Few directors have shown the patience that Bennett Miller has in waiting for the perfect script with which to make his feature film debut. Miller completed The Cruise in 1998, a documentary about Tim "Speed" Levitch, a double-decker bus tour guide with Manhattan's Gray Line who enraptured audiences with his lust for life and his city. The obscure film won an Emmy and was praised by critics, though it wasn't exposed to a large number of moviegoers. Miller would take his time in finding the film through which he would approach a larger audience, and paid his bills for the next seven years by directing commercials. It was Dan Futterman, a friend that Miller had kept in touch with since they met in middle school, who eventually brought him the script he'd been waiting for. Based on Gerald Clarke's biography of infamous '50s author Truman Capote, Capote was a sharp, ambitious psychological profile that would require the most competent of actors to carry it to fruition. The first name on Miller and Futterman's list was Philip Seymour Hoffman, a highly respected actor with an incredibly impressive resumé. The three had met at a summer theater camp in Saratoga Springs when they were 16, and the two implicitly trusted Hoffman to bring their vision to life.
When Capote was released in 2005, it was everything that its producers had hoped. The film received accolades from the critical community and was honored with Oscar nominations in the categories of Best Director, Motion Picture of the Year, Best Adapted Screenplay, a Best Actress nomination for Catherine Keener, and a Best Actor nomination for Philip Seymour Hoffman. Hoffman also took home a Golden Globe Award for his performance.
