Robert Towne

Robert Towne (born Robert Schwartz in Los Angeles, California November 23, 1934) wrote the screenplay for Chinatown (1974) directed by Roman Polanski starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway, for The Last Detail (1973) with Jack Nicholson and Shampoo (1975) with Warren Beatty, both directed by Hal Ashby. He wrote and directed Personal Best (1982) with Mariel Hemingway, Tequila Sunrise (1988) with Mel Gibson, Without Limits (1998) with Donald Sutherland, Ask the Dust (2006) from the 1939 novel by John Fante with Colin Farrell.