Tribute:

The Achievement of Warren Beatty

The Trustees of the American Film Institute have selected Warren Beatty to receive AFI's 36th Life Achievement Award.

A consummate film artist, Warren Beatty has left his distinctive mark on American film during nearly a half-century of acting, producing, directing and writing. In an era that saw the redefinition of the studio system, the rise of independents and the dawning of the digital age, Warren Beatty has created a body of work that transcends trends and remains timeless.

His screen acting career began with a love story. The movie was SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS and Beatty, as tortured high school jock Bud Stamper, made an indelible impression in his film acting debut. "He produced a heat haze atmosphere of erotic frustration," remembers journalist David Thomson. "No film had been so infused with the adolescent's urgency about sex. You came out of it in a stupor of rapture and guilt. With one film, Beatty was established as a male sex symbol." Co-star Natalie Wood may have walked away with an Academy Award nomination for her role as Deanie, but Beatty won the role of movie star at the tender age of 24--a role he has worn with panache ever since.

"He was awkward in a way that was attractive," said director Elia Kazan who took a chance on the actor on the recommendation of writer William Inge. "He was very, very ambitious. He had a lot of hunger, as all the stars do when they are young."

From the beginning, the handsome Virginia-born son of educators had an appetite to master the complexities of making movies. He learned by studying directors like Kazan, Arthur Penn, Alan J. Pakula and Hal Ashby, collaborators on his early films, and by absorbing lessons from legendary producers like Sam Goldwyn, Sam Spiegel and mentor Charles K. Feldman. "Once I had acted in my first movie, and it was successful," explained Beatty on receiving the Producers Guild of America's Career Milestone Award in 2004, "it seemed apparent to me that the enjoyment would be in putting a movie together."

He brought enormous drive and intelligence to the task of putting together that first movie. The result, BONNIE AND CLYDE, is a landmark, marking the advent of an iconoclastic, independent American cinema. Here was a gangster picture that mixed romance, adventure, glamour, comedy and violence in a way never before seen. The critics may not have known what to do with it, but the audiences knew. They went wild. The stories about the making of BONNIE AND CLYDE are Hollywood lore, and the Beatty producing style is legendary. Known for his painstaking attention to detail and tireless work ethic, Beatty bought the rights to the story after Francois Truffaut passed. Beatty directed rewrites, negotiated with Jack Warner, raised the financing, collaborated with director Arthur Penn to select a cast and crew remarkable for its energy and excellence, starred in it and then fought to have the movie re-released.

"They went into the desert and created a masterpiece," summed up Roger Ebert in his 1967 review. Its influence was felt in fashion, music and pop culture around the world--and as a filmmaking phenomenon it is still being analyzed today. Twice it has been honored by AFI among the 100 greatest American films of all time.

With the power that accrued from that success, Beatty went on to choose his projects with care, enriching his skills as an actor, and becoming a writer and director in the process. His memorable roles have ranged from the reluctant western hero in Robert Altman's McCABE & MRS. MILLER to a US Senator who has a revelation and raps the truth in BULWORTH. In his screenplays he has shaped characters like hairdresser George Roundy in SHAMPOO and journalist John Reed in REDS, who charm the audience while illuminating deeper political currents in society--as well as lighter-than-air quarterback Joe Pendleton in HEAVEN CAN WAIT.

If his reputation as a director is that of a perfectionist, his collaborators have nothing but praise--for his taste, his devotion to craft and the energy that surrounds his productions. "He gets the best people, and he lets them do what they do," explains longtime collaborator production designer Richard Sylbert.

Beatty has been nominated 15 times for an Academy Award, over four categories and six films. He won Best Director for REDS and has been recognized by the Academy with the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award for "a consistently high quality of motion picture production."

Alongside his motion picture career, Beatty has devoted prodigious energy to politics--a tradition in his Virginia family and a personal passion. Active in the Democratic Party since the late sixties when he campaigned for Robert Kennedy, Beatty spent a year working on George McGovern's presidential race, helping to transform the link between Hollywood and Washington. He has defied box office pressures and woven political themes into his work--with the epic story of the Russian Revolution in REDS and in the contemporary political satire BULWORTH.

Warren Beatty helped reshape Hollywood when it was time for a change. With his restless energy, he stretched the definition of actor to become one of the first multi-hyphenates: a magnetic movie star, a brilliant producer, a driven director and a writer who aspires to reflect the times in which we live.

And finally, after all that hard work, he found an even greater spotlight as husband to Annette Bening and a proud father of four.

AFI salutes Warren Beatty--visionary film artist and American original.

