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Hapag-Lloyd CEO sees solid shipping demand driving up freight rates

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Hanseatic spirit, hanseatic inspiration, hanseatic nature, ms europa 2, review of hapag-lloyd cruises.

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises (officially Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten, hl-cruises.com) is a premium travel brand a Hamburg Germany -based company part of TUI AG (via its subsidiary TUI Cruises GmbH ). Between 2017-2020, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises was fully owned by Hapag-Lloyd AG (German-Chilean shipping company, one of the world's oldest) which is currently ranked the world's 5th largest container shipping line in terms of fleet capacity.

On February 7, 2020, TUI AG (aka TUI Group) announced that Hapag-Lloyd Cruises (as of 2020 valued ~EUR 1,2 billion / ~USD 1,36 billion) becomes part of TUI Cruises (50-50 joint venture between TUI and RCCL-Royal Caribbean ). The contract was signed in Hamburg (on Feb 7), the cash transaction from RCCL (~EUR 700 million) was closed on July 6, 2020.

The company's current CEO/Managing Director is Isolde Susset, who in June 2024 succeeded Julian Pfitzner.

The Hanover Germany-based TUI AG (British-German multinational) is currently ranked the world's largest leisure and travel company. It was founded in 1923 and until 2002 was named "Preussag AG". TUI Group's companies specialize in hospitality and tourism services worldwide, with a portfolio including passenger airlines, cruise shipping (shipowner), package vacations, hotels and resorts, travel agencies, retail shops.

Company history/changes

The Hapag-Lloyd company was founded in 1970 as a merger between two of Germany's oldest steamship companies - "Hamburg-Amerikanische Packfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft" (Hapag) and "Norddeutscher Lloyd". Both companies were created in the 1840s for shipping freight and passengers via Transatlantic crossings between Germany and the USA.

On July 12, 2017, TUI AG sold its remaining 8,5 million shares in Hapag-Lloyd AG, which raised about EUR 244 million. The operation was an open market block trade (Accelerated Book Building) to a guaranteed minimum price close to the day’s market closing. Prior to this trade (March 2017), TUI AG disposed of a total of 6 million Hapag-Lloyd shares in individual open-market transactions. By disposing of all its Hapag-Lloyd shares, TUI AG concluded the corporation's non-core business disposal program defined after the TUI AG and TUI Travel PLC merger in December 2014. The revenues were used for TUI's tourism business (hotel brands and cruise ships).

In 2017, the brand Hapag-Lloyd Cruises reported record average daily rates of EUR 594 (pp per day) or an increase of 2,6% over 2016. In 2017 the company also reported the highest-ever customer satisfaction and quality ratings. The company's average daily ticket prices increased as follows - 2011 (EUR 399), 2012 (EUR 420), 2013 (EUR 450), 2014 (EUR 536), 2015-2016 (EUR 579), 2017 (EUR 594).

For FY2018 (fiscal year), TUI Group's earnings (from the 3 cruise brands - TUI, Marella, and Hapag-Lloyd) increased by 10,7% - to EUR 901,9 million. The company's turnover was EUR 324 million (26,8% increase over 2017). The Group's average daily rates increased to EUR 178 euro (TUI, up from EUR 173), EUR 141 (Marella, up from EUR 131) and EUR 615 (Hapag-Lloyd, up from EUR 594).

From July 2020 onwards, HL's fleet uses only LS-MGO (low sulfur marine gasoil) with max S content 0,1%).

Hapag-Lloyd cruising experience

As a product, HL Cruises offers higher-end luxury travel deals, featuring:

All Hapag-Lloyd's cruise liners offer in-port and shipboard experiences ranging from zodiac expedition to luxury. Vessels are budget-wise, as fares are on the high side. Hanseatic and Bremen are expedition ships with the highest given to passenger ships E4 ice-class rating allowing year-round Antarctic and Arctic navigation. Bremen is 4-starred, while Hanseatic is 5-starred and with upgraded enrichment and cuisine, plus larger cabins.

The launch of the first Hapag-Lloyd newbuild - Europa 2 - was in May 2013. The project was aimed at the ultra-luxe market and younger, more active and less luxury-minded travellers, including families (with kids facilities for toddlers to teens). MS Europa 2 is the brand's most contemporary and chic liner, featuring dynamic and sophisticated entertainment ranging from jazz club to kitchen studio (for cooking classes). Its appeal is to younger, less luxury-minded cruisers, including families.

Hapag-Lloyd's all-suite liners Europa 1 and Europa 2 provide the largest space-per-guest ratio of any cruise ships currently on the market. All Europa 2 staterooms have balconies. The Hapag-Lloyd has also marketed MS Europa 2 as company's "bilingual ship", reaching international customers with enhanced activities geared to English-speaking passenger sourcing.

Next is shown Hapag-Lloyd's new expedition cruise ship design. Three such Polar-Class vessels are currently under construction and scheduled for launch in 2019 - Hanseatic Inspiration (October) and Hanseatic Nature (April) and 2021 ( Hanseatic Spirit ).

The newbuilds are of the same design (sisterships), each with max capacity 230 passengers (199 passengers on Antarctic cruises), 3 restaurants, extensive wellness area, water sports marina (aft), a fleet of Zodiacs (large-capacity inflatable boats used for landings and shore tours).

On July 3, 2018, VARD Holdings Ltd and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises signed a shipbuilding contract for a 3rd HANSEATIC-series vessel (Spirit). The new ship is scheduled for delivery in 2021 Q2. All ships in the series have their hulls built by VARD Tulcea shipyard (Romania) .

In late-February 2019, Hapag-Lloyd announced a user-friendly digital concept for onboard learning never seen before on expedition vessels. The new "study wall" is available on the fleet's three new Hanseatic ships (Inspiration, Nature, Spirit).

The innovative touchscreen technology (screen size 6x1,8 m / 20x6 ft) allows passengers to research information and various topics related to the ship's current cruise itinerary destinations. The digital Study Wall was developed over a 2,5-year period via a partnership with two German ( Hamburg -based) companies - Intermediate Engineering GmbH, and mpg ErlebnisRaumDesign GmbH.

Digital content (articles, biographies, photos, videos) is divided into 5 categories. Most of the information is provided by GEOMAR ( Kiel Germany ), also by journalists, scientists, and experts. The Study Wall is located in Knowledge Studio (Wissens Atelier / Deck 8). The research facility also has four Study Seats (with touchscreens to explore the content), Study Poster (visual scientific explanations), a dedicated area for microscope research.

In mid-August 2017, MS Bremen (now Seaventure/1990-built) received "Polar Code" certificate that allows the vessel to operate in polar regions. All its fleet mates were also due to receive the certificate by Hapag-Lloyd’s 2018 Arctic season. Polar Code (adopted by IMO) contains regulations about polar cruise vessels' construction and onboard equipment, as well as crew training requirements. In 2017, as part of the HL fleet's routine drydocks , all ships were brought in line with the Polar Code's requirements. MS Bremen was scheduled to operate 3 Arctic cruises (2018-2019 season), including one Northeast Passage (summer 2018).

(Coronavirus crisis) passenger shipping pause 2020-2021

Due to the COVID pandemic, Hapag-Lloyd suspended its entire fleet's passenger shipping operations (all liners) by canceling all voyages with pre-scheduled departures in the period March 18, 2020, through May 2021.

HL cruise operations resumed in 2021 on May 24 (Hanseatic Inspiration/Baltic), July 9 (Hanseatic Nature/Norway), August 14 (MS Europa/Baltic from Hamburg), October 2 (Hanseatic Spirit/Asia-Japan), October 3 (Europa 2/Canaries).

All affected bookings received full refunds, including on prepurchased through HL packages and services. All current voyages were completed by March 21, 2020.

Itinerary of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises

Currently, Hapag-Lloyd offers a wealth of "high-end luxury" cruises for well-heeled travellers. The line's signature destinations are the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, as well as the Caribbean, Asia, Australia, plus expedition itineraries to Antarctica and Alaska (Northwest Passage).

The current Hapag Lloyd cruise fleet includes the following vessels:

• ms Europa (1999)
• ms Europa 2 (2013)
• Hanseatic Inspiration (2019 October), Hanseatic Nature (2019 April) and Hanseatic Spirit (2021) are newbuilds /sisterships, each with max passenger capacity 230 (199 on Antarctic cruises), 3 restaurants, an extensive wellness complex, aft water sports Marina Platform.

On January 15, 2019, Hapag-Lloyd announced that MS Bremen is sold to Scylla Cruises and would be delivered to the new shipowner in May 2021. As of 2019, Scylla owned 31 riverboats, most of which are chartered to different European cruisetour companies.

Together with the introduction of expedition cruise catalogs for the 2020-2021 season, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises also announced that low-pollutant MGO (marine gas oil) is to be exclusively used on all routes of its expedition ships (Hanseatic Nature and Hanseatic Inspiration) from July 2020. Joining the fleet in 2021, Hanseatic Spirit is also expected to use the fuel.

The use of low-sulfur fuels in the Antarctic has been mandatory for a number of years and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises already uses marine gas oil voluntarily in sensitive regions like the Arctic and Kamchatka. The low-pollutant fuel features a sulfur content of just 0.1%. In addition, the new expedition ships do not only feature an SCR catalytic converter reducing nitrogen oxide emissions by almost 95% but are also fitted out to use cold ironing.

The fleet of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises is also equipped with seawater desalination technology producing clean water, and with biological sewage treatment plants. Ships' bow thrusters and stabilizers run on bio-petroleum which is environmentally-friendly.

Highlights from the routes of Hapag-Lloyd expedition fleet in 2021 include:

• Hanseatic Inspiration sets sail for the Antarctic 10 times, including on a 23-day itinerary from Tierra del Fuego to South Africa through the Antarctic. The journey stretches from Cape to Cape ( Cape Horn to the Cape of Good Hope).
• A change of travellers in Goose Bay, northern Canada is a first as Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ expeditions have never started and ended there before. It makes it possible to combine a couple of spectacular expedition destinations - the icy landscapes of Greenland and the remote region of Labrador.
• Travellers can enjoy the Arctic experience on a couple of cruises on Hanseatic Inspiration. The South Africa voyage is another first, in which Hanseatic Inspiration is due for the first time to circumnavigate “the cape of wild animals”, sailing from Cape Town to Walvis Bay .
• Hanseatic Inspiration also offers expeditions in Europe and passengers can explore the Azores, the British Isles, and the coastlines of the Baltic and North Seas.

2 ships of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises built for the international marketplace,  ms Europa 2  and HANSEATIC inspiration, are scheduled to restart the operation of bilingual sailings from January 2022. The 5-stars plus ms Europa 2 commences the  New Year  in the Indian Ocean - on  Reunion Island ,  Mauritius , and Seychelles; and heads on to South Africa,  Cape Verde , and the Canaries, visiting  Madeira  and the Azores.

For international passengers onboard expedition cruise ship HANSEATIC inspiration, the destinations awaiting in 2022-2023 include the Great Lakes of North America; Antarctica and the Arctic; South America (the  Panama Canal  and Chilean Fjords) Cape Verde, and the Canary Islands.

Northwest Passage cruises

Hapag Lloyd was the world's first cruise line with a Northwest Passage Cruise itinerary. In 2011, MS Bremen became the world's first-ever cruise ship crossing the Passage from Kangerlussuaq Greenland to Nome Alaska . In 2012, MS Hanseatic (now RCGS Resolute) made a full transit with a 25-days itinerary leaving from Nome AK (on August 14) and ending in Reykjavik Iceland (on September 7).

(animal cruelty) The Faroe Islands cruise boycott

In mid-July 2016, Hapag-Lloyd became one of the three cruise ship companies (together with Disney and AIDA ) that have banned Faroe Islands (a Danish territory) as destination part of their North European itineraries.

The boycott is due to the island nation's traditional mass slaughter of pilot whales each year. The protected by Denmark gruesome practice of killing whales is called “Grindadrap Grind". Locals use motorboats to drive a pod of whales into a harbor. The defenseless animals are dragged to the shallow water and brutally slaughtered by locals armed with knives (16-19 cm / 6-8 inches long) while their families cheer them on. The killing party even rip out baby whales from their mothers.

The Faroe Islands have a population of about 50,000 and kill each year 1000+ pilot whales. You can see the cruise ship schedule of Torshavn - Faroe's most visited port. All cruise lines with scheduled visits to the Faroes are accused of supporting the brutal whaling practices. Whaling is still officially approved and carried out by the "civilized" countries Japan, Norway and Iceland, killing over 2000 whales each year and trading in whale products.

HL's response was to the "Faroese Pilot Whaling Act" by the local government, which continues to allow pilot whales to be culled or massacred. It also empowers local authorities to imprison (for up to 2 years) people found guilty of impeding these whaling activities - despite all the international condemnations.

Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace are among the largest organizations taking direct actions against the "Faroese Pilot Whaling Act". Most of the available online haunting images of slaughtered whales lying in a sea of blood are released by these organizations.

