Curtis Lee Hanson (born March 24, 1945) is an American film director, film producer and screenwriter. His directing work includes The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992), L.A. Confidential (1997), Wonder Boys (2000), 8 Mile (2002), and In Her Shoes (2005). Hanson was born in Reno, Nevada and grew up in Los Angeles, the son of Beverly June, a real estate agent, and Wilbur Hale "Bill" Hanson, a teacher. Hanson dropped out of high school, finding work as a freelance photographer and editor for Cinema magazine. In 1970, Hanson co-wrote The Dunwich Horror, an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's short story. Hanson wrote and directed his next feature Sweet Kill in 1973, then in 1978 wrote and produced The Silent Partner, starring Elliott Gould and Christopher Plummer. As the 1980s and 1990s began, he directed a string of comedies and dramas. He did thrillers, too: many of them would deal with people who would lose a sense of control or security when facing danger and the threat of death. Some, like the financial executive in Bad Influence and the police officers in L.A. Confidential unexpectedly walk into violence and disaster.