The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood

By Sam Wasson

Categories: Arts & Photography, History

Sam Wasson tells how Chinatown (1974) came together: Robert Towne's sprawling script, the producer Robert Evans's backing at Paramount, Jack Nicholson's star turn and Roman Polanski's return to Los Angeles after the 1969 murder of his wife, Sharon Tate. Wasson shows how Polanski's darker vision reshaped Towne's story, reveals the uncredited contribution of Towne's collaborator Edward Taylor, and presents the film as a turning point, as the director-driven Hollywood of the 1970s gave way to corporate studios.

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