Volker Schlöndorff of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman", starring Dustin Hoffman as Willy Loman and John Malkovich as Biff. Both actors won Emmys for their performances and Schlöndorff was nominated for an Emmy for his direction. The film premiered on television in 1985 and was released theatrically throughout Europe over the following years. Schlöndorff followed this with another TV movie in the US, "A Gathering of Old Men", based on the novel of the same name by Ernest J. Gaines. The film stars Richard Widmark, Holly Hunter and Lou Gossett Jr. and concerns racial discrimination in 1970s Louisiana. Schlöndorff returned to
The Salesman (2016 film) Farhadi said he found parallel themes of "humiliation", and also compared the relationship between his characters Rana and Emad to that of Linda and Willy Loman. More symbolism was added with the crumbling buildings, which Farhadi said represented crumbling relationships. Although he was planning to film a Spanish language-project abroad, Farhadi opted to delay it to return to Tehran to make "The Salesman" in 2015. He cast Shahab Hosseini in the lead role, marking the third collaboration between the actor and director. Farhadi praised Hosseini for crafting diverse characters. Other actors from Farhadi's 2011 film "A Separation" are featured, and