Curtis Lee Hanson (March 24, 1945 – September 20, 2016) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Born in Reno, Nevada, Hanson grew up in Los Angeles. After dropping out of high school, Hanson worked as photographer and editor for Cinema magazine. In the 1970s, Hanson got involved in filmmaking starting with participating to the writing Daniel Haller's
The Dunwich Horror (1970) and his directorial debut
Sweet Kill (1973), where he lacked creative control to fulfill his vision. While Hanson continued directing, he rose to prominence by being involved in the writing of critically acclaimed films. This includes Daryl Duke's
The Silent Partner (1978), Samuel Fuller's
White Dog and Carroll Ballard's
Never Cry Wolf (1983). Moving forward, Hanson's directorial efforts started to get some attention with
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