John Flynn (March 14, 1932 – April 4, 2007) was an American film director and screenwriter known for films such as The Outfit and Rolling Thunder. Flynn was born in Chicago and raised in Hermosa Beach, California. He served in the Coast Guard, and studied journalism with Roots author Alex Haley. Flynn received a degree in journalism from UCLA. 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. His next movie, The Jerusalem File 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 starring Robert Duvall. The filmmaker achieved a dedicated cult following with the gritty revenge thriller Rolling Thunder starring William Devane and Tommy Lee Jones. The film was highly controversial because of its violence. In a 1994 interview with Jon Stewart, filmmaker Quentin Tarantino 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 Best Seller, the Sylvester Stallone prison drama Lock Up, and the Steven Seagal action film Out for Justice.

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