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Hot rides on the inland seas: Great Lakes cruises gaining steam, stoking enthusiasm

A trip to Mackinac Island has long been a quintessential summer vacation. This year, thousands of travelers are opting for a luxurious way to get there: aboard a Great Lakes cruise liner.

"We had a wonderful time in Mackinac," said Rusty Davis, a California native who visited Michigan for the first time aboard Viking's Niagara & the Great Lakes cruise with his wife, Kathy. Davis and his wife are just two of thousands of travelers who will embark on a journey this summer to sail the Midwest's inland seas.

Just as the Great Lakes might not be the most typical cruise destination, the ships don't offer a typical experience either, Davis explained: "These boats are not party boats. They’re designed for older people, education, enlightenment and exploring places you’ve never been."

In recent years, ships such as Viking's Polaris have turned the Great Lakes into one of the most popular spots for cruising. The Great Lakes will see fewer cruise ships this year, but industry officials say that's a blip in an otherwise upward trendline.

Cruise the Great Lakes, a regional program that promotes the industry, projects ships between May and September that will carry 20,000 passengers and make 600 port visits. Michigan alone will welcome 157 visits from nine cruise ships, according to Kelly Wolgamott, director of marketing for Pure Michigan.

Last year, there were 800 regional port visits, according to Cruise the Great Lakes. The overall decline is largely because one cruise line, American Queen Voyages, shut down in February, taking two ships out of service on the lakes this year. However, Victory Cruise Lines bought the 190-passenger vessels, Victory I and Victory II, and plans to put them back into service next year, the company said in a statement.

"We are excited to return to the Great Lakes in April 2025," said John Waggoner, CEO of Victory Cruise Lines.

Anna Tanski, tourism director of Cruise the Great Lakes, points to long-term growth in the sector: “In just a decade, the number of cruise passengers has more than doubled." The organization projects $200 million in regional economic impact this year, a nearly 50% increase from 2022.

Six cruise lines are operating on the Great Lakes this year (Pearl Seas Cruises, Viking Cruises, St. Lawrence Cruise Lines, Ponant, Hapag-Lloyd and Plantours Cruises), and some are adding new itineraries and port stops. Each of these cruise lines has its own specialty: Viking is geared towards the more adventurous traveler with its expedition ships, and Pearl Seas boasts private balconies for every room. Meanwhile, French-based Ponant and German Hapag-Lloyd serve European travelers.

Even for longtime Michiganians, Great Lakes cruises can be eye-opening. Michael Matti, 54, a former teacher in Stevensville, had been on five previous cruises, including to Antarctica, before traveling aboard the Octantis in 2022.

"I've been to Mackinac, I don't know how many times in my lifetime, but when I went on a tour, I learned many things I didn't know," he said. "It just gave me a very different perspective of my home state."

In many ways, these luxury Great Lakes cruise liners are the antithesis of traditional ocean-going vessels. Instead of sun-splashed Caribbean beaches, travelers can expect stops at such cities as Detroit, Marquette, Muskegon, Toronto, Milwaukee and Duluth, Minn.

Instead of a hulking ship with a towering water slide on the top deck, picture something much smaller: most Great Lakes cruisers are (relatively) petite, typically accommodating 250 or fewer passengers. By comparison, Princess Cruise's Royal Princess ship can hold up to 3,560 guests.

And instead of casinos, shops and live shows, Great Lakes cruise ships offer lower-key experiences such as scientific lectures and performances by local musicians. Pearl Mist is one such luxury ship: a comparatively intimate vessel that can accommodate 210 guests.

The voyage isn't cheap: Prices for a 15-night trip across all five Great Lakes aboard the Pearl Mist start at $10,830.  By comparison, a 14-night Caribbean cruise to the Panama Canal and the western Caribbean on Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas costs an average of $1,638.

Rather than a family of four looking for an indulgent tropical getaway, Great Lakes cruises tend to attract a much different clientele: educated, older and well-traveled. “They’ve been to the Caribbean. They’ve been to Alaska. They’ve been to the Mediterranean," said Mark Schrupp, executive director of the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority. "The Great Lakes is the next frontier for people who really enjoy cruising.”

Detroit draws cruise ships

Detroit has seen an increase in port visits over the past few years, with 52 dockings in 2022 and 62 in 2023, though just 40 are scheduled this year because American Queen Voyages shut down, Shrupp said.

