The surprisingly witty script was worked on by a squadron of writers, including Robert Towne.

NEWYORKER: Armageddon

"We have the highest retention of African tradition in America, " says Towne.

CNN: African slave traditions live on in U.S.

Running in circles around a track is not the most cinematic activity in the world, so this is no small achievement on Towne's part.

CNN: Review: Track film 'Without Limits' light on its feet

The screenwriter, Robert Towne, seems to be trying to underplay the rah-rah elements of the material to give competition some point other than pure ego gratification.

NEWYORKER: Days of Thunder

The final image, a lap-dissolve in which Prefontaine and Bowerman appear in the frame together, suggests that Towne was shooting for something that never really made it to the screen.

CNN: Review: Track film 'Without Limits' light on its feet

Sutherland's voiceover at the beginning of the film strongly implies that what we're about to watch is a battle of wills, but Towne is too respectful of Prefontaine's focus to take that very far.

CNN: Review: Track film 'Without Limits' light on its feet

The screenwriter is Robert Towne, who wrote half of the movies that made Jack Nicholson a star, and the leading lady is Thandie Newton, whose face could make a thousand ships do pretty much anything she wants.

NEWYORKER: Mission Impossible 2 (M: I-2)

Everyone involved in this picture seems overqualified, from the writers (Robert Towne, with Beatty) to the cinematographer (Conrad Hall) to the production designer (the late Ferdinando Scarfiotti) to the large, pointlessly high-powered supporting cast (headed by Katharine Hepburn).

NEWYORKER: Love Affair

Leila Bulling Towne, an executive management coach, was happy to be on a nonstop flight home from a business meeting in Austin and liked the RJ practice of checking and retrieving carry-on bags at the jet-bridge, since regular roll-aboard bags don't fit in purse-sized overhead bins.

WSJ: Regional Jets: Are These Model Airplanes?