of the writers on Cruise's The Firm (1993), then Beatty's Love Affair (1994). Cruise brought him on to Mission: Impossible (1996) and co-produced Towne's third film as director, Without Limits (1998). He also co-wrote Mission Impossible II (2000) for Cruise.

Later career

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A project Towne had long sought to bring to the screen came to fruition in 2006 with Ask the Dust, a romantic period piece set in Los Angeles based on the novel by John Fante and starring Colin Farrell and Salma Hayek. Towne had found the novel decades earlier during his research for Chinatown, as he was looking for authentic descriptions of 1930s Los Angeles. He enjoyed the book, considering it "the best book about Los Angeles ever written", and arranged a meeting with Fante, himself a screenwriter. As a result of that meeting, Towne was granted the screen rights to the novel. The rights eventually lapsed, and the new owner was Mel Brooks. In 1993, Towne wrote the script for free in exchange for the chance to direct the film.[24] Tom Cruise (with Paula Wagner and Cruise/Wagner Productions) served as one of the film's producers. Ask the Dust received mixed reviews and failed at the box office. The film was entered into the 28th Moscow International Film Festival.[25]

Towne framed several of his signature films as elaborate melodramas. He told The New York Times "I think melodrama is always a splendid occasion to entertain an audience and say things you want to say without rubbing their noses in it. With melodrama, as in dreams, you're always flirting with the disparity between appearance and reality, which is a great deal of fun. And that's also not unrelated to my perception of my life working in Hollywood, where you're always wondering, 'What does that guy really mean?'"[16]

In 2006, Towne was the subject of artist Sarah Morris's film, Robert Towne. Morris describes him as an “elliptical figure” whose career exemplifies a certain characteristic mode of working in the film industry, marked by collaboration, shared or changing roles.[26] Morris's 19,744-square-foot (1,834.3 m2) painting installation in the lobby of the Lever House in Manhattan, commissioned by the Public Art Fund, was also titled "Robert Towne".[27]

Return to television

[edit]

In the 2010s, Towne returned to television, working as a consulting producer on Mad Men and writing two episodes of Welcome to the Basement.[28]

In 2019, Towne began co-writing, with David Fincher, a Netflix-exclusive prequel television series based on Chinatown character J. J. Gittes, with Fincher serving as showrunner.[29] By June 2024, a week before his death, Towne confirmed that the script for each episode had been completed.[30]

Personal life

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In 1968, Towne met actress Julie Payne; they were married from 1977 to 1982.[31] According to Sam Wasson's The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood, Towne was addicted to cocaine during this period and was occasionally violent, which led to a bitter divorce and custody battle over their daughter Katharine (born 1978).

In 1984, Towne married Luisa Gaule. They had one daughter, Chiara.[32]

He was the former son-in-law of late actor John Payne and actress Anne Shirley. Through his daughter Katharine, he was former father-in-law of actor Charlie Hunnam.

Towne died at his home in Los Angeles on July 1, 2024, at the age of 89.[33]

Filmography

[edit]

Film

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Writer

Year Title Director Notes
1960 Last Woman on Earth Roger Corman
1964 The Tomb of Ligeia
1968 Villa Rides Buzz Kulik
1973 The Last Detail Hal Ashby
1974 Chinatown Roman Polanski
The Yakuza Sydney Pollack
1975 Shampoo Hal Ashby
1982 Personal Best Himself Also credited as producer
1984 Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes Hugh Hudson Credited as P. H. Vazak
1988 Tequila Sunrise Himself
1990 The Two Jakes Jack Nicholson
Days of Thunder Tony Scott
1993 The Firm Sydney Pollack
1994 Love Affair Glenn Gordon Caron
1996 Mission: Impossible Brian De Palma
1998 Without Limits Himself
2000 Mission: Impossible 2 John Woo
2006 Ask the Dust Himself

Uncredited writer

Actor

Year Title Role Notes
1960 Last Woman on Earth Martin Joyce Credited as Edward Wain
1961 Creature from the Haunted Sea Sparks Moran/Agent XK150/Narrator
1971 The Zodiac Killer Man in Bar #3 Credited as Robert Tubin
Drive, He Said Richard
1975 Shampoo Party Guest Uncredited
1987 The Pick-up Artist Stan
2004 Suspect Zero Professor Dates Uncredited

