The Script Doctor Extraordinaire

 

Writer and Director Robert Towne has passed at 89.  In addition to directing and writing major Hollywood films like the thoughtful sports film, Personal Best, he did screenplays for such films as The Last Detail and Shampoo which were both nominated for screenwriting Oscars. He wrote the screenplays for Days of Thunder, The Firm, and Mission Impossible. He won an Oscar for the classic screenplay of Chinatown. Now what do the following films- Bonnie and Clyde, The Godfather, The Parallax View, Marathon Man, Heaven Can Wait, Reds, and Crimson Tide all have in common? He was a script doctor who worked on the screenplays without credit. He is considered one of the truly great screenwriters ever.