Filmography:

1961
SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS
Warner Bros. (124 mins.)
Role: Bud Stamper
Director/Producer: Elia Kazan
Writer: William Inge
Cinematographer: Boris Kaufman
Film Editor: Gene Milford
Production Designer: Richard Sylbert
Costume Designer: Anna Hill Johnstone
Music Composer: David Amram
Additional Cast: Natalie Wood, Pat Hingle, Audrey Christie, Barbara Loden, Zohra Lampert, Fred Stewart, Joanna Roos, John McGovern, Martine Bartlett, Sandy Dennis, Gary Lockwood, Phyllis Diller

THE ROMAN SPRING OF MRS. STONE
Warner Bros./Seven Arts (103 mins.)
Role: Paolo di Leo
Director: José Quintero
Producer: Louis de Rochemont
Writer: Gavin Lambert
(based on the novel by Tennessee Williams)
Cinematographer: Harry Waxman
Film Editor: Ralph Kemplen
Production Designer: Roger K. Furse
Costume Designers: Beatrice Dawson, Pierre Balmain
Music Composer: Richard Addinsell
Additional Cast: Vivien Leigh, Lotte Lenya, Coral Browne, Jill St. John, Jeremy Spenser

1962
ALL FALL DOWN
MGM (111 mins.)
Role: Berry-Berry Willart
Director: John Frankenheimer
Producer: John Houseman
Writer: William Inge
(based on the novel by James Leo Herlihy)
Cinematographer: Lionel Lindon
Film Editor: Fredric Steinkamp
Art Directors: George W. Davis, E. Preston Ames
Costume Designer: Dorothy Jeakins
Music Composer: Alex North
Additional Cast: Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden, Angela Lansbury, Brandon De Wilde, Constance Ford, Barbara Baxley

1964
LILITH
Columbia (114 mins.)
Role: Vincent Bruce
Director/Producer: Robert Rossen
Writer: Robert Rossen
(based on the novel by J. R. Salamanca)
Cinematographer: Eugen Schüfftan
Film Editor: Aram Avakian
Production Designer: Richard Sylbert
Costume Designer: Ruth Morley
Music Composer: Kenyon Hopkins
Additional Cast: Jean Seberg, Peter Fonda, Kim Hunter, Anne Meacham, Jessica Walter, Gene Hackman, James Patterson, Robert Reilly

1965
MICKEY ONE
Columbia (93 mins.)
Role: Mickey One
Director/Producer: Arthur Penn
Executive Producer: John G. Avildsen
Writer: Alan M. Surgal
Cinematographer: Ghislain Cloquet
Film Editor: Aram Avakian
Production Designer: George Jenkins
Costume Designer: Domingo A. Rodriguez
Music Composer: Eddie Sauter
Additional Cast: Alexandra Stewart, Hurd Hatfield, Franchot Tone, Teddy Hart, Jeff Corey

PROMISE HER ANYTHING
Paramount/Seven Arts (98 mins.)
Role: Harley Rummell
Director: Arthur Hiller
Producer: Stanley Rubin
Writer: William Peter Blatty
(from a story by Arne Sultan, Marvin Worth)
Cinematographer: Douglas Slocombe
Film Editor: John Shirley
Production Designer: Wilfred Shingleton
Costume Designer: Beatrice Dawson
Music Composer: Lyn Murray
Additional Cast: Leslie Caron, Robert Cummings, Hermione Gingold, Lionel Stander, Asa Maynor, Keenan Wynn, Cathleen Nesbitt, Michael Bradley, Bessie Love

1966
KALEIDOSCOPE
Warner Bros. (103 mins.)
Role: Barney Lincoln
Director: Jack Smight
Producers: Jerry Gershwin, Elliott Kastner
Writer: Robert Carrington
Cinematographer: Christopher Challis
Film Editor: John Jympson
Art Director: Maurice Carter
Music Composer: Stanley Myers
Additional Cast: Susannah York, Clive Revill, Eric Porter, Murray Melvin

1967
BONNIE AND CLYDE
Warner Bros./Seven Arts (112 mins.)
Role: Clyde Barrow (Nomination: Academy Award)
Director: Arthur Penn
Producer: Warren Beatty (Nomination: Academy Award)
Writers: David Newman, Robert Benton
Cinematographer: Burnett Guffey
Film Editor: Dede Allen
Art Director: Dean Tavoularis
Costume Designer: Theadora Van Runkle
Music Composer: Charles Strouse
Additional Cast: Faye Dunaway, Michael J. Pollard, Gene Hackman, Estelle Parsons, Denver Pyle, Dub Taylor, Evans Evans, Gene Wilder

