Spinotti's collaboration with Curtis Hanson yielded the critically acclaimed "L.A. Confidential" (1997). Rejecting the classic film noir approach, Hanson and Spinotti pored over the work of Swiss-born still photographer Robert Frank, intrigued by the contemporary look and feel of his pictures that were still true to their period. Inspired by Frank's photos, Spinotti took every opportunity to film exclusively with practical lights (i.e., fluorescents and street lamps), augmenting with bat strips ("I call bat strips my 'no-light lights'") when the practicals needed a boost. After teaming with Roland Joffe for "Goodbye Lover" (1999), a female detective story also set in the City of Angels, Spinotti made the best of the interiors and Midwestern locations for Mann's "The Insider" (also 1999) and earned his first Oscar nomination. He then joined Hanson for "Wonder Boys" (2000), proving that dark, dreary weather is not incompatible with comedy.