Robert Douglas Benton (born September 29, 1932) is an American screenwriter and film director. He won the Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and won a third Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Places in the Heart (1984).Benton also garnered three additional Oscar nominations: two for Best Original Screenplay for both Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and The Late Show (1977) and one for Best Adapted Screenplay for Nobody's Fool (1994).He has also directed Twilight (1998) and Feast of Love (2007) and co-wrote the screenplays for Superman (1978) and The Ice Harvest (2005). Benton usually collaborates with novelist/screenwriter Richard Russo.
| # | Quote |
|---|
| 1 | I'd like to know what law is it that says that a woman is a better parent, simply by virtue of her sex. |
| 2 | Movies without meaningful dialogue play well all over the world. The Apostle is probably the best movie of the year, but it won't do squat in Korea. |
| 3 | Twilight is about getting older and relationships - not about a murder mystery. It's about love when you reach a certain age; nothing is in primary colors. |
| 4 | My education was an education by movies. |
| 5 | I was dyslexic before anybody knew what dyslexia was. I was called 'slow'. It's an awful feeling to think of yourself as 'slow' - it's horrible. |
| 6 | In America, people rarely stay in the town where they grew up, rarely stay in close proximity to their parents throughout their lives. You rarely find parents in their old age being taken care of by their children. |
| 7 | My next film is always shaped by the last one... by the things I feel I didn't get right, or the things I like and want to try to develop further, but it always comes out of the last picture. |
| # | Fact |
|---|
| 1 | Benton collaborates frequently with novelist and screenwriter Richard Russo. Russo dedicated his Pulitzer Prize winning novel Empire Falls to Benton. |
| 2 | Dated feminist Gloria Steinem during the 1960s. |
| 3 | Benton's longtime friend and University of Texas classmate was gossip columnist Liz Smith. |
| 4 | Directed 8 different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Justin Henry, Jane Alexander, Sally Field, John Malkovich, Lindsay Crouse and Paul Newman. Hoffman, Streep and Field won Oscars for their performances in one of Benton's movies. |
| 5 | When Benton first moved to New York to attend Columbia University, he shared an apartment in a Turtle Bay brownstone directly opposite 244 East 49th Street, a four-story brownstone that had been home to Katharine Hepburn for decades. One winter morning, Benton had the rare privilege of observing Hepburn kiss Spencer Tracy goodbye at her front door, before he was whisked off in a waiting limousine |
| 6 | Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945-1985". Pages 93-99. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988. |
| 7 | Got the idea for his Bonnie and Clyde (1967) script from his father who had actually attended the separate funerals of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. |
| 8 | Benton's father had two brothers, both of whom were murdered |
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| Entertainment Tonight | 2008 | TV Series | Himself |
| Revolution! The Making of 'Bonnie and Clyde' | 2008 | Video documentary | Himself |
| You Will Believe: The Cinematic Saga of Superman | 2006 | Video documentary | Himself |
| Wanderlust | 2006 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Nicole Kidman: An American Cinematheque Tribute | 2003 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Finding the Truth: The Making of 'Kramer vs. Kramer' | 2001 | Video documentary | Himself |
| Bravo Profiles | 2000 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Magic Time for Piotr | 1998 | TV Short documentary | Himself |
| The 47th Annual Writers Guild Awards | 1995 | TV Special | Himself |
| Homeward Bound | 1994 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| A Great Day in Harlem | 1994 | Documentary | Himself (uncredited) |
| Inside the Actors Studio | 1994 | TV Series | Himself |
| Cinéma! Cinéma! The French New Wave | 1992 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Cinema 3 | 1987 | TV Series | Himself |
| Moving Image Salutes Elia Kazan | 1987 | TV Movie | Himself |
| Moving Image Salutes Sidney Lumet | 1985 | TV Movie | Himself |
| The 57th Annual Academy Awards | 1985 | TV Special documentary | Himself - Winner: Best Original Screenplay & Nominee: Best Director |
| The 52nd Annual Academy Awards | 1980 | TV Special | Himself - Winner |
| The 37th Annual Golden Globe Awards | 1980 | TV Special | Himself |
| The 50th Annual Academy Awards | 1978 | TV Special | Himself - Nominee: Best Original Screenplay |
| Moguls & Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood | 2010 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Himself |
| Godard Made in USA | 2010 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Hollywood's Best Film Directors | 2010 | TV Series | Himself - Interviewee / Film Director |
| Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film | 2008 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
|---|
| 2007 | Laurel Award for Screen Writing Achievement | Writers Guild of America, USA |
| 2003 | Lifetime Achievement Award | Chicago International Film Festival |
| 2000 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz Excellence in Filmmaking Award | Director's View Film Festival |
