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NEWSMAKERS

Director, writer Curtis Hanson dies

LOS ANGELES

Curtis Hanson, who won a screenwriting Oscar for “L.A. Confidential” and directed the psychological thriller “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” and Eminem’s tale of Detroit hip-hop, “8 Mile,” has died. He was 71.

Paramedics declared Hanson dead at his Hollywood Hills home late Tuesday afternoon, Los Angeles police spokesman Tony Im said. Hanson died of natural causes, Im said, but he did not have further details.

Hanson’s partner, Rebecca Yeldham, said Wednesday that his death was precipitated by a rare terminal condition called Frontotemporal Degeneration, which is different from Alzheimer’s. She said a feature of the disease is that sufferers are unaware they have the condition.

“We will be forever thankful that Curtis never suffered in the knowledge of his illness or prognosis,” Yeldham said in a statement released by Hanson’s publicist. “He died peacefully in his sleep.”

Associated Press