'L.A. Confidential' writer and director Curtis Hanson dead at 71

Oscar-winning screenwriter and director Curtis Hanson died on Tuesday. He was 71. As a director, producer and writer, Hanson helmed a crop of films that spanned genres and decades including Losin' It(1983),The River Wild(1994), Wonder Boys(2000),In Her Shoes(2005) and 8 Mile (2002). Before he penned his first screenplay Dunwich Horror (1970), Hanson interviewed directors, including John Ford and Vincente Minnelli, for Cinema magazine, a time which he would later refer to as his "film school." He is perhaps best known for the neo-noir crime thriller L.A. Confidential (1997). He and Brian Helgeland won an Oscar for their screenplay adaption of James Ellroy's novel, and Hansen was also nominated as the film's director. Hansen died at home after an apparent heart attack, TMZ reports.

See photos of Curtis Hanson through the years: