Photo: Steve Granitz / WireImage.com

Born in Chicago, IL; educated at the University of Chicago, Harvard (history) and Harvard Law School. A director who has tackled a wide range of projects with consistent intelligence and style, Kaufman won the Prix de la Nouvelle Critique at Cannes for his first feature, GOLDSTEIN (1965). He followed with FEARLESS FRANK (1967), which starred Jon Voight. Kaufman subsequently received attention for directing the offbeat western, THE GREAT NORTHFIELD, MINNESOTA RAID (1972), and writing 1975's THE OUTLAW - JOSEY WALES. (He was originally slated to direct the latter film, but was replaced by its star, Clint Eastwood.) Kaufman enjoyed his first box-office hit with the 1978 remake of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS and scored critical successes with adaptations of books by Tom Wolfe (THE RIGHT STUFF, 1983) and Milan Kundera (THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING, 1988). HENRY & JUNE (1990), adapted from Anaïs Nin's erotic diaries of her relationships with Henry Miller and his wife, was a major factor in prompting the MPAA to create a new, NC-17 rating for explicit -- but not pornographic -- material. (For many years, HENRY & JUNE remained the only major studio film to have been released with the still-controversial rating.) Other notable credits include THE WANDERERS (1979, writer & director), RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981, story), RISING SUN (1993, screenplay & director), QUILLS (2000, director) and TWISTED (2004, director), UNTITLED ERNEST HEMINGWAY PROJECT (scheduled for 2008, director), and INTERRUPTED (announced for 2009, director). Kaufman's wife, Rose Fisher, has collaborated on some of his screenplays.  Nominated for Achievement in Writing - Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium 1988: THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING (w. Jean-Claude Carrière) 1 nomination