Robert Burton Towne (born November 23, 1934) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
screenwriterScreenwriters or scenarists or scriptwriters are people in a film crew who write/create the screenplays from which films and television programs are made....
and
directorA film director, or filmmaker is a person who directs the making or production of a film. Some also consider a film producer to be a filmmaker....
.
He is married to Luisa Gaule. His former father-in-law is late actor
John PayneJohn Payne was an American film actor who is mainly remembered as a singer in 20th Century Fox musical films, as well as his leading role in Miracle on 34th Street.-Background:Payne was born in Roanoke, Virginia...
, star of the
westernThe Western is a fiction genre seen in film, television, radio, literature, painting and other visual arts. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the later half of the 19th century in what became the Western United States , but also in Western Canada, Mexico , Alaska The Western...
series,
The Restless GunThe Restless Gun is a western television series that appeared on NBC. The series starred John Payne as a gregarious, intelligent, wandering cowhand–gunslinger. The half-hour black and white 1957–59 program ran for 78 episodes...
. Towne's daughter (with actress
Julie PayneJulie Ann Payne is a former American actress. She was born in Los Angeles, California to actors John Payne and Anne Shirley...
) is
Katharine TowneKatharine Payne Towne is an American actress.Towne was born in Hollywood, California, the daughter of actress Julie Payne and Robert Towne, an Oscar-winning screenwriter, director, and actor....
. He is a former father-in-law of
Charlie Hunnam-Biography:Charles Matthew Hunnam was born in Newcastle upon Tyne on 10 April 1980. Discovered while clowning around in a shoe shop by a production manager for the British Children's show Byker Grove, Charlie Hunnam was cast in his first role as the long locked child model Jason in three episodes...
.
Graduate of
Pomona CollegePomona College is a private residential liberal arts college located in Claremont, California. It has ranked in the top ten of liberal arts colleges nationally according to the U.S. News and World Report rankings since their inception...
in
ClaremontClaremont is a college town in eastern Los Angeles County, California, USA, about 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. The population as of 2008 is 37,242. Claremont is known for its seven higher-education institutions, its tree-lined streets, and its...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
.
Towne is the author of many notable film scripts, including
Chinatown (1974), for which he received an Academy Award, plus its sequel,
The Two JakesThe Two Jakes is a American mystery film, and a sequel to the 1974 film Chinatown.Directed by and starring Jack Nicholson, it also features Harvey Keitel, Meg Tilly, Madeleine Stowe, Richard Farnsworth, Frederic Forrest, David Keith, Rubén Blades, Tracey Walter and Eli Wallach...
(1990), and Oscar-nominated screenplays
The Last DetailThe Last Detail is a 1973 American drama film directed by Hal Ashby with a screenplay adapted by Robert Towne from a novel of the same name by Daryl Ponicsan. The film became known for its frequent use of profanity.-Synopsis:...
and
ShampooShampoo is a 1975 satire that is directed by Hal Ashby and stars Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Goldie Hawn, Lee Grant, Jack Warden, Carrie Fisher and Tony Bill...
as well as the first two
Mission ImpossibleMission: Impossible is an American television series which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicled the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force...
films.
Towne is also well-known in the motion-picture industry as an uncredited
script doctorA script doctor is a skilled screenwriter called in to assist a film project by rewriting parts of the screenplay to improve dialogue, pacing and other elements...
who has worked in such a capacity for
The GodfatherThe Godfather is a 1972 American drama film based on the novel of the same name by Mario Puzo and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola, and Robert Towne . It stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard S...
,
Bonnie and ClydeBonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were well known outlaws, robbers, and criminals who, with their gang, traveled the Central United States during the Great Depression. Their exploits were known nationwide...
,
The Parallax ViewThe Parallax View is a 1974 American thriller film directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring Warren Beatty, who was also a producer. The film was adapted by David Giler, Lorenzo Semple Jr and an uncredited Robert Towne from the 1970 novel by Loren Singer...
,
The RockThe Rock is a 1996 action film that primarily takes place on Alcatraz Island, and the San Francisco Bay area. It was directed by Michael Bay, director of Bad Boys, and stars Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, and Ed Harris. It was produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, producers of Top Gun and...
and dozens of other Hollywood films.
After working for years on a script of
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) he grew dissatisfied with the production and credited his dog, P.H.