| 1994 | Distinguished Achievement Award | Hamptons International Film Festival |
| 1985 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen | Places in the Heart (1984) |
| 1985 | Silver Berlin Bear | Berlin International Film Festival | Best Director | Places in the Heart (1984) |
| 1985 | OCIC Award | Berlin International Film Festival | Competition | Places in the Heart (1984) |
| 1984 | NYFCC Award | New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Screenplay | Places in the Heart (1984) |
| 1984 | People's Choice Award | Toronto International Film Festival | Places in the Heart (1984) |
| 1981 | Blue Ribbon Award | Blue Ribbon Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) |
| 1981 | Kinema Junpo Award | Kinema Junpo Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) |
| 1981 | Readers' Choice Award | Kinema Junpo Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) |
| 1981 | Muse Award | New York Women in Film & Television |
| 1980 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Director | Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) |
| 1980 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium | Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) |
| 1980 | Golden Globe | Golden Globes, USA | Best Screenplay - Motion Picture | Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) |
| 1980 | DGA Award | Directors Guild of America, USA | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) |
| 1980 | Hochi Film Award | Hochi Film Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) |
| 1980 | NSFC Award | National Society of Film Critics Awards, USA | Best Director | Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) |
| 1980 | WGA Award (Screen) | Writers Guild of America, USA | Best Drama Adapted from Another Medium | Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) |
| 1979 | Hugo | Hugo Awards | Best Dramatic Presentation | Superman (1978) |
| 1979 | KCFCC Award | Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Director | Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) |
| 1979 | LAFCA Award | Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | Best Director | Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) |
| 1979 | LAFCA Award | Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | Best Screenplay | Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) |
| 1978 | Edgar | Edgar Allan Poe Awards | Best Motion Picture | The Late Show (1977) |
| 1973 | WGA Award (Screen) | Writers Guild of America, USA | Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen | What's Up, Doc? (1972) |
| 1968 | NSFC Award | National Society of Film Critics Awards, USA | Best Screenplay | Bonnie and Clyde (1967) |
| 1968 | WGA Award (Screen) | Writers Guild of America, USA | Best Written American Drama | Bonnie and Clyde (1967) |
| 1968 | WGA Award (Screen) | Writers Guild of America, USA | Best Written American Original Screenplay | Bonnie and Clyde (1967) |
| 1967 | NYFCC Award | New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Screenplay | Bonnie and Clyde (1967) |
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
|---|
| 2006 | Edgar | Edgar Allan Poe Awards | Best Motion Picture Screenplay | The Ice Harvest (2005) |
| 1995 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published | Nobody's Fool (1994) |
| 1995 | Golden Berlin Bear | Berlin International Film Festival | Nobody's Fool (1994) |
| 1995 | Humanitas Prize | Humanitas Prize | Feature Film Category | Nobody's Fool (1994) |
| 1995 | USC Scripter Award | USC Scripter Award | Nobody's Fool (1994) |
| 1985 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Director | Places in the Heart (1984) |
| 1985 | Golden Globe | Golden Globes, USA | Best Screenplay - Motion Picture | Places in the Heart (1984) |
| 1985 | Golden Berlin Bear | Berlin International Film Festival | Places in the Heart (1984) |
| 1985 | DGA Award | Directors Guild of America, USA | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Places in the Heart (1984) |
| 1985 | WGA Award (Screen) | Writers Guild of America, USA | Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen | Places in the Heart (1984) |
| 1983 | Edgar | Edgar Allan Poe Awards | Best Motion Picture | Still of the Night (1982) |
| 1981 | BAFTA Film Award | BAFTA Awards | Best Direction | Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) |
| 1981 | BAFTA Film Award | BAFTA Awards | Best Screenplay | Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) |
| 1981 | César | César Awards, France | Best Foreign Film (Meilleur film étranger) | Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) |
| 1980 | Golden Globe | Golden Globes, USA | Best Director - Motion Picture | Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) |
| 1979 | WGA Award (Screen) | Writers Guild of America, USA | Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium | Superman (1978) |
| 1978 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen | The Late Show (1977) |
| 1978 | WGA Award (Screen) | Writers Guild of America, USA | Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen | The Late Show (1977) |
| 1977 | Golden Berlin Bear | Berlin International Film Festival | The Late Show (1977) |
| 1973 | WGA Award (Screen) | Writers Guild of America, USA | Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen | Bad Company (1972) |
| 1968 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen | Bonnie and Clyde (1967) |
| 1968 | Golden Globe | Golden Globes, USA | Best Screenplay | Bonnie and Clyde (1967) |