"The Great Lakes in 2025 should promise to be another banner year for us," said John Jamian, director of operations of Detroit's port authority.

Detroit's efforts to woo more cruise ships have included spending half a million dollars on an extra bollard to upgrade the port authority's dock near the Renaissance Center. The goal is to accommodate longer ships like Viking's Octantis, a vessel more than 650 feet long that stopped at a longer, privately owned dock in 2022.

Tourist organizations like Visit Detroit roll out the red carpet for cruise passengers. As soon as they dock, they're greeted with local entertainment, local guides and Motown music, said Jennifer Ollinger, tourism manager of Visit Detroit: "We have the infrastructure; we just need to convince them to come. Once they get here, they're like, wow, there's a lot to see and do."

High-profile development projects like the Hudson's site and the recently reopened Michigan Central Station help with that. So do the record-breaking crowds who poured into Detroit for the nationally televised NFL Draft in late April.

Davis, the Viking passenger from California, disembarked in Detroit this month and was pleasantly surprised. "I was not aware of all the different things there were in the downtown area and all that had been revitalized," he said. "It was very clean."

While ashore, Davis particularly enjoyed touring Ford Motor Co.'s Rouge Center in Dearborn: "We watched the crews build F-150s, it was so fascinating ... we were there so long they had to come looking for us to go back on the ship."

Davis added that "Mackinac Island, Niagara Falls, and the Ford Rouge Center have been the highlights of the trip."

Betsy Ristroph, 78, a retired librarian from Georgia, docked in Detroit last July on Viking's Niagara & the Great Lakes cruise and had a similar reaction. "My previous impression was that all the industry left, and there had been riots long ago. I had very bleak impressions. But it feels to me now they had revitalized the downtown and kept their sports teams," she said. "I have a positive impression of Detroit now."

While in Detroit, Ristroph particularly enjoyed touring the Rouge Center: "I've seen enough museums in my life … but I found the plant fascinating."

Not only do such travelers witness Detroit’s revitalization, but they also play a vital role in it. In 2023, the 14,000 passengers who visited Detroit generated $1.5 million of direct economic impact, according to Cruise the Great Lakes.

Other Michigan cities are looking to get in on the action. Bay City is working to identify the best locations to start welcoming cruise ships on the Saginaw River. "We've been looking to get into the cruise ship industry for years now," said Annette Rummel, CEO of Great Lakes Bay Regional Convention & Visitors Bureau, an organization that oversees Bay City tourism.

Muskegon, already a port of call on many cruise itineraries, is also looking to add a second dock to accommodate more Great Lakes cruise ships, according to Robert Lukens, Community Development Director of the port of Muskegon. Other Michigan ports receiving cruise ships this year include Mackinac Island, Sault Ste. Marie, Traverse City, Alpena and Escanaba.

Science instead of shows

Another major draw for cruisers is the natural beauty of Michigan's Great Lakes coasts, ranging from boreal forests in Thunder Bay to sandstone cliffs in Marquette to the golden autumnal coastline off Sault Ste. Marie. 

“For many of these travelers, it’s their first time in Michigan,” Wolgamott said. “One thing that always surprises travelers when they come is how big the Great Lakes are. They get to discover the beauty of our 3,200 miles of freshwater coastline and quaint coastal towns.”  

Great Lakes cruises seek to give passengers a deeper understanding of the flora and fauna unique to the region. Viking's ships are particularly science-oriented. Both the Octantis and Polaris have scientists on board conducting research in the Great Lakes as well as a science lab where passengers can complete weather samples or launch weather balloons.

"You wouldn't expect how interesting the scientific information is," said Doris Colgate, in her early 80s, who traveled aboard the Octantis in 2022. As a sailor and owner of a sailing company, Colgate is an explorer at heart. But compared to exploring on her own, Colgate appreciated the expert guidance the Octantis offered: "I loved being at anchor in a remote area and seeing all the birds come in. Then an ornithologist would explain the various birds indigenous to the area."

As an expedition ship, the Octantis also offers plenty of opportunities for active exploration. "There were some very active people who kayaked all day long. It’s a great cruise for younger people or fit older people," said Colgate.