Robert Burton Towne (born November 23, 1934) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
screenwriterScreenwriters or scenarists or scriptwriters are people in a film crew who write/create the screenplays from which films and television programs are made....
and
directorA film director, or filmmaker is a person who directs the making or production of a film. Some also consider a film producer to be a filmmaker....
.
Personal Life
He is married to Luisa Gaule. His former father-in-law is late actor
John PayneJohn Payne was an American film actor who is mainly remembered as a singer in 20th Century Fox musical films, as well as his leading role in Miracle on 34th Street.-Background:Payne was born in Roanoke, Virginia...
, star of the
westernThe Western is a fiction genre seen in film, television, radio, literature, painting and other visual arts. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the later half of the 19th century in what became the Western United States , but also in Western Canada, Mexico , Alaska The Western...
series,
The Restless GunThe Restless Gun is a western television series that appeared on NBC. The series starred John Payne as a gregarious, intelligent, wandering cowhand–gunslinger. The half-hour black and white 1957–59 program ran for 78 episodes...
. Towne's daughter (with actress
Julie PayneJulie Ann Payne is a former American actress. She was born in Los Angeles, California to actors John Payne and Anne Shirley...
) is
Katharine TowneKatharine Payne Towne is an American actress.Towne was born in Hollywood, California, the daughter of actress Julie Payne and Robert Towne, an Oscar-winning screenwriter, director, and actor....
. He is a former father-in-law of
Charlie Hunnam-Biography:Charles Matthew Hunnam was born in Newcastle upon Tyne on 10 April 1980. Discovered while clowning around in a shoe shop by a production manager for the British Children's show Byker Grove, Charlie Hunnam was cast in his first role as the long locked child model Jason in three episodes...
.
Education
Graduate of
Pomona CollegePomona College is a private residential liberal arts college located in Claremont, California. It has ranked in the top ten of liberal arts colleges nationally according to the U.S. News and World Report rankings since their inception...
in
ClaremontClaremont is a college town in eastern Los Angeles County, California, USA, about 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. The population as of 2008 is 37,242. Claremont is known for its seven higher-education institutions, its tree-lined streets, and its...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
.
Career
Towne is the author of many notable film scripts, including
Chinatown (1974), for which he received an Academy Award, plus its sequel,
The Two JakesThe Two Jakes is a American mystery film, and a sequel to the 1974 film Chinatown.Directed by and starring Jack Nicholson, it also features Harvey Keitel, Meg Tilly, Madeleine Stowe, Richard Farnsworth, Frederic Forrest, David Keith, Rubén Blades, Tracey Walter and Eli Wallach...
(1990), and Oscar-nominated screenplays
The Last DetailThe Last Detail is a 1973 American drama film directed by Hal Ashby with a screenplay adapted by Robert Towne from a novel of the same name by Daryl Ponicsan. The film became known for its frequent use of profanity.-Synopsis:...
and
ShampooShampoo is a 1975 satire that is directed by Hal Ashby and stars Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Goldie Hawn, Lee Grant, Jack Warden, Carrie Fisher and Tony Bill...
as well as the first two
Mission ImpossibleMission: Impossible is an American television series which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicled the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force...
films.
Towne is also well-known in the motion-picture industry as an uncredited
script doctorA script doctor is a skilled screenwriter called in to assist a film project by rewriting parts of the screenplay to improve dialogue, pacing and other elements...
who has worked in such a capacity for
The GodfatherThe Godfather is a 1972 American drama film based on the novel of the same name by Mario Puzo and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola, and Robert Towne . It stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard S...
,
Bonnie and ClydeBonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were well known outlaws, robbers, and criminals who, with their gang, traveled the Central United States during the Great Depression. Their exploits were known nationwide...
,
The Parallax ViewThe Parallax View is a 1974 American thriller film directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring Warren Beatty, who was also a producer. The film was adapted by David Giler, Lorenzo Semple Jr and an uncredited Robert Towne from the 1970 novel by Loren Singer...
,
The RockThe Rock is a 1996 action film that primarily takes place on Alcatraz Island, and the San Francisco Bay area. It was directed by Michael Bay, director of Bad Boys, and stars Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, and Ed Harris. It was produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, producers of Top Gun and...
and dozens of other Hollywood films.
