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Robert Towne, Oscar-winning writer of 'Chinatown,' dies at 89

Published

2 days ago

July 2, 2024

Robert Towne, Oscar-winning writer of 'Chinatown,' dies at 89

NEW YORK — Robert Towne, the Oscar-winning screenplay writer of Shampoo, The Last Detail and other films, whose script for Chinatown became a model of the art form and helped define the jaded allure of his native Los Angeles, has died. He was 89.

Towne died Monday surrounded by family at his home in Los Angeles, said publicist Carri McClure. She declined to comment on any cause of death.

In an industry which gave birth to rueful jokes about the writer’s status, Towne for a time held prestige comparable to the actors and directors he worked with. Through his friendships with two of the biggest stars of the 1960s and ’70s, Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson, he wrote or co-wrote some of the signature films of an era when artists held an unusual level of creative control.

The rare “auteur” among screen writers, Towne managed to bring a highly personal and influential vision of Los Angeles onto the screen.

“It’s a city that’s so illusory,” Towne told The Associated Press in a 2006 interview. “It’s the westernmost west of America. It’s a sort of place of last resort. It’s a place where, in a word, people go to make their dreams come true. And they’re forever disappointed.”

Recognizable around Hollywood for his high forehead and full beard, Towne won an Academy Award for Chinatown and was nominated three other times, for The Last Detail, Shampoo and Greystoke. In 1997, he received a lifetime achievement award from the Writers Guild of America.

“His life, like the characters he created, was incisive, iconoclastic and entirely (original),” said Shampoo actor Lee Grant on X.

Towne’s success came after a long stretch of working in television, including The Man from U.N.C.L.E and The Lloyd Bridges Show, and on low-budget movies for “B” producer Roger Corman. In a classic show business story, he owed his breakthrough in part to his psychiatrist, through whom he met Beatty, a fellow patient. As Beatty worked on Bonnie and Clyde, he brought in Towne for revisions of the Robert Benton-David Newman script and had him on the set while the movie was filmed in Texas.

Towne’s contributions were uncredited for Bonnie and Clyde, the landmark crime film released in 1967, and for years he was a favorite ghost writer. He helped out on The Godfather, The Parallax View and Heaven Can Wait among others, and referred to himself as a “relief pitcher who could come in for an inning, not pitch the whole game.”

But Towne was credited by name for Nicholson’s macho The Last Detail and Beatty’s sex comedy Shampoo and was immortalized by Chinatown, the 1974 thriller set during the Great Depression.

Chinatown was directed by Roman Polanski and starred Nicholson as J.J. “Jake” Gittes, a private detective asked to follow the husband of Evelyn Mulwray (played by Faye Dunaway). The husband is chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Gittes finds himself caught in a chaotic spiral of corruption and violence, embodied by Evelyn’s ruthless father, Noah Cross (John Huston).

Influenced by the fiction of Raymond Chandler, Towne resurrected the menace and mood of a classic Los Angeles film noir, but cast Gittes’ labyrinthine odyssey across a grander and more insidious portrait of Southern California. Clues accumulate into a timeless detective tale, and lead helplessly to tragedy, summed up by the one of the most repeated lines in movie history, words of grim fatalism a devastated Gittes receives from his partner Lawrence Walsh (Joe Mantell): “Forget it, Jake, it’s Chinatown.”

Towne’s script has been a staple of film writing classes ever since, although it also serves as a lesson in how movies often get made and in the risks of crediting any film to a single viewpoint. He would acknowledge working closely with Polanski as they revised and tightened the story and arguing fiercely with the director over the film’s despairing ending — an ending Polanski pushed for and Towne later agreed was the right choice. (No one has officially been credited for writing “Forget it, Jake, it’s Chinatown”).

But the concept began with Towne, who had turned down the chance to adapt The Great Gatsby for the screen so he could work on Chinatown, partly inspired by a book published in 1946, Carey McWilliams’ Southern California: An Island on the Land.

“In it was a chapter called ‘Water, water, water,’ which was a revelation to me. And I thought, ‘Why not do a picture about a crime that’s right out in front of everybody?,’ ” he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2009.

“Instead of a jewel-encrusted falcon, make it something as prevalent as water faucets, and make a conspiracy out of that. And after reading about what they were doing, dumping water and starving the farmers out of their land, I realized the visual and dramatic possibilities were enormous.”

The back story of Chinatown has itself become a kind of detective story, explored in producer Robert Evans’ memoir, The Kid Stays in the Picture; in Peter Biskind’s East Riders, Raging Bulls, a history of 1960s-1970s Hollywood, and in Sam Wasson’s The Big Goodbye, dedicated entirely to Chinatown. In The Big Goodbye, published in 2020, Wasson alleged that Towne was helped extensively by a ghost writer — former college roommate Edward Taylor. According to The Big Goodbye, for which Towne declined to be interviewed, Taylor did not ask for credit on the film because his “friendship with Robert” mattered more.