Other roles

Year Title Role
1963 The Young Racers Assistant director
1967 Bonnie and Clyde Special writing consultant
1987 The Bedroom Window Executive producer

Television

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Writer

Year Title Episode(s)
1963 The Lloyd Bridges Show "My Daddy Can Lick Your Daddy"
"A Personal Matter"
"The Last Lion"
"The Epidemic"
1964 Breaking Point "So Many Pretty Girls, So Little Time"
The Outer Limits "The Chameleon"
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. "The Dove Affair"
2013-2017 Welcome to the Basement "Tough Guys Don't Dance"
"Shampoo"

Unmade projects

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Year Title Description Ref.
1962 I Flew a Spy Plane Over Russia Script for Roger Corman [38]
1975 The Brotherhood of the Grape Script for Francis Ford Coppola, based upon the novel by John Fante [39]
1983 The Mermaid Script for Warren Beatty [40]
1985 The Little Blue Whale Script for Don Bluth [41]
1990 Gittes vs. Gittes Unproduced sequel script to The Two Jakes [42]
1994 Beverly Hills Cop III Rejected script [43]
The Night Manager Script for Sydney Pollack, based upon the novel by John le Carré [44]
2003 The 39 Steps remake Writer/director [45][46]
2009 Fertig Script for David Fincher based upon They Fought Alone by Maurice Buckmaster [47]
2011 Pompeii TV miniseries Four-part series for Scott Free Productions, based on the book by Robert Harris [48]
Compadre TV pilot Teleplay for Scott Free Productions [49]
Next of Kin Script for David Fincher [50]
The Battle of Britain Script for Graham King [49][50]
2018 Dancing Bear TV pilot Teleplay for Mel Gibson, based upon the novel by James Crumley [51]
2019 Untitled Chinatown prequel series Teleplay for David Fincher, to be produced at Netflix [29]

Legacy and honors

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Awards

In the book Fifty Filmmakers, journalist Andrew J. Rausch argues: "There is a strong case to be made that Robert Towne is the most gifted scribe ever to write for film. There can be little doubt that he is one of the finest ever."[52]

