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David Weisman, an Academy Award nominee as producer of Kiss of the Spider Woman and an accomplished graphic artist, died on October 9 from complications from neuroinvasive West Nile virus. He died in Los Angeles at Cedars Sinai at age 77, according to his publicist.

Born in Binghamton, New York, in March 1942, Weisman attended Syracuse University’s School of Fine Arts in the early 1960’s. Inspired by the classic Italian film La Dolce Vita and armed with a gift for languages, Weisman dropped out of college to design film-posters in Rome. There he met Federico Fellini, for whom he created a poster for 8 1/2 (Otto e mezzo).

Returning to New York, he collaborated with Otto Preminger, who asked him to create the title sequence for Hurry Sundown. He then became Preminger’s assistant on the film. Weisman also designed the key art for The Boys in the Band, among many others.

In 1967, with...

David Weisman, who was Oscar-nominated as producer of “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” died Oct. 9 in Los Angeles due to complications from West Nile virus. He was 77.

Weisman had a long career as a graphic designer and photographer and co-wrote and co-directed cult classic “Ciao! Manhattan” about 1960s icon Edie Sedgwick.

Born in Binghamton, N.Y., Weisman dropped out of Syracuse University in the early 1960s to design film posters in Rome. He met Federico Fellini and created a poster for “8 1/2” before returning to New York to work with Otto Preminger on “Hurry Sundown.” He also designed the key art for “The Boys in the Band” and many other films.

On “Ciao! Manhattan” he partnered with John Palmer, an alumnus of Andy Warhol’s Factory. He worked as associate director on avant-garde film “The Telephone Book” and created “Shogun Assassin,” edited from a series of Japanese samurai movies.

Weisman begin...

Kiss of the Spider Woman scribe Leonard Schrader has been named head of the AFI Conservatory's graduate screenwriting program. In his new post as senior filmmaker-in-residence: screenwriting, Schrader will oversee all screenwriting faculty at the Conservatory and teach both first- and second-year fellows. "We are thrilled to have such an outstanding member of the filmmaking and higher-education community as a member of the Conservatory's core faculty," Conservatory dean Sam Grogg said. "Len is a master of his art form, and screenwriting fellows will learn much under his tutelage." Schrader's professional career spans four decades and includes several projects on which he collaborated with his younger brother and AFI alumnus, writer-director Paul Schrader. The brothers collaborated on such films as The Yakuza, Blue Collar and Old Boyfriends. Leonard Schrader went on to write several successful Japanese films, including The Man Who Stole the Sun, before earning an Oscar nomination for Spider Woman in 1986. He made his directorial debut in 1991 with Naked Tango. As an educator, Schrader taught the screenwriting Master's thesis class at USC from 1996-99 and was an associate professor of film at Chapman University from 1999-2003.