Michael Laughlin
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Michael Laughlin | |
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Born | Michael Stoddard Laughlin November 28, 1938 U.S. |
Died | October 20, 2021 | (aged 82)
Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter, film producer |
Notable work | Two-Lane Blacktop |
Spouse | |
Partner(s) | Susanna Moore (1980s–1990s) |
Michael Stoddard Laughlin (November 28, 1938 – October 20, 2021) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter.[1]
Biography
Laughlin was raised in
He and Caron separated in 1975, after living in Paris for a year. Laughlin then lived with the writer Susanna Moore. They lived in London and New York during the 1980s and 1990s, and Laughlin began writing and directing genre films styled in homage to 1950s B-movies. Mesmerized, which Laughlin wrote and directed, was produced by Jodie Foster. After separating from Moore, Michael Laughlin wrote screenplays for Hollywood studios, including Town & Country.[2]
Laughlin died from complications related to COVID-19 in Honolulu, on October 20, 2021, at the age of 82.[3][4]
Awards and accolades
In 2012, Two-Lane Blacktop was chosen as one of only 20 films to be housed in the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress. Hailed as a minimalist classic, it was chosen as a fine example of the short-lived period of youth-oriented films following Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate and Easy Rider in the late 1960s. Producers such as Laughlin financed a spate of low-budget, innovative films by young "New Hollywood" filmmakers, with influences ranging from playwright Samuel Beckett to European filmmakers Robert Bresson, Jacques Rivette and Michelangelo Antonioni.[citation needed]
In 1984, Strange Invaders was nominated for Saturn Award for Best Screenplay and for Best Film at the Avoriaz Fantasy Film Festival.
Filmography
- The Whisperers (1967; producer)
- Joanna (1968; producer)
- Two-Lane Blacktop (1971; producer)
- Dusty and Sweets McGee (1971; producer)
- The Christian Licorice Store (1971; producer)
- Strange Behavior (1981; writer/director)
- Strange Invaders (1983; writer/director)
- Mesmerized (1986; writer/director)
- Town & Country (2001; writer)
References
- ^ The New York Times
- ^ The New York Times
- ^ J. Kim Murphy (October 31, 2021). "Michael Laughlin, Cult Filmmaker and 'Two-Lane Blacktop' Producer, Dies at 82". Variety. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
- ^ Brandon Choe (October 31, 2021). "Michael Laughlin Dies: 'Two-Lane Blacktop' Producer, 'Town & Country' Writer Was 82". Deadline. Retrieved November 1, 2021.