After working for years on a script of
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) he grew dissatisfied with the production and credited his dog, P.H. Vazak, with the script. Vazak became the first dog
nominatedThere have been several fictional people or people using false names nominated for actual Academy Awards, in several cases because the actual winners were blacklisted at the time. This list is current as of the 80th Academy Awards ceremony held on February 22, 2008.- Winners :Pierre Boulle* 1957...
for an Oscar for screenwriting, but he did not fetch the award.
Towne also wrote and directed
Personal BestPersonal Best is a 1982 movie centered on a group of women who are trying to qualify for the Olympic Games track-and-field team.The movie starred Mariel Hemingway and real-life track star Patrice Donnelly, along with Scott Glenn as the coach of the track team...
(1982), a fictional drama of female track-and-field athletes, and
Without LimitsWithout Limits is a 1998 biographical film about the friendship between running star Steve Prefontaine and his coach Bill Bowerman, who had co-founded Nike, Inc. Billy Crudup plays Prefontaine and Donald Sutherland plays Bowerman. The film was written and directed by Robert Towne...
(1998), a biopic based on the life of distance runner
Steve PrefontaineSteve Roland "Pre" Prefontaine was an American middle and long-distance runner. Prefontaine helped inspire the "running boom" in the 1970s along with contemporaries Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers...
. His crime story
Tequila SunriseTequila Sunrise is a 1988 crime thriller movie written and directed by Oscar-winner Robert Towne. It stars Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Kurt Russell. The supporting cast includes Raul Julia, J.T. Walsh, Arliss Howard, Arye Gross, and Gabriel Damon...
(1988) co-starred
Mel GibsonMel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American Australian actor, film director and producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in the Mad...
as a reformed cocaine dealer and
Kurt RussellKurt Vogel Russell is an American actor. He started acting as a child in Hollywood films during the 1960s, and has continued appearing in a wide variety of films since, including Follow Me, Boys!, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, The Barefoot Executive, The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China,...
as a detective, with
Michelle PfeifferMichelle Marie Pfeiffer is an American actress. She made her screen début in 1980, but first garnered mainstream attention with her appearance in Scarface...
as a woman who becomes romantically involved with both.
A project Towne had long sought to bring to the screen came to fruition in 2006 with
Ask the DustAsk the Dust is a 2006 film based on the book Ask the Dust by John Fante. The movie was written and directed by Robert Towne. Tom Cruise served as one of the film's producers. The film was released on a limited basis on March 17, 2006...
, a romantic period piece set in Los Angeles based on the acclaimed novel by
John FanteJohn Fante was an American novelist, short story writer and screenwriter of Italian descent.-Life:Born in Denver, Colorado, Fante's early years were spent in relative poverty...
and starring
Colin FarrellColin James Farrell is a Golden Globe-winning Irish actor, who has appeared in Hollywood films including Tigerland, Daredevil, Miami Vice, Minority Report, Phone Booth, Alexander, In Bruges and S.W.A.T....
and
Salma HayekSalma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez is a Mexican actress, director, and television and film producer. Hayek's charitable work includes increasing awareness on violence against women and discrimination against immigrants....
. The film failed at the box office and received mixed reviews.
Television
Towne has also written for television, including an acclaimed episode of the 1962-1963 CBS
anthologyAn anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
series
The Lloyd Bridges ShowThe Lloyd Bridges Show is an American anthology drama series produced by Aaron Spelling, which aired on CBS from September 11, 1962 to May 28, 1963, starring and hosted by Lloyd Bridges.-Synopsis:...
entitled "My Daddy Can Beat Your Daddy," with starring roles for
Jeff BridgesJeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. His most notable films include The Last Picture Show, Tron, Starman, The Fabulous Baker Boys, The Fisher King, Fearless, The Big Lebowski, The Contender, and Iron Man.-Personal life:Jeffrey Bridges was born in Los Angeles, California,...
and
Gary LockwoodGary Lockwood is an American actor perhaps best known for his iconic 1968 role as the astronaut Dr. Frank Poole in 2001: A Space Odyssey. He is father of the actress Samantha Lockwood. Both currently live in Los Angeles.-Early life:Lockwood's birth name was John Gary Yurosek...
.
