George Hickenlooper

A fiercely independent filmmaker whose best work focused on larger-than-life figures, George Hickenlooper directed such notable pictures as "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse" (1991), "The Man from Elysian Fields" (2001), "Mayor of the Sunset Strip" (2003) and "Casino Jack" (2010). A devoted fan of classic cinema, Hickenlooper was drawn to the dreamers and rogues who populated the real-life stories behind great films, profiling such leading directors as Francis Ford Coppola, Peter Bogdanovich and Monte Hellman, among others. His fascination with outsiders translated into his dramatic filmmaking as well. His most accomplished picture in this vein was the bittersweet "Man from Elysian Fields," with Andy Garcia as a writer reduced to working as a gigolo. Hickenlooper endured studio interference with remarkable aplomb, making him a hero of the indie set; his sudden death in 2010 robbed the motion picture business of one of its most fearless chroniclers.