Wasson also wrote that the movie’s famous closing line originated with a vice cop who had told Towne that crimes in Chinatown were seldom prosecuted.

“Robert Towne once said that Chinatown is a state of mind,” Wasson wrote. “Not just a place on the map in Los Angeles, but a condition of total awareness almost indistinguishable from blindness. Dreaming you’re in paradise and waking up in the dark — that’s Chinatown. Thinking you’ve got it figured out and realizing you’re dead — that’s Chinatown.”

The studios assumed more power after the mid-1970s and Towne’s standing declined. His own efforts at directing, including Personal Best and Tequila Sunrise, had mixed results. The Two Jakes, the long-awaited sequel to Chinatown, was a commercial and critical disappointment when released in 1990 and led to a temporary estrangement between Towne and Nicholson.

Towne’s greatest regret, he said in the 2006 AP interview, was how Greystoke turned out. Towne wrote the adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ novel Tarzan of the Apes and wanted to direct it. But production troubles on Personal Best bled into his hopes for Greystoke. Hugh Hudson, instead, directed the 1984 film. And while Greystoke received three Oscar nominations, including for Towne’s script, he was unhappy with the result. Towne took the name of his dog, P.H. Vazak, for his screenwriting credit, making Vazak an unlikely Oscar nominee.

Around the same time, he agreed to work on a movie far removed from the art-house aspirations of the ’70s, the Don Simpson-Jerry Bruckheimer production Days of Thunder, starring Tom Cruise as a race car driver and Robert Duvall as his crew chief. The 1990 movie was famously over budget and mostly panned, although its admirers include Quentin Tarantino and countless racing fans. And Towne’s script popularized an expression used by Duvall after Cruise complains another car slammed him: “He didn’t slam into you, he didn’t bump you, he didn’t nudge you. He rubbed you.

“And rubbin,’ son, is racin.’”

Towne later worked with Cruise on The Firm and the first two Mission: Impossible movies. His most recent film was Ask the Dust, a Los Angeles story he wrote and directed that came out in 2006. Towne was married twice, the second time to Luisa Gaule, and had two children. His brother, Roger Towne, also wrote screenplays, his credits including The Natural.

Towne was born Robert Bertram Schwartz in Los Angeles and moved to San Pedro after his father’s business, a dress shop, closed down because of the Great Depression. (His father changed the family name to Towne). He had always loved to write and was inspired to work in movies by the proximity of the Warner Bros. Theater and from reading the critic James Agee. For a time, Towne worked on a tuna boat and would speak often of its impact.

“I’ve identified fishing with writing in my mind to the extent that each script is like a trip that you’re taking — and you are fishing,” he told the Writers Guild Association in 2013. “Sometimes they both involve an act of faith. … Sometimes it’s sheer faith alone that sustains you, because you think, ‘God damn it, nothing — not a bite today. Nothing is happening.’ ”

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Biden is still weighing whether to stay in the race, Hawaii governor says

Published

4 hours ago

July 4, 2024

Press Room

Biden is still weighing whether to stay in the race, Hawaii governor says

Hawaii’s Democratic Gov. Josh Green says President Biden has yet to make a final decision about whether he will continue his bid for a second term.

“If the president doesn’t think he can beat Donald Trump, he will hand it off to Kamala [Harris],” Green said during an interview on Saturday with NPR.

“The president has to make this decision with his life-long colleagues from the Senate and his wife. Jill Biden is a superstar. They’ll make the right decision,” Green added.

Green, a close Biden ally, said he still fully backs the president should he choose to continue his campaign. He said he thinks it’s likely that Biden will stay in the race.

He spoke after a closed-door session with the president, which took place on Wednesday in the wake of Biden’s disastrous debate performance.

Green was among 25 Democratic governors who met with Biden. Eleven were present in the room, while others, including Green, joined via video link.

The meeting came amid growing questions, in the media, from voters and voiced by some Democratic lawmakers about the future of Biden’s candidacy.

Green acknowledged feeling alarmed after watching the debate, but said he was reassured by Biden during their meeting.

Noting that he is also a family physician, Green said, “I asked him the question, among our governor colleagues, ‘Mr. President, are you OK? What happened on Thursday, the debate, was terrible and you weren’t yourself.’ ”

Green said Biden responded by saying he had been “exhausted” and “under the weather” during his exchange with Trump.

In the June 27 debate, Biden struggled to speak clearly, appeared to lose his train of thought, and seemed unable to counter Trump’s arguments, which fact-checkers later concluded were laced with false claims.

