# Auto Focus > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Auto_Focus > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Auto_Focus.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto_Focus > Source revision: 1339858083 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) For the camera focusing system, see [autofocus](/source/Autofocus). 2002 American film Auto Focus Theatrical release poster Directed by Paul Schrader Written by Michael Gerbosi Based on The Murder of Bob Crane by Robert Graysmith Produced by Scott Alexander Larry Karaszewski Alicia Allain Pat Dollard Brian Oliver Todd Rosken Starring Greg Kinnear Willem Dafoe Rita Wilson Maria Bello Ron Leibman Cinematography Jeffrey Greeley Fred Murphy Edited by Kristina Boden Music by Angelo Badalamenti Production companies Propaganda Films Good Machine Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics Release date October 18, 2002 (2002-10-18) (United States) Running time 105 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $7 million Box office $2.7 million ***Auto Focus*** is a 2002 American [biographical drama](/source/Biographical_drama) film directed by [Paul Schrader](/source/Paul_Schrader) and starring [Greg Kinnear](/source/Greg_Kinnear) and [Willem Dafoe](/source/Willem_Dafoe). The screenplay by Michael Gerbosi is based on [Robert Graysmith](/source/Robert_Graysmith)'s book *The Murder of Bob Crane* (1993).[1][2] *Auto Focus* tells a dramatized story of actor [Bob Crane](/source/Bob_Crane), an affable radio show host and amateur drummer who found success on the popular [sitcom](/source/Situation_comedy) *[Hogan's Heroes](/source/Hogan's_Heroes)*, and his dramatic descent into the underbelly of Hollywood after the series was cancelled and he formed a friendship with videographer [John Henry Carpenter](/source/John_Henry_Carpenter). Carpenter was later tried, and [acquitted](/source/Acquittal) in 1994 of Crane's murder. Although the crime remains officially unsolved, Carpenter has remained the main subject of suspicion even after his death in 1998.[3] ## Plot summary Disc-jockey-turned-actor [Bob Crane](/source/Bob_Crane) develops a secret personal life, focusing on his relationship with [John Henry Carpenter](/source/John_Henry_Carpenter), an electronics expert involved with the nascent [home video](/source/Videocassette_recorder#First_home_video_recorders) market. Encouraged by Carpenter and enabled by his expertise, Crane—a church-going, clean-cut family man—becomes a [sex addict](/source/Sexual_addiction) obsessed with women and with recording his encounters using video and photographic equipment, usually with Carpenter participating. As the years pass, the relationship between Crane and Carpenter unravels in a dangerous way. Crane is divorced by his wife Anne before marrying Patricia Olson, a former co-star from his hit television series *[Hogan's Heroes](/source/Hogan's_Heroes)*. After the show goes off the air, Crane struggles to find work while dealing with money troubles. By the time [Walt Disney Productions](/source/Walt_Disney_Productions) hires him for the leading role in a family movie, *[Superdad](/source/Superdad)*, his reputation for being obsessed with sex and pornography starts to jeopardize his image. Confined to doing [dinner theater](/source/Dinner_theater) in mid-sized cities, Crane's attempts to distance himself from Carpenter fail as their sexual escapades continue. Carpenter ends up becoming Crane's only friend, but in 1978 they have a final falling-out between them in [Scottsdale, Arizona](/source/Scottsdale%2C_Arizona), where Crane tells Carpenter that he is looking to start a new life without the latter's influence or eagerness for sex parties. Soon after, Crane is bludgeoned to death while he sleeps in a motel room. Carpenter is tried for the murder, but he is [acquitted](/source/Acquittal) in 1994. To this day, Crane's murder remains unsolved. ## Cast - [Greg Kinnear](/source/Greg_Kinnear) as [Bob Crane](/source/Bob_Crane) - [Willem Dafoe](/source/Willem_Dafoe) as [John Henry Carpenter](/source/John_Henry_Carpenter) - [Rita Wilson](/source/Rita_Wilson) as Anne Crane - [Maria Bello](/source/Maria_Bello) as [Patricia Olson-Crane / Sigrid Valdis](/source/Sigrid_Valdis) - [Ron Leibman](/source/Ron_Leibman) as Lenny - [Michael E. Rodgers](/source/Michael_E._Rodgers) as [Richard Dawson](/source/Richard_Dawson) - [Kurt Fuller](/source/Kurt_Fuller) as [Werner Klemperer](/source/Werner_Klemperer) - [Grand L. Bush](/source/Grand_L._Bush) as [Ivan Dixon](/source/Ivan_Dixon) - Christopher Neiman as [Robert Clary](/source/Robert_Clary) - [Ed Begley Jr.](/source/Ed_Begley_Jr.) as Mel Rosen - [Michael McKean](/source/Michael_McKean) as Video Executive - Roderick L. McCarthy as Bartender - [John Kapelos](/source/John_Kapelos) as [Bruno Gerussi](/source/Bruno_Gerussi) - Lyle Kanouse as [John Banner](/source/John_Banner) - [Bruce Solomon](/source/Bruce_Solomon) as [Edward H. Feldman](/source/Edward_H._Feldman)[4] ## Production The film premiered at the [Toronto International Film Festival](/source/Toronto_International_Film_Festival) and was shown at the [San Sebastián Film Festival](/source/San_Sebasti%C3%A1n_Film_Festival), the [Helsinki International Film Festival](/source/Helsinki_International_Film_Festival), the [Chicago International Film Festival](/source/Chicago_International_Film_Festival), the New Orleans Film Festival, and the [Bergen International Film Festival](/source/Bergen_International_Film_Festival) before going into limited release on eleven screens in the US, earning $123,761 on its opening weekend. It grossed $2,063,196 in the US and $641,755 in foreign markets for a total worldwide box office of $2,704,951.