Oscar winner, director Curtis Hanson dead at 71

Acclaimed director Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential, Wonder Boys, 8 Mile) died Tuesday at the age of 71.

Los Angeles police spokesman Tony Im says paramedics declared Hanson dead at his Hollywood Hills home. Im says Hanson died of natural causes, but did not have further details.

According to a Los Angeles Times article from 2012, Hanson was unable to complete what would be his last directorial assignment due to a serious illness, that year's surfing drama Chasing Mavericks. The film starring Gerard Butler was completed by veteran filmmaker Michael Apted.

A native of Reno, Nev., who grew up in Los Angeles, Hanson dropped out of high school to work as a photographer.

Hanson's most prolific and successful Hollywood period came well into this career. He directed the 1992 psychological thriller The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, starring Rebecca De Mornay as a revenge-seeking nanny, which became a surprise box office hit.

So sad to hear about Curtis Hanson. great director. great man. Riding that river with him was one of the greatest gigs of my life

— @kevinbacon

9 nominations for Confidential

It led to a string of other high-profile directorial projects, including 1994's The River Wild with Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon, the adaptation of James Ellroy's noir novel L.A. Confidential starring Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe and Kim Basinger and 2000's Wonder Boys with Tobey Maguire and Michael Douglas.

L.A. Confidential was nominated for nine Academy Awards in 1997, including best picture and best director. Basinger would win for best supporting actress, while Hanson and Brian Helgeland prevailed in the adapted screenplay category.

Hanson five years later would receive praise for 8 Mile, Eminem's big screen turn and semi-autobiographical film. Eminem would win the Oscar for best song for Lose Yourself.

Hanson began screenwriting and directing in the early 1970s. Credits that decade included the screenplay for 1978's Elliott Gould-Christopher Plummer bank heist Silent Partner, a rare motion picture for its time in which Toronto did not stand in for another city.

It was an honor to make "Bad Influence" with Curtis Hanson. So smart, so kind and a great storyteller. I will miss him.

— @RobLowe

Hanson would go on to helm Losin' It — Tom Cruise's first starring role — and the more critically hailed suspense film Bad Influence featuring James Spader and Rob Lowe.

His most recent work included Lucky You (2007) starring Drew Barrymore and Eric Bana, and the HBO adaptation of Andrew Ross-Sorkin's book Too Big to Fail (2011), about the Wall Street crisis and subsequent government intervention.

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Oscar winner, director Curtis Hanson dead at 71