Tequila Sunrise (1988) is an American crime thriller film written and directed by Robert Towne. Starring Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell, with support from Raúl Juliá, J. T. Walsh, Arliss Howard and Gabriel Damon. The film, only the second (after Personal Best) to be both written and directed by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Robert Towne, was commercially successful, making over $100 million at the box office worldwide, but critical reception was mixed. One author was of the opinion that, "perhaps because the elements were so irresistible — Robert Towne directing Gibson, Russell and Pfeiffer in a California crime film — an aura of disappointment settled over Tequila Sunrise, no matter how engaging, and profitable, it turned out to be." Tequila Sunrise was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography. The film's soundtrack spawned the hit single "Surrender to Me", performed by Ann Wilson (lead singer of Heart) and Robin Zander (lead singer of Cheap Trick), where it went to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1989. Dale "Mac" McKussic (Mel Gibson) is a former drug dealer trying to go straight.