As performer
On occasion, he has acted on screen, as in 1960's
Roger CormanRoger William Corman , sometimes nicknamed "King of the Bs" for his output of B-movies , is an American producer and director of low-budget movies, some of which have an established critical reputation: his cycle of films derived from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe for example...
sci-fi film
Last Woman on EarthThe Last Woman on Earth is a 1960 American science-fiction film produced and directed by Roger Corman. It tells the story of three survivors of a mysterious apocalypse which appears to have wiped out all human life on earth. The screenplay is by Robert Towne, who also appears in the film billed as...
, which Towne also wrote.
Future Projects
Towne has been announced as writer-director of
The 39 StepsThe Thirty-Nine Steps is an adventure and espionage novel by John Buchan. The title may also refer to:Adaptations of the novel:* The 39 Steps , directed by Alfred Hitchcock* The 39 Steps , directed by Ralph Thomas...
, a 2009 remake of the 1935 film directed by
Alfred HitchcockSir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British filmmaker and producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in his native United Kingdom in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
.
Writing Filmography
- Last Woman on Earth
The Last Woman on Earth is a 1960 American science-fiction film produced and directed by Roger Corman. It tells the story of three survivors of a mysterious apocalypse which appears to have wiped out all human life on earth. The screenplay is by Robert Towne, who also appears in the film billed as...
(1960)
- The Tomb of Ligeia
The Tomb of Ligeia is an American International Pictures horror film starring Vincent Price and Elizabeth Shepherd in a story about a man haunted by the spirit of his dead wife and her effect on his second marriage. The screenplay by Robert Towne was based upon the tale "Ligeia" by American...
(1964)
- Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were well known outlaws, robbers, and criminals who, with their gang, traveled the Central United States during the Great Depression. Their exploits were known nationwide...
(1967)
- Villa Rides
Villa Rides is a 1968 film starring Yul Brynner in toupee in the title role and Robert Mitchum as an American adventurer and pilot of fortune. The supporting cast includes Charles Bronson as Fierro, Herbert Lom as Huerta, and Alexander Knox as Madero...
(1968)
- Cisco Pike
Cisco Pike is a 1972 drama written and directed by Bill L. Norton. It stars Kris Kristofferson as a musician fallen on hard luck who turned to dealing marijuana as a means of income. The film also stars Karen Black, Harry Dean Stanton, Antonio Fargas, Gene Hackman, Viva, and Texas musician Doug Sahm...
(1972)
- The New Centurions
The New Centurions is a 1972 film based on the novel by "cop-writer" Joseph Wambaugh, with George C. Scott as a veteran police officer, and Stacy Keach as his soon-to-become world-weary rookie trainee. It also stars Scott Wilson , Jane Alexander , Erik Estrada and James B. Sikking...
(1972)
- The Last Detail
The Last Detail is a 1973 American drama film directed by Hal Ashby with a screenplay adapted by Robert Towne from a novel of the same name by Daryl Ponicsan. The film became known for its frequent use of profanity.-Synopsis:...
(1973)
- Chinatown
Chinatown is a American neo-noir film, directed by Roman Polanski. The film features many elements of the film noir genre, particularly a multi-layered story that is part mystery and part psychological drama...
(1974)
- The Parallax View
The Parallax View is a 1974 American thriller film directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring Warren Beatty, who was also a producer. The film was adapted by David Giler, Lorenzo Semple Jr and an uncredited Robert Towne from the 1970 novel by Loren Singer...
(1974)
- The Yakuza
The Yakuza is a 1975 neo-noir gangster film directed by Sydney Pollack, written by Leonard Schrader, Paul Schrader, and Robert Towne.The Yakuza portrays the clash of traditional Japanese values during Japan's transition from the US occupation to economic success in the early 1970s...
(1974)
- Shampoo
Shampoo is a 1975 satire that is directed by Hal Ashby and stars Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Goldie Hawn, Lee Grant, Jack Warden, Carrie Fisher and Tony Bill...
(1975)
- The Missouri Breaks
This article is about the motion picture. For the geographical feature, see Upper Missouri River Breaks National MonumentThe Missouri Breaks is a 1976 American western film starring Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson. The film was directed by Arthur Penn, with supporting performances by Randy Quaid,...
(1976)
- Orca
Orca is a 1977 horror film directed by Michael Anderson and produced by Dino De Laurentiis and starring Richard Harris, Will Sampson and Charlotte Rampling. The film was one of a long line of marine-related horror-disaster films that followed the success of 1975's Jaws...
