Alan J. Pakula
Alan J. Pakula ( born April 7, 1928 in New York City; † 19 November 1998 on Long Iceland ) was an American film director, film producer and screenwriter.
Life and achievements
Pakula was a son of Polish immigrants who operated a printing company. He studied at Yale University. In 1957 he took over for Paramount Pictures for the first time the production of a film.
As a producer of the film To Kill a Mockingbird from 1962 Pakula was nominated in 1963 for an Oscar. For the director of the film The Untouchables (1976 ) with Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford in 1977 he was nominated for the Oscar, Golden Globe Award, BAFTA Award and for the Directors Guild of America Award. He won the 1976 National Board of Review Award and the 1977 New York Film Critics Circle Award.
In the film drama Sophie's Choice (1982 ) with Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline Pakula was involved as a director, producer and screenwriter. He was nominated in 1983 for the screenplay for the Academy and for the Writers Guild of America Award. The thriller Presumed Innocent (1990 ) he made with Harrison Ford and Brian Dennehy, the thriller The Pelican Brief (1993 ) with Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington in the thriller The Devil's Own (1997) starring Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt.
Pakula was married in the years 1963 to 1971 to actress Hope Lange. In 1973 he married Hannah Cohn Boorstin.
He died in a car accident on the Long Iceland Express Highway.