Stanley Kubrick was a novelist.
Stanley Kubrick ( [ ˈkuːbrɪk ] July 26 , 1928 -- March 7 , 1999 ) was an American film director , screenwriter , producer , cinematographer , editor , and photographer . This was followed by two collaborations with Kirk Douglas , the war picture Paths of Glory ( 1957 ) and the historical epic Spartacus ( 1960 ) . With The Shining ( 1980 ) , he became one of the first directors to make use of a Steadicam for stabilized and fluid tracking shots .