He was born in Michigan (United States) in 1946. He achieved his first success with the script for ‘The Yakuza’ (Sidney Pollack, 1974). Later he would sign unforgettable scripts like those for ‘Taxi Driver’ (1976), ‘Raging Bull’ (1980) or ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’ (1988), all directed by Martin Scorsese. His career as a director reflects his predilection for highly varied styles and film genres, from the denunciation of ‘Hardcore’ to the romantic thriller in ‘American Gigolo’, or the biopic in ‘ Mishima ‘, presented out of competition in the 30th edition of Seminci. His films have won numerous awards in Valladolid: ‘Blue Collar’ won the Silver Spike in the 23rd edition; ‘Affliction’ bagged the awards for Best Actor and Best Cinematography in the 42nd edition; and ‘Adam Resurrected’ received the Best Music award in the 54th edition. In 2013 he was the subject of a retrospective and received the Honorary Spike in Valladolid, where his film ‘The Canyons’ screened out of competition in the Official Section.