[5] ## Release ### Critical reception The film met with a largely positive reception from critics. On [review aggregator](/source/Review_aggregator) website [Rotten Tomatoes](/source/Rotten_Tomatoes), the film holds an approval rating of 71% based on 163 reviews, and an average rating of 6.64/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Kinnear and Dafoe help make this downward spiral of one man's life a compelling watch."[6] On [Metacritic](/source/Metacritic), the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[7] [A. O. Scott](/source/A._O._Scott) of *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)* said the film "gets to you like a low-grade fever, a malaise with no known antidote. When it was over, I wasn't sure if I needed a drink, a shower or a lifelong vow of [chastity](/source/Chastity) ... there is [a] severe, powerful moralism lurking beneath the film's dispassionate matter-of-factness. Mr. Schrader is indifferent to the sinner, but he cannot contain his loathing of the sin, which is not so much sex as the fascination with images ... To argue that images can corrupt the flesh and hollow out the soul is, for a filmmaker, an obviously contradictory exercise, but not necessarily a hypocritical one. There is plenty of nudity in *Auto Focus,* but you can always glimpse the abyss behind the undulating bodies, and the director leads you from easy titillation to suffocating dread, pausing only briefly and cautiously to consider the possibility of pleasure."[8] [Roger Ebert](/source/Roger_Ebert) of the *[Chicago Sun-Times](/source/Chicago_Sun-Times)* gave the film four out of four stars, calling it "a hypnotic portrait ... pitch-perfect in its decor, music, clothes, cars, language and values ... Greg Kinnear gives a creepy, brilliant performance as a man lacking in all insight ... Crane was not a complex man, but that should not blind us to the subtlety and complexity of Kinnear's performance."[9] Edward Guthmann of the *[San Francisco Chronicle](/source/San_Francisco_Chronicle)* called it "a compelling, sympathetic portrait ... Kinnear undercuts the seaminess of the Crane story, and shows us a man with more dimension and complexity than his behavior might suggest."[10] [Peter Travers](/source/Peter_Travers) of *[Rolling Stone](/source/Rolling_Stone)* awarded it three and a half out of four stars and added, "Schrader, the writer of *[Taxi Driver](/source/Taxi_Driver)* and the director of *[American Gigolo](/source/American_Gigolo)*, is a poet of male sexual pathology. Shot through with profane laughs and stinging drama, *Auto Focus* ranks with his best films."[11] [Todd McCarthy](/source/Todd_McCarthy) of *[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))* called it "one of director Paul Schrader's best films, and like *[Boogie Nights](/source/Boogie_Nights)* ranks as a shrewd exposé of recent Hollywood's slimy underside ... Schrader directs with a very smooth hand, providing a good-natured and frequently amusing spin to eventually grim material that aptly reflects the protagonist's almost unfailing good humor ... Pic overall has an excellent period in [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles) feel without getting elaborate about it, and musical contributions by [Angelo Badalamenti](/source/Angelo_Badalamenti) and a host of pop tunes are tops."[12] ### Criticism by Scotty Crane One of Bob Crane's sons, Scotty, bitterly attacked the film as being inaccurate. In an October 2002 article, Scotty said that his father was not a regular church-goer and had only been to church three times in the last dozen years of his life, including his own funeral. There is no evidence that Crane engaged in [S&M](/source/Sadomasochism), and director Paul Schrader told Scotty that the S&M scene was based on Schrader's own personal experience. Scotty claims that his father and John Carpenter did not become close friends who socialized together until 1975, and that Crane was already a sex addict and had recorded his sexual encounters since 1956, long before he became famous.[13] Scotty and his mother had written their own script for a film biography on Crane. The [spec script](/source/Spec_script), alternately titled "F-Stop" and "Take Off Your Clothes and Smile", was written up in *[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))* by columnist [Army Archerd](/source/Army_Archerd), but after *Auto-Focus* was announced, interest in Scotty's script ceased.[14] ### Awards and nominations Paul Schrader was nominated for the [Golden Seashell](/source/Golden_Seashell) at the [San Sebastián International Film Festival](/source/San_Sebasti%C3%A1n_International_Film_Festival).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] Willem Dafoe was nominated for [Best Supporting Actor](/source/Chicago_Film_Critics_Association_Award_for_Best_Supporting_Actor) by the [Chicago Film Critics Association](/source/Chicago_Film_Critics_Association_Awards_2002) but lost to [Dennis Quaid](/source/Dennis_Quaid) for *[Far from Heaven](/source/Far_from_Heaven)*.