Robert Towne, who turned screenwriters into stars after his Oscar-winning work on “Chinatown,” has died. He was 89.
Rest in peace to possibly the greatest screenwriter in Hollywood history. Kind of hard to argue with that when Towne’s filmography includes “Chinatown,” “The Godfather,” “Bonnie & Clyde,” “The Parallax View,” “Marathon Man,” “The Last Detail,” “Mission: Impossible,” “Reds,” “The Yakuza,” “Shampoo” and Reds.”
Of course, looking at that list of great films, and one cannot escape the fact that Towne will be most remembered for “Chinatown,” which has been cited by many scholars as the best written screenplay of all-time. Towne's screenplay has become legendary among critics and filmmakers, often cited as one of the best examples of the craft.
In the book “Fifty Filmmakers”, journalist Andrew J. Rausch argued, "There is a strong case to be made that Robert Towne is the most gifted scribe ever to write for film. There can be little doubt that he is one of the finest ever.”
His best screenplays were these beautifully textured and masterfully shaped stories, far beyond anything we see today. They were like great pieces of music, rhythmically attuned to story and character.
It was just a week ago that Towne was teasing his “Chinatown” prequel, which he had written for David Fincher to direct. It sounded like it might happen. I hope it does.
The film had actually wrapped its six-month production in January 2026, and it’s been in post-production for the last eight months. Fincher is well known for taking his time in the editing room.