John Flynn (February 14, 1932 – April 4, 2007) was an American film director and screenwriter known for films such as ''
The Outfit'' and ''
Rolling Thunder''.
[OBITUARIES; PASSINGS; John Flynn, 75; director known for 'The Outfit' and 'Rolling Thunder': [HOME EDITION] Los Angeles Times [Los Angeles, Calif] 20 Apr 2007: B.11.](_blank)
accessed 22 Feb 2015
Biography
Flynn was born in Chicago and raised in Hermosa Beach, California. He served in the Coast Guard, and studied journalism with ''
Roots
A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients.
Root or roots may also refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...
'' author
Alex Haley
Alexander Murray Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992) was an American writer and the author of the 1976 book '' Roots: The Saga of an American Family.'' ABC adapted the book as a television miniseries of the same name and a ...
. Flynn received a degree in journalism from UCLA.
Assistant
Flynn entered the film industry when
Robert Wise
Robert Earl Wise (September 10, 1914 – September 14, 2005) was an American film director, producer, and editor. He won the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for his musical films ''West Side Story'' (1961) and ''The Sound of ...
hired him to do some research for a biopic of
Robert Capa
Robert Capa (born Endre Ernő Friedmann; October 22, 1913 – May 25, 1954) was a Hungarian-American war photographer and photojournalist as well as the companion and professional partner of photographer Gerda Taro. He is considered by some to ...
. The film never was made, but he got along with Wise who hired Flynn to work as his assistant on ''
Odds Against Tomorrow
''Odds Against Tomorrow'' is a 1959 film noir produced and directed by Robert Wise and starring Harry Belafonte. Belafonte selected Abraham Polonsky to write the script, which is based on a novel of the same name by William P. McGivern. Blac ...
''.
[Harvey Chartand, "Interview with John Flynn", ''Shock Cinema'' 2005](_blank)
accessed 16 February 2015
Flynn subsequently worked as the
script supervisor
A script supervisor (also called continuity supervisor or script) is a member of a film crew who oversees the continuity of the motion picture including wardrobe, props, set dressing, hair, makeup and the actions of the actors during a scene. The ...
on ''
West Side Story
''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents.
Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1 ...
'' and as a second assistant director on ''
Kid Galahad
''Kid Galahad'' is a 1962 American musical film starring Elvis Presley as a boxer. It was released by United Artists in August 1962 and opened at #9 at the American box office. ''Variety'' ranked it #37 on its list of the top-grossing films of 1 ...
'' and ''
Two for the Seesaw
''Two for the Seesaw'' is a 1962 American romantic-drama film directed by Robert Wise and starring Robert Mitchum and Shirley MacLaine. It was adapted from the 1958 Broadway play written by William Gibson with Henry Fonda and Anne Bancroft (who ...
''. He then worked as first assistant director on ''
The Great Escape'' and second unit director on ''
Kings of the Sun
''Kings of the Sun'' is a 1963 DeLuxe Color film directed by J. Lee Thompson for Mirisch Productions set in Mesoamerica at the time of the conquest of Chichen Itza by Hunac Ceel. Location scenes filmed in Mazatlán and Chichen Itza. The film mark ...
'' ("a bullshit script, a popcorn script," according to Flynn
). This was directed by
J. Lee Thompson
John Lee Thompson (1 August 1914 – 30 August 2002) was a British film director, active in London and Hollywood, best known for award-winning films such as ''Woman in a Dressing Gown'', ''Ice Cold in Alex'' and '' The Guns of Navarone'' along w ...
who used Flynn again as an assistant director on ''
What a Way to Go!
''What a Way to Go!'' is a 1964 American black comedy film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Shirley MacLaine, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Dean Martin, Gene Kelly, Bob Cummings and Dick Van Dyke.
Plot
In a dream-like pre-credit sequ ...
'' and ''
John Goldfarb, Please Come Home!
''John Goldfarb, Please Come Home!'' is a 1965 American comedy film based on the novel by William Peter Blatty published in 1963.
The film was directed by J. Lee Thompson. The film was shot in the Mojave Desert.
In the film, an American militar ...
''.
Film director
In 1966, Wise set up a company to produce low-budget films that others would direct. He optioned Dennis Murphy's novel ''
The Sergeant'' and hired Flynn to direct. The movie starred
Rod Steiger
Rodney Stephen Steiger (; April 14, 1925July 9, 2002, aged 77) was an American actor, noted for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters. Cited as "one of Hollywood's most charismatic and dynamic stars," he is closely assoc ...
.
