 Producer Sam Spiegel (I) (qv) considered Elia Kazan (qv), who  directed _On the Waterfront (1954)_ (qv) (which won Spiegel his  first of three Best Picture Oscars), one of his closest friends. He  chose Kazan, who was virtually retired, to direct "The Last Tycoon."  According to Spiegel biographer Natasha Fraser