Biden: “It’s just my brain”

Biden, 81, and his opponent, former President Trump, 78, are “elderly,” Green said: “Biden and Trump are going to have moments when they’re not totally clear. It’s who they put around themselves, how they respond when they need to.”

Green confirmed that during the meeting with governors, when asked about his health, Biden said that he was in good shape but then quipped, “It’s just my brain.”

Biden’s campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a statement: “He was clearly making a joke and then said, ‘All kidding aside.’ ”

Green also read the remark as Biden’s effort at humor.

“It is difficult for a person to actually put together humor like that if they’re not cognitively sound,” Gov. Green said. “He was absolutely making a joke and I know America may not be in a joking mood right now.”

Green said he hoped the media would also focus on Trump’s mental acuity and character.

“If we’re going to judge one gentleman … we should judge the other,” he said.

Biden is “in it to win it”

In public appearances and interviews in the days after the debate, Biden has acknowledged performing poorly on the stage, while saying he will remain in the race.

“I’m not leaving,” Biden said on Wednesday in a fundraising email sent to supporters.

Jacquelyn Martin/AP / AP

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul listens as governors speak to reporters after meeting with President Joe Biden, Wednesday, July 3, 2024, at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Three other Democratic governors spoke about their meeting with Biden on Wednesday during a press conference outside the White House.

All three Democrats signaled support for Biden.

“President Joe Biden is in it to win it,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. “All of us said we pledged our support to him because the stakes could not be higher.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz acknowledged Biden turned in “a bad performance” in the debate, but added “it doesn’t impact what I believe: He’s delivered.”

Walz said he believed Biden was “fit for office.”

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore called the conversation with Biden “candid” and “honest.”

“We were honest about the feedback we were getting. We were honest about the concerns we were hearing from people,” he said.

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Luxury department store Saks buys Neiman Marcus, and Amazon gets a stake

Published

11 hours ago

July 4, 2024

Press Room

Luxury department store Saks buys Neiman Marcus, and Amazon gets a stake

A luxury retailer is making its own high-end purchase: Saks Fifth Avenue’s parent company is buying Neiman Marcus for $2.65 billion, in a merger that would create a dominant upscale department store in the U.S.

HBC, the owner of Saks and the Canadian chain Hudson’s Bay, has agreed to buy Neiman Marcus, which also owns Bergdorf Goodman. Amazon will take a stake in the new combined company, slated to provide technology and logistics as part of the deal. Another tech partner, Salesforce, will also be a minority shareholder. The head of Saks.com, Marc Metrick, will run the new combined firm Saks Global.

Saks and Neiman Marcus have long weighed the idea of combining forces to confront a changing market. Neiman was the first department store to topple into bankruptcy at the start of the pandemic, later emerging under new investment-firm owners.

Both chains are facing pressure, particularly from luxury brands that are increasingly flexing their muscles over department stores, connecting with shoppers directly and opening their own retail locations.

“For years, many in the industry have anticipated this transaction. … This is an exciting time in luxury retail, with technological advancements creating new opportunities to redefine the customer experience,” HBC’s CEO Richard Baker said in a statement, touting a plan to use artificial intelligence to create personalized shopping experiences online and in stores.

Luxury shopping went gangbusters as pandemic-weary shoppers splurged on upscale handbags, outfits and skin care. But the shopping spree has now cooled. Those purchases now are often done online.

Rival Macy’s, the owner of Bloomingdale’s, has been closing stores and shifting its focus more to its luxury business, facing big pressure from activist investors to turn around its slumping business. Meanwhile, the family that owns Nordstrom is trying to take the company private.

The merger is likely to face tough scrutiny from federal regulators, who’ve recently sued to block several high-profile deals between market leaders. That includes the mergers of top two grocery chains, Kroger and Albertsons, as well as another luxury merger: Tapestry, which owns Coach and Kate Spade brands, wants to buy Capri Holdings, which owns the Versace and Michael Kors brand.

Saks Fifth Avenue has 39 stores across North America plus numerous off-price stores called Saks Off 5th. Neiman Marcus has 36 stores plus two Bergdorf Goodman locations.

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Morning Edition is celebrating a summer of love

Published

18 hours ago

July 4, 2024

Press Room

Morning Edition is celebrating a summer of love

Good morning. The newsletter team is taking a break for Independence Day. We’ll return with the news you need to start your day tomorrow. Today, ring in the summer sun with Morning Edition’s “Summer of Love” series.

The future of marriage

by Claire Murashima, Morning Edition and Up First production assistant

When I was a girl, I didn’t dream of getting married the way many of my friends did. It doesn’t bother me that I’ve spent most of my twenties single.

