Robert Towne
- Known for
- Writing
- Born
- November 23, 1934
- Died
- July 1, 2024
- Birthplace
- San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA
Robert Towne (born Robert Bertram Schwartz; November 23, 1934 - July 1, 2024) was an American screenwriter, producer, director and actor. He was part of the New Hollywood wave of filmmaking. He is best known for his Academy Award-winning original screenplay for Roman Polanski's Chinatown (1974), which is widely considered one of the greatest screenplays ever written. 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. Towne also wrote the sequel, The Two Jakes (1990); the Hal Ashby comedy-dramas The Last Detail (1973) and Shampoo (1975); and the first two Mission: Impossible films. Towne directed the sports dramas Personal Best (1982) and Without Limits (1998), the crime thriller Tequila Sunrise (1988), and the romantic crime drama Ask the Dust (2006). Description above from the Wikipedia article Robert Towne, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
- Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain TBA
Screenplay
Robert Towne TBA
Actor
Days of Thunder 2 2028
Characters
Ray Gunn 2026
Thanks
What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael 2019
as Self
Salinger 2013
as Self - Screenwriter
- Mission: Remarkable - 40 Years of Creating the Impossible
Mission: Remarkable - 40 Years of Creating the Impossible 2010
as Self
You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story 2008
as Self
Revolution! The Making of 'Bonnie and Clyde' 2008
as Self
Making of Chinatown 2007
Actor
Ask the Dust 2006
Screenplay, Director
Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That 2005
as Self
Suspect Zero 2004
as Professor Dates (uncredited)
A Decade Under the Influence 2003
as Self
- Reel Radicals: The Sixties Revolution in Film
Reel Radicals: The Sixties Revolution in Film 2002
as Self (uncredited)
Rescued from the Closet 2001
as Self
A Sad Flower in the Sand 2001
as Self
Mission: Impossible II 2000
Screenplay
Without Limits 1998
Director, Writer
Billy Wilder: The Human Comedy 1998
as Self
Mission: Impossible 1996
Screenplay
Love Affair 1994
Screenplay
The Firm 1993
Screenplay
Halloween Monster Bash 1991
as Sparks Moran (archive footage)
The Two Jakes 1990
Writer, Characters
Days of Thunder 1990
Screenplay, Story
Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland 1989
Story Consultant
Tequila Sunrise 1988
Director, Screenplay
Frantic 1988
Additional Writing
Tough Guys Don't Dance 1987
Additional Writing
The Pick-up Artist 1987
as Stan
The Bedroom Window 1987
Executive Producer
8 Million Ways to Die 1986
Additional Writing, Writer
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes 1984
Screenplay
Deal of the Century 1983
Additional Writing
Personal Best 1982
Director, Producer, Writer
Heaven Can Wait 1978
Additional Writing
Shampoo 1975
as Party Guest (uncredited), Writer
The Yakuza 1974
Screenplay
Chinatown 1974
Writer
The Parallax View 1974
Additional Writing
The Last Detail 1973
Screenplay
The New Centurions 1972
Additional Writing
The Godfather 1972
Story Editor
Cisco Pike 1972
Additional Writing
McCabe & Mrs. Miller 1971
Additional Writing
Drive, He Said 1971
as Richard, Additional Writing
The Zodiac Killer 1971
as Man in Bar #3
Villa Rides 1968
Screenplay
Bonnie and Clyde 1967
Additional Writing
The Tomb of Ligeia 1964
Screenplay
Creature from the Haunted Sea 1961
as Sparks Moran / Agent XK150 / Narrator
Last Woman on Earth 1960
as Martin Joyce, Screenplay
Credits from TMDB.