1970
THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN
Twentieth Century-Fox (113 mins.)
Role: Joe Grady
Director: George Stevens
Producer: Fred Kohlmar
Writer: Frank D. Gilroy (based on his play)
Cinematographer: Henri Decaë
Film Editors: John W. Holmes, William Sands, Pat Shade
Art Directors: Herman A. Blumenthal, Auguste Capelier
Music Composer: Maurice Jarre
Additional Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Charles Braswell, Hank Henry, Olga Valéry

1971
McCABE & MRS. MILLER
Warner Bros. (120 mins.)
Role: John McCabe
Director: Robert Altman
Producers: David Foster, Mitchell Brower
Writers: Robert Altman, Brian McKay
(based on the novel McCabe by Edmund Naughton)
Cinematographer: Vilmos Zsigmond
Film Editor: Lou Lombardo
Production Designer: Leon Ericksen
Music Composer: Leonard Cohen
Additional Cast: Julie Christie, Rene Auberjonois, William Devane, John Schuck, Corey Fischer, Bert Remsen, Shelley Duvall, Keith Carradine, Michael Murphy, Antony Holland

$
Columbia (121 mins.)
Role: Joe Collins
Director: Richard Brooks
Producer: M. J. Frankovich
Writer: Richard Brooks
Cinematographer: Petrus R. Schlömp
Film Editor: George Grenville
Art Directors: Guy Sheppard, Olaf Ivens
Music Composer: Quincy Jones
Additional Cast: Goldie Hawn, Gert Fröbe, Robert Webber, Scott Brady

1974
THE PARALLAX VIEW
Paramount (102 mins.)
Role: Joseph Frady
Director/Producer: Alan J. Pakula
Executive Producer: Gabriel Katzka
Writers: David Giler, Lorenzo Semple, Jr.
(based on the novel by Loren Singer)
Cinematographer: Gordon Willis
Film Editor: John W. Wheeler
Production Designer: George Jenkins
Costume Designer: Frank L. Thompson
Music Composer: Michael Small
Additional Cast: Hume Cronyn, William Daniels, Paula Prentiss, Kenneth Mars, Kelly Thordsen, Jim Davis, Bill McKinney

1975
SHAMPOO
Columbia (109 mins.)
Role: George Roundy
Director: Hal Ashby
Producer: Warren Beatty
Writers: Robert Towne, Warren Beatty (Nomination: Academy Award)
Cinematographer: László Kovács
Film Editor: Robert C. Jones
Production Designer: Richard Sylbert
Costume Designer: Anthea Sylbert
Music Composer: Paul Simon
Additional Cast: Julie Christie, Goldie Hawn, Lee Grant, Jack Warden, Tony Bill, George Furth, Carrie Fisher

THE FORTUNE
Columbia (88 mins.)
Role: Nicky Wilson
Director: Mike Nichols
Executive Producer: Hank Moonjean
Producers: Mike Nichols, Don Devlin
Writer: Carole Eastman
Cinematographer: John A. Alonzo
Film Editor: Stu Linder
Production Designer: Richard Sylbert
Costume Designer: Anthea Sylbert
Music Composer: David Shire, José Padilla
Additional Cast: Jack Nicholson, Stockard Channing, Florence Stanley, Dub Taylor, Nira Barab, Christopher Guest, Scatman Crothers, Richard B. Shull

1978
HEAVEN CAN WAIT
Paramount (101 mins.)
Role: Joe Pendleton (Nomination: Academy Award)
Directors: Warren Beatty, Buck Henry (Nomination: Academy Award)
Executive Producers: Charles H. Maguire, Howard W. Koch, Jr.
Producer: Warren Beatty (Nomination: Academy Award)
Writers: Elaine May, Warren Beatty
(based on the play by Harry Segall) (Nomination: Academy Award)
Cinematographer: William A. Fraker
Film Editors: Robert C. Jones, Don Zimmerman
Production Designer: Paul Sylbert
Costume Designer: Richard Bruno
Music Composer: Dave Grusin
Additional Cast: Julie Christie, James Mason, Jack Warden, Charles Grodin, Dyan Cannon, Buck Henry, Vincent Gardenia

1981
REDS
Paramount (194 mins.)
Role: John Reed (Nomination: Academy Award)
Director: Warren Beatty (Award: Academy Award)
Executive Producers: Simon Relph, Dede Allen
Producer: Warren Beatty (Nomination: Academy Award)
Writers: Warren Beatty, Trevor Griffiths (Nomination: Academy Award)
Cinematographer: Vittorio Storaro
Film Editor: Dede Allen
Production Designer: Richard Sylbert
Costume Designer: Shirley Russell
Music Composers: Stephen Sondheim, Dave Grusin
Additional Cast: Diane Keaton, Edward Herrmann, Jerzy Kosinski, Jack Nicholson, Paul Sorvino, Maureen Stapleton