His next movie, ''
The Jerusalem File
''The Jerusalem File'' is a 1972 film directed by John Flynn. It stars Bruce Davison, Nicol Williamson, Daria Halprin, and Donald Pleasence.
Plot
The film follows a young American named David, who comes to Israel to study and finds an Arab friend ...
'' was shot in Israel. It did not perform particularly well at the box office but ''
The Outfit'' did. This was an adaptation of the novel by
Donald Westlake
Donald Edwin Westlake (July 12, 1933 – December 31, 2008) was an American writer, with more than a hundred novels and non-fiction books to his credit. He specialized in crime fiction, especially comic capers, with an occasional foray into ...
starring
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career spans more than seven decades and he is considered one of the greatest American actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Gold ...
.
The filmmaker achieved a dedicated
cult following
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
with the gritty revenge thriller ''Rolling Thunder'' starring
William Devane
William Joseph Devane (born September 5, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Greg Sumner on the primetime soap opera '' Knots Landing'' (1983–1993) and as James Heller on the Fox serial dramas '' 24'' (2001–2010) and '' ...
and
Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor and film director. He has received four Academy Award nominations, winning Best Supporting Actor for his performance as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in the 1993 thriller film '' The ...
. The film was highly controversial because of its violence.
In a 1994 interview with Jon Stewart, filmmaker
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...
cited ''Rolling Thunder'' as an influence and Flynn among his favorite directors. The film received praise for its action sequences, atmosphere, direction, music and cast performances; however, it was criticized for its pace and violent climax. In addition to its critical success, the film was also a box-office success with an estimated revenue of $130 million against its $5 million production budget.
He made a number of higher-profile films in the late 1980s, including the
James Woods
James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for his work in various film, stage, and television productions. He started his career in minor roles on and off-Broadway. In 1972, he appeared in '' The Trial of the ...
neo-noir ''
Best Seller
A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...
'', the
Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...
prison drama ''
Lock Up'', and the
Steven Seagal
Steven Frederic Seagal (; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, screenwriter and martial artist. A 7th-dan black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan and eventually ended up running his father-in-l ...
action film ''
Out for Justice
''Out for Justice'' is a 1991 American neo-noir vigilante action thriller film directed by John Flynn and co-produced by and starring Steven Seagal as Gino Felino, a veteran police detective who sets out to avenge his partner Bobby's murder by ...
''.
In the early 1990s, Flynn directed two made-for-cable-TV films: the
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He attended the Actors Studio, made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared in ''Giant'' (1956). In the next ten years ...
cop film ''Nails'' and the crime drama ''Scam''.
In 1994, he directed ''
Brainscan
''Brainscan'' is a 1994 American science fiction slasher film directed by John Flynn and written by Brian Owens and Andrew Kevin Walker. The film stars Edward Furlong, Frank Langella, Amy Hargreaves, Jamie Marsh, and T. Ryder Smith. The sound ...
'', a horror film about the dangers of virtual reality, starring
Edward Furlong
Edward Walter Furlong (born August 2, 1977) is an American actor. He won Saturn and MTV Movie Awards for his breakthrough performance at age 13 as John Connor in James Cameron's '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day''; which was followed by a mini-seque ...
and
Frank Langella
Frank A. Langella Jr. (; born January 1, 1938) is an American stage and film actor. He has won four Tony Awards: two for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance as Richard Nixon in Peter Morgan's '' Frost/Nixon'' and as André in Flori ...
.
Flynn's last film was the direct-to-video film ''Protection.'' He spent the last few years of his life mostly in France.
Flynn died in his sleep at his Los Angeles home. He is survived by his son Tara.
Filmography
Unfilmed projects
*''On the Day of His Death'', from a short novel by Polish writer
Marek Hłasko
Marek Hłasko (14 January 1934 – 14 June 1969) was a Polish author and screenwriter.
Life
Hłasko's biography is highly mythologized, and many of the legends about his life he spread himself. Marek was born in Warsaw, as the only son of ...
about immigrants in Israel - Flynn had wanted to make it since the 1960s
*a police procedural drama set in Paris "in the spirit of ''
Le Samouraï
''Le Samouraï'' (; ), is a 1967 neo-noir crime thriller film written and directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. The film follows a professional hitman named Jef Costello who is identified by witnesses and his efforts to provide himself with an alibi ...
''
References
External links
*
*
Ain't-It-Cool-News tribute''Vancouver Voice''profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flynn, John
1932 births
2007 deaths
American film directors
University of California, Los Angeles alumni
Writers from Chicago
Action film directors