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ### Home media The [DVD](/source/DVD) release includes a 50-minute [documentary](/source/Documentary_film), *Murder in Scottsdale,* which delves into the initial murder investigation and the reopening of the case some 15 years later.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] The DVD also features several audio commentary tracks. ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Booth, William (March 1, 2007). ["A Killer Obsession"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/28/AR2007022801979.html). *The Washington Post*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Graysmith, Robert (May 18, 1993). [*The Murder of Bob Crane: Who Killed the Star of Hogan's Heroes?*](https://archive.org/details/murderofbobcrane00gray). Crown Publishers. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780517592090](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780517592090). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Motion Picture Purgatory: Auto Focus"](https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/34357/motion-picture-purgatory-auto-focus). *DreadCentral*. November 3, 2009. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-sc_4-0)** ["Synopsis"](http://www.sonyclassics.com/autofocus/synopsis/index.html). *[Sony Classics](/source/Sony_Pictures_Classics)*. Retrieved July 5, 2025. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Auto Focus"](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=autofocus.htm). *BoxOfficeMojo.com*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Auto Focus (2002)"](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/auto_focus). *[Rotten Tomatoes](/source/Rotten_Tomatoes)*. [Fandango Media](/source/Fandango_Media). Retrieved March 12, 2018. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Auto Focus Reviews"](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/auto-focus). *[Metacritic](/source/Metacritic)*. [CBS Interactive](/source/CBS_Interactive). Retrieved March 12, 2018. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Scott, A.O. (October 4, 2002). ["Movies: Auto Focus"](https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/04/movies/04AUTO.html). *The New York Times*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Ebert, Roger (October 25, 2002). ["Reviews: Auto Focus"](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/auto-focus-2002). *[Chicago Sun-Times](/source/Chicago_Sun-Times)*. Retrieved June 10, 2022. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Guthmann, Edward (October 25, 2002). ["Review: Auto Focus"](https://web.archive.org/web/20030128153544/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/10/25/DD81502.DTL). *San Francisco Chronicle*. Archived from [the original](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/10/25/DD81502.DTL) on January 28, 2003. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Travers, Peter (October 17, 2002). ["Movie Reviews: Auto Focus"](https://web.archive.org/web/20071115012343/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/5949379/review/5949380/auto_focus). *Rolling Stone*. Archived from [the original](https://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/5949379/review/5949380/auto_focus) on November 15, 2007. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** McCarthy, Todd (September 2, 2002). ["Review: Auto Focus"](https://variety.com/2002/film/reviews/auto-focus-1200546517). *Variety*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Crane, Scotty. ["Raging Bullshit: Auto Focus Is Not My Dad's Story"](http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/raging-bullshit/Content?oid=12356). The Stranger. Retrieved August 14, 2011. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** ["The Truth About Bob Crane"](http://mortystv.com/bob_crane.shtml). Morty's TV.com. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20110724094408/http://mortystv.com/bob_crane.shtml) from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved August 14, 2011. ## External links - [*Auto Focus*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0298744/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) - [*Auto Focus*](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/auto_focus) at [Rotten Tomatoes](/source/Rotten_Tomatoes) v t e Paul Schrader Films directed Blue Collar (1978) Hardcore (1979) American Gigolo (1980) Cat People (1982) Mishima (1985) Light of Day (1987) Patty Hearst (1988) The Comfort of Strangers (1990) Light Sleeper (1992) Witch Hunt (1994) Touch (1997) Affliction (1997) Forever Mine (1999) Auto Focus (2002) Dominion (2005) The Walker (2007) Adam Resurrected (2008) The Canyons (2013) Dying of the Light (2014) Dog Eat Dog (2016) First Reformed (2017) The Card Counter (2021) Master Gardener (2022) Oh, Canada (2024) Films written only The Yakuza (1974) Taxi Driver (1976) Obsession (1976) Rolling Thunder (1977) Old Boyfriends (1979) Raging Bull (1980) The Mosquito Coast (1986) The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) City Hall (1996) Bringing Out the Dead (1999) There Are No Saints (2022) Writings Transcendental Style in Film (1972) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Auto Focus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto_Focus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto_Focus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.