1987
ISHTAR
Columbia (107 mins.)
Role: Lyle Rogers
Director/Writer: Elaine May
Producer: Warren Beatty
Cinematographer: Vittorio Storaro
Film Editors: William Reynolds, Stephen A. Rotter, Richard P. Cirincione
Production Designer: Paul Sylbert
Costume Designer: Anthony Powell
Music Composer: Dave Grusin
Additional Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Adjani, Charles Grodin, Jack Weston, Tess Harper, Carol Kane

1990
DICK TRACY
Touchstone/Silver Screen Partners IV/Mulholland (105 mins.)
Role: Dick Tracy
Director/Producer: Warren Beatty
Executive Producers: Barrie M. Osborne, Art Linson, Floyd Mutrux
Co-Producer: Jon Landau
Writers: Jim Cash, Jack Epps, Jr.
(based on characters created by Chester Gould for the Dick Tracy comic strip)
Cinematographer: Vittorio Storaro
Film Editor: Richard Marks
Production Designer: Richard Sylbert
Costume Designer: Milena Canonero
Music Composers: Danny Elfman, Stephen Sondheim
Additional Cast: Al Pacino, Madonna, Glenne Headly, Charlie Korsmo, Mandy Patinkin, William Forsythe, Paul Sorvino, Dustin Hoffman, Seymour Cassel, Estelle Parsons, Dick Van Dyke, James Caan

1991
BUGSY
TriStar/Mulholland/Baltimore (134 mins.)
Role: Ben ‘Bugsy’ Siegel (Nomination: Academy Award)
Director: Barry Levinson
Producers: Mark Johnson, Barry Levinson, Warren Beatty (Nomination: Academy Award)
Co-Producer: Charles Newirth
Writer: James Toback
Cinematographer: Allen Daviau
Film Editor: Stu Linder
Production Designer: Dennis Gassner
Costume Designer: Albert Wolsky
Music Composer: Ennio Morricone
Additional Cast: Annette Bening, Harvey Keitel, Ben Kingsley, Elliott Gould, Joe Mantegna

1994
LOVE AFFAIR
Warner Bros./Mulholland (108 mins.)
Role: Mike Gambril
Director: Glenn Gordon Caron
Executive Producers: Andrew Z. Davis
Producer: Warren Beatty
Writers: Robert Towne, Warren Beatty
(based on a screenplay by Delmer Daves, Donald Ogden Stewart, from a story by Mildred Cram, Leo McCarey)
Cinematographer: Conrad L. Hall
Film Editor: Robert C. Jones
Production Designer: Ferdinando Scarfiotti
Costume Designer: Milena Canonero
Music Composer: Ennio Morricone
Additional Cast: Annette Bening, Katharine Hepburn, Garry Shandling, Chloe Webb, Pierce Brosnan, Kate Capshaw, Paul Mazursky, Brenda Vaccaro

1998
BULWORTH
Twentieth Century-Fox (108 mins.)
Role: Sen. Jay Billington Bulworth
Director: Warren Beatty
Executive Producer: Lauren Shuler Donner
Producers: Warren Beatty, Pieter Jan Brugge
Co-Producers: Frank Capra III, Victoria Thomas
Writers: Warren Beatty, Jeremy Pikser
(based on a story by Warren Beatty) (Nomination: Academy Award)
Cinematographer: Vittorio Storaro
Film Editors: Robert C. Jones, Billy Weber
Production Designer: Dean Tavoularis
Costume Designer: Milena Canonero
Music Composer: Ennio Morricone
Additional Cast: Halle Berry, Don Cheadle, Oliver Platt, Paul Sorvino, Jack Warden, Isaiah Washington

2001
TOWN & COUNTRY
New Line/Sidney Kimmel Entertainment (104 mins.)
Role: Porter Stoddard
Director: Peter Chelsom
Executive Producers: Sidney Kimmel, Michael De Luca, Lynn Harris
Producers: Andrew S. Karsch, Fred Roos, Simon Fields
Co-Producer: Cyrus I. Yavneh
Writers: Michael Laughlin, Buck Henry
Cinematographer: William A. Fraker
Film Editors: David Moritz, Claire Simpson
Production Designer: Caroline Hanania
Costume Designer: Molly Maginnis
Music Composer: Rolfe Kent
Additional Cast: Diane Keaton, Andie MacDowell, Garry Shandling, Jenna Elfman, Nastassja Kinski, Goldie Hawn, Charlton Heston, Marian Seldes, Josh Hartnett