Curtis Hanson edited and photographed for Cinema magazine before turning to screenwriting and directing. In 1978 he wrote the screenplay for the multiple award-winning Canadian feature "The Silent Partner." In 1982, he and the late director Samuel Fuller co-wrote the screenplay for "White Dog," which Fuller directed, and one year later Hanson co-wrote the screenplay for Carroll Ballard's "Never Cry Wolf."

In 1987, Hanson wrote and directed "The Bedroom Window," starring Steve Guttenberg, Elizabeth McGovern and Isabelle Huppert. He followed this with two more contemporary thrillers: "Bad Influence," with Rob Lowe and James Spader, and "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle," with Rebecca DeMornay and Annabella Sciorra. In 1994 he directed the action-adventure film "The River Wild," starring Meryl Streep, Kevin Bacon and David Strathairn.

Most recently Hanson directed, produced and co-wrote (with Brian Helgeland) the screenplay for "L.A. Confidential," based on the epic crime novel by James Ellroy. In addition to winning 1997 Academy Awards® for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress (Kim Basinger), the film won the Best Adapted Screenplay Award from the Writers Guild of America as well as Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay awards from almost every major critics organization, including: the New York Film Critics Circle, the National Society of Film Critics, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the Boston Society of Film Critics, the Chicago Film Critics Association and the London Critics Circle.

Hanson is also very interested in film preservation and for the last year has served as the Chairman of the UCLA Film and Television Archive

Credit: cinema.com