John Flynn (director)
Encyclopedia
John Flynn was an American
film director
and screenwriter
known for making efficient, no-nonsense crime-thrillers The Outfit
and Rolling Thunder.
Flynn was raised in Hermosa Beach, California
and served in the Coast Guard
, It was during this stint that he studied journalism with Roots
author Alex Haley
. Flynn received a degree in journalism from UCLA.
He began his cinematic career as an apprentice to director Robert Wise
on Odds Against Tomorrow
and worked as the script supervisor
on West Side Story
. From there, Flynn worked as a second unit director on Kid Galahad
and The Great Escape
. He made his debut as a director with The Sergeant
starring Rod Steiger
.
Flynn's substantial commercial success was with The Outfit
starring Robert Duvall
. The filmmaker achieved a dedicated cult following
with the gritty revenge thriller, Rolling Thunder starring William Devane
and Tommy Lee Jones
.
In 1994, he directed the cult classic Brainscan
, a thriller about the dangers of virtual reality starring Edward Furlong
and Frank Langella
.
Flynn continued to work on genre films like Best Seller
, the Sylvester Stallone
prison drama Lock Up
, and the Steven Seagal
action film, Out for Justice
. In the early 1990s, Flynn directed two made-for-cable-TV films, the Dennis Hopper
cop film, Nails, and the crime drama Scam. His last film was the direct-to-video film Protection.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
known for making efficient, no-nonsense crime-thrillers The Outfit
The Outfit (1973 film)
The Outfit is a 1973 film directed by John Flynn. It stars Robert Duvall, Karen Black, Joe Don Baker and Robert Ryan. The film is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Richard Stark and features a character modeled on Parker, who was introduced in The Hunter.- Plot :Released from prison In...
and Rolling Thunder.
Flynn was raised in Hermosa Beach, California
Hermosa Beach, California
Hermosa Beach is a beachfront city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Its population was 19,506 at the 2010 census, up from 18,566 at the 2000 census....
and served in the Coast Guard
Coast guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a national organization responsible for various services at sea. However the term implies widely different responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with...
, It was during this stint that he studied journalism with Roots
Roots: The Saga of an American Family
Roots: The Saga of an American Family is a novel written by Alex Haley and first published in 1976. It tells the story of Kunta Kinte, an 18th-century African, captured as an adolescent and sold into slavery in the United States, and follows his life and the lives of his descendants in the U.S....
author Alex Haley
Alex Haley
Alexander Murray Palmer Haley was an African-American writer. He is best known as the author of Roots: The Saga of an American Family and the coauthor of The Autobiography of Malcolm X.-Early life:...
. Flynn received a degree in journalism from UCLA.
He began his cinematic career as an apprentice to director Robert Wise
Robert Wise
Robert Earl Wise was an American sound effects editor, film editor, film producer and director...
on Odds Against Tomorrow
Odds Against Tomorrow
Odds Against Tomorrow is a 1959 film noir produced and directed by Robert Wise for HarBel Productions, a company founded by the film's star, Harry Belafonte. Belafonte selected Abraham Polonsky to write the script, which is based on a novel by William P. McGivern. As a blacklisted writer Polonsky...
and worked as the script supervisor
Script supervisor
A script supervisor is a member of a film crew responsible for maintaining the motion picture's internal continuity and for recording the production unit's daily progress in shooting the film's screenplay...
on West Side Story
West Side Story (film)
West Side Story is a 1961 musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was adapted from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno,...
. From there, Flynn worked as a second unit director on Kid Galahad
Kid Galahad
Kid Galahad is a 1962 musical film starring Elvis Presley as a boxer. The film was released by United Artists. The film opened at #9 at the box office when released in the United States in August 1962...
and The Great Escape
The Great Escape (film)
The Great Escape is a 1963 American film about an escape by Allied prisoners of war from a German POW camp during World War II, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Richard Attenborough...
. He made his debut as a director with The Sergeant
The Sergeant (film)
The Sergeant is an American drama film starring Rod Steiger and John Phillip Law, directed by John Flynn, and released by Warner Brothers.-External links:**...
starring Rod Steiger
Rod Steiger
Rodney Stephen "Rod" Steiger was an Academy Award-winning American actor known for his performances in such films as On the Waterfront, The Big Knife, Oklahoma!, The Harder They Fall, Across the Bridge, The Pawnbroker, Doctor Zhivago, In the Heat of the Night, and Waterloo as well as the...
.
Flynn's substantial commercial success was with The Outfit
The Outfit (1973 film)
The Outfit is a 1973 film directed by John Flynn. It stars Robert Duvall, Karen Black, Joe Don Baker and Robert Ryan. The film is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Richard Stark and features a character modeled on Parker, who was introduced in The Hunter.- Plot :Released from prison In...
starring Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
. The filmmaker achieved a dedicated cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
with the gritty revenge thriller, Rolling Thunder starring William Devane
William Devane
William Joseph Devane is an American film, television and theater actor.-Life and career:Devane was born in Albany, New York in 1937 or 1939 , the son of Joseph Devane, who was Franklin D. Roosevelt's chauffeur when he was Governor of New York...
and Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones is an American actor and film director. He has received three Academy Award nominations, winning one as Best Supporting Actor for the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive....
.
In 1994, he directed the cult classic Brainscan
Brainscan
Brainscan is a 1994 horror film starring Edward Furlong, Frank Langella, Amy Hargreaves, Jamie Marsh and T. Ryder Smith. Music was composed by movie composer George S...
, a thriller about the dangers of virtual reality starring Edward Furlong
Edward Furlong
Edward Walter Furlong is an American actor whose best known film roles are John Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Daniel Vinyard in American History X. He is a two-time Saturn Award nominee, winning the 1992 Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor for his performance in...
and Frank Langella
Frank Langella
-Early life:Langella, an Italian American, was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, the son of Angelina and Frank A. Langella Sr., a business executive who was the president of the Bayonne Barrel and Drum Company. Langella attended Washington Elementary School and Bayonne High School in Bayonne...
.
Flynn continued to work on genre films like Best Seller
Best Seller
Best Seller is a 1987 film written by Larry Cohen, directed by John Flynn and starring Brian Dennehy and James Woods. The plot concerns a career hitman, played by Woods, who wants to turn his life story into a book, to be written by Dennehy's character, a veteran police officer turned...
, the Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
prison drama Lock Up
Lock Up (film)
- Plot :Frank Leone , a skilled mechanic and footballer, is a model prisoner nearing the end of his sentence in a low-security prison. One night while sleeping in his cell, guards arrive and forcibly take Leone to maximum security Gateway Prison...
, and the Steven Seagal
Steven Seagal
Steven Frederic Seagal is an American action film star, producer, writer, martial artist, guitarist and reserve deputy sheriff. A 7th-dan black belt in Aikido, Seagal began his adult life as an Aikido instructor in Japan...
action film, Out for Justice
Out for Justice
Out for Justice is a 1991 action film directed by John Flynn and starring Steven Seagal.- Plot :Gino Felino is an NYPD detective from Brooklyn who has strong ties within his neighborhood...
. In the early 1990s, Flynn directed two made-for-cable-TV films, the Dennis Hopper
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
cop film, Nails, and the crime drama Scam. His last film was the direct-to-video film Protection.