With this type of programming, Viking has a no-children policy, limiting guests to 18 years and older. However, other Great Lakes cruise lines have a more flexible policy on children. In addition to scientists, Viking has visiting lecturers on board, while Pearl Seas guests can end the evening conversing with naturalists or local historians. "It's not going on a cruise ship and seeing a casino or big show, but it's much more down to earth: lectures and local musicians," Matti said. Such an environment makes a great place to build friendships with like-minded individuals who may prefer cultural enrichment over pizzazz. "That's one of the things we love," Matti said. "People are so open and conversational. You have that opportunity at night to listen to music and have a drink."

Matti also made friends with crew members — some of whom he still follows on Facebook. Compared to ocean-going vessels, many Great Lakes cruises have crew-to-passenger ratios close to 1:1. "We had room stewards who knew us by name on day one ... they are very, very attentive."

Amenities on these ships reflect the high price tag. On board, nearly everything is included: from alcohol to off-shore activities, though there are add-on options for some stops. There's attention to detail down to the bookshelves — on the Octantis, all the books were related to Great Lakes expeditions. More than the unique programming or entertainment, Matti said it's comfort and service like this that would make him go again.

“Veterans of the cruise industry want to see different things than what they’re seeing all the time — like the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame or the Navy Pier in Chicago," said David Gutheil, chief commercial officer of the port of Cleveland. "There’s a lot more differentiation among the Great Lakes cruise ship destinations compared to what you’d see cruising in other parts of the world.” 

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Robert Towne, Oscar-winning writer of 'Chinatown,' dies at 89

The Associated Press

Screenwriter Robert Towne poses at The Regency Hotel in New York on March 7, 2006. Jim Cooper/AP hide caption

NEW YORK — Robert Towne, the Oscar-winning screenplay writer of Shampoo, The Last Detail and other films, whose script for Chinatown became a model of the art form and helped define the jaded allure of his native Los Angeles, has died. He was 89.

Towne died Monday surrounded by family at his home in Los Angeles, said publicist Carri McClure. She declined to comment on any cause of death.

In an industry which gave birth to rueful jokes about the writer's status, Towne for a time held prestige comparable to the actors and directors he worked with. Through his friendships with two of the biggest stars of the 1960s and '70s, Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson, he wrote or co-wrote some of the signature films of an era when artists held an unusual level of creative control.

The rare "auteur" among screen writers, Towne managed to bring a highly personal and influential vision of Los Angeles onto the screen.

"It's a city that's so illusory," Towne told The Associated Press in a 2006 interview. "It's the westernmost west of America. It's a sort of place of last resort. It's a place where, in a word, people go to make their dreams come true. And they're forever disappointed."

Recognizable around Hollywood for his high forehead and full beard, Towne won an Academy Award for Chinatown and was nominated three other times, for The Last Detail, Shampoo and Greystoke . In 1997, he received a lifetime achievement award from the Writers Guild of America.

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"His life, like the characters he created, was incisive, iconoclastic and entirely (original)," said Shampoo actor Lee Grant on X.

Towne's success came after a long stretch of working in television, including The Man from U.N.C.L.E and The Lloyd Bridges Show, and on low-budget movies for "B" producer Roger Corman. In a classic show business story, he owed his breakthrough in part to his psychiatrist, through whom he met Beatty, a fellow patient. As Beatty worked on Bonnie and Clyde, he brought in Towne for revisions of the Robert Benton-David Newman script and had him on the set while the movie was filmed in Texas.

Towne's contributions were uncredited for Bonnie and Clyde, the landmark crime film released in 1967, and for years he was a favorite ghost writer. He helped out on The Godfather, The Parallax View and Heaven Can Wait among others, and referred to himself as a "relief pitcher who could come in for an inning, not pitch the whole game."

But Towne was credited by name for Nicholson's macho The Last Detail and Beatty's sex comedy Shampoo and was immortalized by Chinatown, the 1974 thriller set during the Great Depression.

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Chinatown was directed by Roman Polanski and starred Nicholson as J.J. "Jake" Gittes, a private detective asked to follow the husband of Evelyn Mulwray (played by Faye Dunaway). The husband is chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Gittes finds himself caught in a chaotic spiral of corruption and violence, embodied by Evelyn's ruthless father, Noah Cross (John Huston).

Influenced by the fiction of Raymond Chandler, Towne resurrected the menace and mood of a classic Los Angeles film noir, but cast Gittes' labyrinthine odyssey across a grander and more insidious portrait of Southern California. Clues accumulate into a timeless detective tale, and lead helplessly to tragedy, summed up by the one of the most repeated lines in movie history, words of grim fatalism a devastated Gittes receives from his partner Lawrence Walsh (Joe Mantell): "Forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown."