/ Don and Cindy Murashima

Don and Cindy Murashima

My parents Cindy (left) and Don (right) Murashima got married at age 29 (mom) and 34 (dad) on October 14, 1995 in Newport Beach, Ca.

As my peers and I settled into life after college, it felt as if we either took the traditional path and married young or didn’t think about marriage at all. Of the latter, some don’t believe in the institution, some are ethically non-monogamous, and some feel their long-term relationships suffice without marriage.

So, for the first installment of Morning Edition’s “Summer of Love” series, I teamed up with Michel Martin and futurist Jake Dunagan to answer the question: What will marriage look like in the future?

I also talked to four other experts whose interviews didn’t make it on air. They had a lot to say about how rapidly shifting marriage norms in recent decades will play out in the future. Here are some of their thoughts:

💒 Therapist Sheila Addison says the LGBTQ+ community is “leading the way in re-imagining marriage.” Though many of her queer clients are skeptical of the institution, as same-sex marriage was legalized nationally nine years ago, she says they want “committed, intimate relationships of some kind” and added that “for many folks, that still does mean marriage.”
💒 Marriage coach Hasani Pettiford counsels couples on the verge of divorce due to infidelity. He says marriage is in peril because of a culture that says to flee when things get hard. He compares the struggle to commit to a relationship with buying a house. “If I rent, I can break a lease and move on. I’ll pay a little fee,” Pettiford said. “But if I own a house, it’s a whole lot harder to leave.” This mentality of renting vs. ownership has spilled into relationships, Pettiford says.

All of the experts I spoke with predict that marriage will continue to become more fluid. It has already evolved away from the model of one male and one female marrying to create children and never getting a divorce.

Dunagan thinks there could be three alternate potential futures for the institution of marriage:

❤️ It could collapse. Today, many don’t feel a need for religious or state approval to have a lasting romantic relationship.
❤️ Its norms could become more rigid and be used to reinforce social norms.
❤️ Lastly, it could completely transform. Humans and non-human entities like AI could marry.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing more stories about love! Listen to Morning Edition on the NPR app or your local NPR station to hear about how marriage has evolved, the politics of marriage, love songs over time, and more. If you have one story you’d like to hear, please let me know at cmurashima@npr.org.

July 4th stories you may have missed

by Suzanne Nuyen, Up First newsletter writer

The Caesar salad was born 100 years ago, on July 4, 1924, in Tijuana, Mexico. Above, the grilled romaine Caesar salad at<strong> </strong>Boucherie, a restaurant in uptown New Orleans. — The Caesar Salad was born 100 years ago, on July 4, 1924, in Tijuana, Mexico. Above, a Caesar Salad from the Boucherie restaurant in New Orleans.

Today marks another very important anniversary: the 100th birthday of the Caesar Salad. Caesar Cardini, an Italian immigrant living in Mexico, created the iconic dish on July 4th, 1924, in Tijuana. Cardini’s original restaurant is still open for business. Read about how he created the Ceasar salad and how it’s evolved over the years.

Throughout this week, Morning Edition asked newly naturalized citizens what it means for them to be American.

🦅 Bernadette Medina, 47, says becoming a citizen was her “proudest moment.” Eduardo Bautista says it was “a dream come true.”
🦅 Joanne and Andy Daw migrated to the U.S. from the U.K. Andy says it was hard saying goodbye to their home. While their ties to family in the U.K. won’t change, they’re signaling they’re starting a different future in the U.S.
🦅 Nickolas Grosser left Brazil to feel safe and free as an LGBTQ+ person. He met his husband in the U.S. and says he feels a weight has been lifted off his shoulders after becoming a citizen.

The American flag is one of the most iconic symbols of this holiday. It’s flown worldwide, and many flags across the nation started as strips of fabric at Annin Flagmakers in Ohio. The company began in 1847 in New York City. It has made some of the most historically significant flags, like the one draped over Abraham Lincoln’s casket, the one raised by U.S. Marines at Iwo Jima, the one on the moon and every flag flown at presidential inaugurations since Zachary Taylor. (via WOSU)

What’s on your July 4 playlist? Chances are, you’ll hear Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A” today. But you’ve probably never heard of the Freedom remix of the song. In 1984, on the cusp of superstardom, Springsteen agreed to let a producer remix three songs from his upcoming album, also titled Born in the U.S.A. Four decades later, these remixes have nearly vanished.

Independence Day fireworks can be difficult for veterans because the loud, colorful blasts can remind them of combat or other traumatic military experiences. Mandy Rabenhorst-Bell, the PTSD program manager for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Eastern Colorado, has advice for how to help ease veterans’ stress. (via KUNC)

This newsletter was edited by Treye Green.

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