Citations

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ a b Biskind, Peter (1999). Easy Riders, Raging Bulls. Simon & Schuster. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-7475-4421-0.
  3. ^ According to the State of California. California Birth Index, 1905-1995. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. Searchable at http://www.familytreelegends.com/records/39461 Archived 27 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Morris, Bill (2 July 2024). "Robert Towne, Screenwriter of 'Chinatown' and More, Dies at 89". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 3 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Lennon, Elaine: The screenplays of Robert Towne 1960-2000. Dublin Institute of Technology, 2009". Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  6. ^ The Natural at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  7. ^ "The Robert Towne Page". SuperiorPics.com. Retrieved 13 April 2010.[permanent dead link‍]
  8. ^ a b Robert Towne obituary: American screenwriter and director best known for the hit films Chinatown, The Last Detail and Shampoo The Guardian. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Brady p 390
  10. ^ a b Brady p 388
  11. ^ Brady p 396-398
  12. ^ a b Brady p 399
  13. ^ Brady p 386-387
  14. ^ Brady p 387
  15. ^ McDougal, Dennis (2008) Five easy decades pp.146, 182, 416
  16. ^ a b c Turan, Kenneth (27 November 1988). "Robert Towne's Hollywood Without Heroes". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 July 2024. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  17. ^ Nicolas Cage, DVD commentary, The Rock Criterion Collection
  18. ^ Horowitz, Mark (15 March 2020). "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood". No. Book Review p. 21. The New York Times Company.
  19. ^ "Does Robert Towne's 'Chinatown' Oscar Need an Asterisk?". 17 April 2020. Archived from the original on 22 June 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  20. ^ Ward, Jason (20 February 2015). "Intriguing film credits that you probably missed". hwww.dazeddigital.com. Archived from the original on 13 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  21. ^ Kornits, Dov (27 August 1999). "Robert Towne – From Chinatown to Hollywood". eFilmCritic.com. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  22. ^ Towne, Robert (6 December 2012). "Robert Towne Dusts Off a Classic". The Hollywood Interview (Interview). Interviewed by Alex Simon. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  23. ^ "Jack Nicholson Talks! In Rare Interview, Actor Reveals Details Of Never-Shot 'Chinatown' Sequel". Mtv.com. 5 November 2007. Archived from the original on 6 November 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  24. ^ Anderson, Jeffrey M. (7 February 2006). "Interview with Robert Towne: From 'Dust' to 'Dust'". Combustible Celluloid. Archived from the original on 3 July 2024. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  25. ^ "28th Moscow International Film Festival (2006)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  26. ^ "Public Art Fund"[permanent dead link‍]
  27. ^ Schlesinger, Toni (18 September 2006). "Wonderful Towne! Lever House Hosts Homage to Screenwriter". The New York Observer. Archived from the original on 30 March 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  28. ^ "Robert Towne". IMDb. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  29. ^ a b Fleming, Mike Jr. (19 November 2019). "Netflix Teams Robert Towne And David Fincher for 'Chinatown' Prequel Series Pilot Script". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 19 November 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  30. ^ Murphy, J. Kim (22 June 2024). "As 'Chinatown' Turns 50, Robert Towne Reflects on His Netflix Prequel Plans With David Fincher and Writing Jack Nicholson's Most Iconic Role". Variety. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  31. ^ "Julie Payne Obituary (2019) Los Angeles Times". Legacy.com. Archived from the original on 28 August 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  32. ^ "Chiara Towne". IMDb. Archived from the original on 29 August 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  33. ^ McLellan, Dennis (2 July 2024). "Robert Towne, Oscar-winning screenwriting icon behind 'Chinatown,' dies at 89". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 3 July 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  34. ^ Finstad, Suzanne (2006). "Act 4: The Pro". Warren Beatty: A Private Man. Crown/Archetype. p. 440. ISBN 9780307345295.
  35. ^ Mitchell, Deborah C. (2001). "1978–1971 The Muse". Diane Keaton: Artist and Icon. McFarland. p. 63. ISBN 9780786410828.
  36. ^ Petrikin, Chris (8 June 1998). "'Armageddon' credits set". Variety. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  37. ^ Chitwood, Adam (4 November 2023). "The Wild Development History of 'Mission: Impossible III'". Collider. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  38. ^ Mark McGee, Faster and Furiouser: The Revised and Fattened Fable of American International Pictures, McFarland, 1996 p201
  39. ^ Kernan, Michael (15 September 1975). "Briefs on the Arts". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 10 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  40. ^ "Screenplay Review – The Mermaid". ScriptShadow. 20 February 2013. Archived from the original on 25 April 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  41. ^ Solomon, Charles (6 January 1985). "COMMENTARY : ARE ANIMATED FILMS DRAWN INTO A CORNER?". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  42. ^ Horowitz, Josh (5 November 2007). "Jack Nicholson Talks! In Rare Interview, Actor Reveals Details of Never-Shot 'Chinatown' Sequel". MTV News. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  43. ^ Galbraith, Jane (6 December 1992). "A look inside Hollywood and the movies. : THE SAGA OF 'COP III' : 'I'll Never Work With That &?! Again!' or, 'Did I Hear You Say $15 Million ?'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  44. ^ "Top team plots espionage film". South China Morning Post. 27 May 1994. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  45. ^ "Hollywood embarks on 39 Steps programme". The Guardian. 29 December 2003. Archived from the original on 3 July 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  46. ^ "Towne to retrace Hitch's '39 Steps'". Los Angeles Times. 3 January 2004. Archived from the original on 10 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  47. ^ Johnson, Brian D. (7 October 2009). "Robert Towne looks back on 'Chinatown'". Maclean's. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  48. ^ Roxborough, Scott (4 April 2011). "Oscar Winner Robert Towne to Write Script For 'Pompeii'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  49. ^ a b Kit, Borys (4 October 2011). "'Chinatown' Screenwriter Robert Towne Penning 'Battle of Britain' for GK Films". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  50. ^ a b Fleming, Mike Jr. (4 October 2011). "GK Films Plans WWII 'Battle Of Britain'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  51. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (20 February 2018). "Mel Gibson, Robert Towne, Mike Medavoy Team On 'Dancing Bear' For USA Network". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  52. ^ Rausch, Andrew J. (2008). Fifty Filmmakers: Conversations with Directors from Roger Avary to Steven Zaillian. McFarland. p. 244. ISBN 978-0786431496. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2020.

General and cited references

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