Editing Warren Beatty (section)

=== 1978–1999: Directorial debut and expansion === 
In 1978, Beatty directed, produced, wrote and acted in ''[[Heaven Can Wait (1978 film)|Heaven Can Wait]]'' (1978) (sharing co-directing credit with [[Buck Henry]]). The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Director, Actor, and Adapted Screenplay. It also won three Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture and Best Actor.

{{quote box|width=25em|quote=A film [''Reds''] of this scope and size demands incredible work from the director, and when you consider that Beatty also served as producer, writer and star, it's hard to believe so much work could come from one man. As a film, it's a marvelous view of America in the 1912–19 era, and Beatty brought some superior performances from a large cast.|source=—Joe Pollack, syndicated columnist<ref>''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'', March 28, 1982, p. 121</ref>}}

Beatty's next film was ''[[Reds (film)|Reds]]'' (1981), a historical epic about American Communist journalist [[John Reed (journalist)|John Reed]] who observed the Russian [[October Revolution]] – a project Beatty had begun researching and filming for as far back as 1970. It was a critical and commercial success, despite being an American film about an American Communist, made and released at the height of the Cold War. It received 12 Academy Award nominations – including four for Beatty (for Best Picture, Director, Actor, and Original Screenplay), winning three. Beatty won for Best Director, [[Maureen Stapleton]] won for Best Supporting Actress (playing anarchist [[Emma Goldman]]), and [[Vittorio Storaro]] won for Best Cinematography.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1982|title=The 54th Academy Awards (1982) Nominees and Winners|website=Oscars.org|access-date=October 8, 2011}}</ref> The film received seven Golden Globe nominations, including Best Motion Picture, Director, Actor and Screenplay. Beatty won the [[Golden Globe Award for Best Director]].

Following ''Reds'', Beatty did not appear in a film for five years until 1987's ''[[Ishtar (film)|Ishtar]]'', written and directed by [[Elaine May]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2010/02/ishtar-excerpt-201002|title=Madness in Morocco: The Road to Ishtar|work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|first=Peter|last=Biskind|date=January 7, 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240801134910/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2010/02/ishtar-excerpt-201002|archive-date=August 1, 2024}}</ref> Following severe criticism in press reviews by the new British studio chief [[David Puttnam]] just prior to its release, the film received mixed reviews and was unimpressive commercially.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=ishtar.htm|title=Ishtar (1987) – Box Office Mojo|website=Boxofficemojo.com|access-date=February 3, 2018}}</ref> Puttnam attacked several other over-budget American films greenlighted by his predecessor and was fired shortly thereafter.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20097589,00.html|title=He Rode into Hollywood on a Chariot of Fire, but David Puttnam's Job at Columbia Went Up in Smoke|work=[[People (magazine)|People]]|first=Margot|last=Dougherty|date=November 16, 1987|access-date=December 10, 2015|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090931/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20097589,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Warren Beatty cropped.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.75|Beatty at the [[62nd Academy Awards]] (1990)]]

Under his second production company, Mulholland Productions,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.buzzfile.com/business/Mulholland-Productions-Inc-310-873-3400|title=Mulholland Productions Inc|website=Buzzfile}}</ref> Beatty produced, directed and played the title role of [[comic strip]]-based detective [[Dick Tracy]] in the 1990 [[Dick Tracy (1990 film)|film of the same name]]. The film received positive reviews and was one of the highest-grossing films of the year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=1990&p=.htm|title=1990 Yearly Box Office Results – Box Office Mojo|website=Boxofficemojo.com|access-date=February 3, 2018}}</ref> It received seven [[Academy Award]] nominations, winning three for [[Academy Award for Best Production Design|Best Art Direction]], [[Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling|Best Makeup]], and [[Academy Award for Best Original Song|Best Original Song]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1991|title=The 63rd Academy Awards (1991) Nominees and Winners|website=Oscars.org|access-date=August 1, 2011}}</ref> It also received four [[Golden Globe Award]] nominations, including Best Motion Picture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/film/23953 |title=Dick Tracy at the Golden Globes |website=goldenglobes.org|publisher=[[Hollywood Foreign Press Association]] |access-date=April 27, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011222307/http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/film/23953 |archive-date=October 11, 2008 }}</ref>

In 1991, he produced and starred as the real-life gangster [[Bugsy Siegel]] in the critically acclaimed and commercially successful film ''[[Bugsy]]'', directed by [[Barry Levinson]], which was nominated for ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor; it later won two of the awards for Best Art Direction and [[Academy Award for Best Costume Design|Best Costume Design]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/20/movies/bugsy-a-big-winner-in-oscar-nominations-rife-with-surprise.html |title=Bugsy a Big Winner In Oscar Nominations Rife With Surprise|work=[[The New York Times]]|first=Bernard|last=Weinraub|date=February 20, 1992|access-date=November 12, 2010|location=Beverly Hills, California|url-status=live|archive-date=February 21, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221000918/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/20/movies/bugsy-a-big-winner-in-oscar-nominations-rife-with-surprise.html|url-access=registration}}</ref> The film also received eight Golden Globe Award nominations, including Best Motion Picture and Best Actor, winning for Best Motion Picture. Beatty's next film, ''[[Love Affair (1994 film)|Love Affair]]'' (1994), directed by [[Glenn Gordon Caron]], received mixed reviews and was a commercial failure.

In 1998, he wrote, produced, directed and starred in the [[political satire]] ''[[Bulworth]]'', which was critically acclaimed and nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eonline.com/news/37721/beatty-defending-bulworth|title=Beatty Defending "Bulworth"|website=[[E!|E! Online]]|first=Danielle|last=Frankel|date=February 12, 1999}}</ref> The film also received three Golden Globe Award nominations, for Best Motion Picture, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1998/12/18/golden-globe-categories/|title=Golden Globe Categories|work=[[Orlando Sentinel]]|date=December 18, 1998|access-date=December 10, 2015|archive-date=December 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222130416/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1998-12-18/news/9812180609_1_truman-show-saving-private-ryan-shakespeare-in-love|url-status=live}}</ref> Beatty has appeared briefly in numerous documentaries, including ''[[Madonna: Truth or Dare]]'' (1991) and ''[[One Bright Shining Moment: The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern]]'' (2005).