(1977)
- Heaven Can Wait
Heaven Can Wait is a 1978 comedy film directed by Warren Beatty and Buck Henry. The screenplay by Beatty, Elaine May and an uncredited Robert Towne is adapted from the original stage play Heaven Can Wait by Harry Segall. The original music score was composed by Dave Grusin...
(1978)
- Personal Best
Personal Best is a 1982 movie centered on a group of women who are trying to qualify for the Olympic Games track-and-field team.The movie starred Mariel Hemingway and real-life track star Patrice Donnelly, along with Scott Glenn as the coach of the track team...
(1982) (Also Director)
- Deal of the Century
Deal of the Century is a 1983 American comedy film directed by William Friedkin and starring Chevy Chase, Gregory Hines, and Sigourney Weaver....
(1983)
- Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984)
- Tough Guys Don't Dance
Tough Guys Don't Dance is a 1987 film from Cannon Films written and directed by Norman Mailer based on his novel of the same name. It is a murder mystery/film noir piece that was scorned both by audiences and critics alike...
(1987)
- Frantic
Frantic is a noted 1988 thriller film directed by Roman Polanski and starring Harrison Ford.- Synopsis :Harrison Ford plays Dr Richard Walker, a surgeon visiting Paris with his wife for a medical conference. At their hotel his wife is unable to open her suitcase and Walker tells her she has picked...
(1988)
- Tequilla Sunrise
Tequila Sunrise is a 1988 crime thriller movie written and directed by Oscar-winner Robert Towne. It stars Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Kurt Russell. The supporting cast includes Raul Julia, J.T. Walsh, Arliss Howard, Arye Gross, and Gabriel Damon...
(1988) (Also Director)
- The Two Jakes
The Two Jakes is a American mystery film, and a sequel to the 1974 film Chinatown.Directed by and starring Jack Nicholson, it also features Harvey Keitel, Meg Tilly, Madeleine Stowe, Richard Farnsworth, Frederic Forrest, David Keith, Rubén Blades, Tracey Walter and Eli Wallach...
(1990)
- Days of Thunder
Days of Thunder is an auto racing drama film released in 1990 by producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer and director Tony Scott. The cast includes Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid, Cary Elwes and Michael Rooker. The film also features appearances by real life racers,...
(1990)
- The Firm (1993)
- Love Affair (1994)
- Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible is an 1996 action thriller directed by Brian De Palma and stars Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt. The plot follows Hunt's mission to uncover the mole within the CIA who has framed him for the murders of his entire IMF team...
(1996)
- Without Limits
Without Limits is a 1998 biographical film about the friendship between running star Steve Prefontaine and his coach Bill Bowerman, who had co-founded Nike, Inc. Billy Crudup plays Prefontaine and Donald Sutherland plays Bowerman. The film was written and directed by Robert Towne...
(1998) (Also Director)
- Mission: Impossible II
Mission: Impossible II is a 2000 action film directed by John Woo, and starring Tom Cruise, who also served as the film's producer...
(2000)
- Ask the Dust
Ask the Dust is a 2006 film based on the book Ask the Dust by John Fante. The movie was written and directed by Robert Towne. Tom Cruise served as one of the film's producers. The film was released on a limited basis on March 17, 2006...
(2006) (Also Director)
- The Thirty Nine Steps (2009) - announced
Awards
- Academy Award
- 1974: Nominated, Best Adapted Screenplay
The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
, The Last DetailThe Last Detail is a 1973 American drama film directed by Hal Ashby with a screenplay adapted by Robert Towne from a novel of the same name by Daryl Ponicsan. The film became known for its frequent use of profanity.-Synopsis:...
- 1975: Won, Best Original Screenplay, Chinatown
- 1976: Nominated, Best Original Screenplay, Shampoo
- 1985: Nominated, Best Adapted Screenplay, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan
- BAFTA Award
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a British charity that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation...
- 1975: Won, Best Screenplay, The Last Detail and Chinatown
- Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to recognize outstanding achievements in the entertainment industry, both domestic and foreign, and to focus wide public attention upon the best in motion pictures and television...
- 1975: Won, Best Screenplay - Motion Picture, Chinatown
- Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...