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Towne's script has been a staple of film writing classes ever since, although it also serves as a lesson in how movies often get made and in the risks of crediting any film to a single viewpoint. He would acknowledge working closely with Polanski as they revised and tightened the story and arguing fiercely with the director over the film's despairing ending — an ending Polanski pushed for and Towne later agreed was the right choice. (No one has officially been credited for writing "Forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown").

But the concept began with Towne, who had turned down the chance to adapt The Great Gatsby for the screen so he could work on Chinatown, partly inspired by a book published in 1946, Carey McWilliams' Southern California: An Island on the Land.

"In it was a chapter called 'Water, water, water,' which was a revelation to me. And I thought, 'Why not do a picture about a crime that's right out in front of everybody?,' " he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2009.

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"Instead of a jewel-encrusted falcon, make it something as prevalent as water faucets, and make a conspiracy out of that. And after reading about what they were doing, dumping water and starving the farmers out of their land, I realized the visual and dramatic possibilities were enormous."

The back story of Chinatown has itself become a kind of detective story, explored in producer Robert Evans' memoir, The Kid Stays in the Picture ; in Peter Biskind's East Riders, Raging Bulls, a history of 1960s-1970s Hollywood, and in Sam Wasson's The Big Goodbye, dedicated entirely to Chinatown. In The Big Goodbye, published in 2020, Wasson alleged that Towne was helped extensively by a ghost writer — former college roommate Edward Taylor. According to The Big Goodbye, for which Towne declined to be interviewed, Taylor did not ask for credit on the film because his "friendship with Robert" mattered more.

Wasson also wrote that the movie's famous closing line originated with a vice cop who had told Towne that crimes in Chinatown were seldom prosecuted.

"Robert Towne once said that Chinatown is a state of mind," Wasson wrote. "Not just a place on the map in Los Angeles, but a condition of total awareness almost indistinguishable from blindness. Dreaming you're in paradise and waking up in the dark — that's Chinatown. Thinking you've got it figured out and realizing you're dead — that's Chinatown."

The studios assumed more power after the mid-1970s and Towne's standing declined. His own efforts at directing, including Personal Best and Tequila Sunrise, had mixed results. The Two Jakes, the long-awaited sequel to Chinatown, was a commercial and critical disappointment when released in 1990 and led to a temporary estrangement between Towne and Nicholson.

Towne's greatest regret, he said in the 2006 AP interview, was how Greystoke turned out. Towne wrote the adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel Tarzan of the Apes and wanted to direct it. But production troubles on Personal Best bled into his hopes for Greystoke . Hugh Hudson, instead, directed the 1984 film. And while Greystoke received three Oscar nominations, including for Towne's script, he was unhappy with the result. Towne took the name of his dog, P.H. Vazak, for his screenwriting credit, making Vazak an unlikely Oscar nominee.

Around the same time, he agreed to work on a movie far removed from the art-house aspirations of the '70s, the Don Simpson-Jerry Bruckheimer production Days of Thunder, starring Tom Cruise as a race car driver and Robert Duvall as his crew chief. The 1990 movie was famously over budget and mostly panned, although its admirers include Quentin Tarantino and countless racing fans. And Towne's script popularized an expression used by Duvall after Cruise complains another car slammed him: "He didn't slam into you, he didn't bump you, he didn't nudge you. He rubbed you.

"And rubbin,' son, is racin.'"

Towne later worked with Cruise on The Firm and the first two Mission: Impossible movies. His most recent film was Ask the Dust, a Los Angeles story he wrote and directed that came out in 2006. Towne was married twice, the second time to Luisa Gaule, and had two children. His brother, Roger Towne, also wrote screenplays, his credits including The Natural.

Towne was born Robert Bertram Schwartz in Los Angeles and moved to San Pedro after his father's business, a dress shop, closed down because of the Great Depression. (His father changed the family name to Towne). He had always loved to write and was inspired to work in movies by the proximity of the Warner Bros. Theater and from reading the critic James Agee. For a time, Towne worked on a tuna boat and would speak often of its impact.

"I've identified fishing with writing in my mind to the extent that each script is like a trip that you're taking — and you are fishing," he told the Writers Guild Association in 2013. "Sometimes they both involve an act of faith. ... Sometimes it's sheer faith alone that sustains you, because you think, 'God damn it, nothing — not a bite today. Nothing is happening.' "

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