Being Flynn (2012)

Director:

Paul Weitz

Writers:

Paul Weitz (written by)
Nick Flynn (book)

Release Date:

19 April 2012 (Hungary)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

We're all works in progress

Plot:

Working in a Boston homeless shelter, Nick Flynn re-encounters his father, a con man and self-proclaimed poet. Sensing trouble in his own life, Nick wrestles with the notion of reaching out yet again to his dad.

Plot Keywords:

Homeless | Writer | Homeless Shelter | Absent Father | Male Frontal Nudity

Cast

Robert De Niro	...	Jonathan Flynn
Paul Dano	...	Nick Flynn
Julianne Moore	...	Jody Flynn
Olivia Thirlby	...	Denise
Eddie Rouse	...	Carlos
Steve Cirbus	...	Jeff
Lili Taylor	...	Joy
Victor Rasuk	...	Gabriel
Liam Broggy	...	Young Nick
Chris Chalk	...	Ivan
Wes Studi	...	Captain
Thomas Middleditch	...	Richard
Sarah Quinn	...	Religious Girl
Ben Foronda	...	Punky Guy (as Benjamin Foronda)
Dale Dickey	...	Marie
Joshua Alscher	...	Crack Smoker
Dawn McGee	...	Waitress
Billy Wirth	...	Travis
Michael Gibson	...	Sergeant Bob
Kelly McCreary	...	Inez (as Kelly J. McCreary)
Deidre O'Connell	...	Frowzy Woman
Katherine Waterston	...	Sarah
Robert Andrews	...	Homeless Man 1
Michael Genadry	...	Young Counselor
Kelli Crump	...	Desk Clerk
Dara Tomanovich	...	Beautiful Woman
Jane Lee	...	Laura
Evan Wadle	...	Young Guy
Victor Pagan	...	Beady-Eyed Bill
Rony Clanton	...	Skid
Michael Buscemi	...	Dennis
Lorenzo Murphy	...	Morphine Addict
William Sadler	...	Ray
Joseph Prioleau	...	George
Lee Stringer	...	Homeless Man in Line
John O'Brien	...	Airline Pilot
Joey Boots	...	NA Guy
Luis Moco	...	Punk Rocker
Marilyn Torres	...	Little Girl's Mother
Stephen Williams	...	Counselor
Roy Milton Davis	...	Homeless Man 2
Rufino Colon	...	Shelter Guest 1
Jeff Ware	...	Jerry
Samira Wiley	...	Asha
Stuart Rudin	...	Moses
Gabriel Millman	...	Housing Counselor
Thomas Hoffman	...	Barlow
Joyce Myricks	...	Nurse / Counselor
Dwight Folsom	...	Isaac Clegg
Carlton Bembry	...	Counselor 2
George Asatrian	...	Beating Teen 1
Anthony Piccolo	...	Beating Teen 2
Kevin Keels	...	Banker at Party
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kevin Cannon	...	Crackhead Mugger (uncredited)
Dj Nino Carta	...	Homeless Man #2 in Line (uncredited)
Louise Devery	...	Buttercup Bartender (uncredited)
Nick Flynn	...	Man interviewing for placement (uncredited)
Peggy Friend	...	Lady in cab (uncredited)
Marty Krzywonos	...	Shelter Guest (uncredited)
John Mitchell	...	Shelter Guest 104 (uncredited)
Michael Morana	...	Jody's Ex Boyfriend (uncredited)
Paul Senza	...	Housing Counselor (uncredited)

Directed by
Paul Weitz

Writing credits
Paul Weitz		(written by)
Nick Flynn		(book "Another Bullshit Night in Suck City")

Produced by
Dan Balgoyen	....	co-producer
Caroline Baron	....	executive producer
Michael Costigan	....	producer
Nick Flynn	....	executive producer
Kerry Kohansky	....	executive producer
Meghan Lyvers	....	executive producer
Andrew Miano	....	producer
Jane Rosenthal	....	executive producer
Paul Weitz	....	producer

Original Music by
Damon Gough		(as Badly Drawn Boy)

Cinematography by
Declan Quinn		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Joan Sobel

Casting by
Joseph Middleton

Production Design by
Sarah Knowles

Art Direction by
Ryan Heck

Set Decoration by
Susan Perlman

Costume Design by
Aude Bronson-Howard

Makeup Department
Jerry DeCarlo	....	key hair stylist
Julie Anna Kehoe	....	first assistant hair stylist (as Julie Anna Kehoe-Lipman)
Björn Rehbein	....	first assistant makeup artist (as Bjoern Rehbein)
Susan Reilly LeHane	....	makeup artist: Julianne Moore (as Susan Reilly Lehane)
Carla White	....	key makeup artist
Joseph Farulla	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Craig Lindberg	....	additional makeup artist (uncredited)
Rosemary Redlin	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Caroline Baron	....	unit production manager
Isabel Henderson	....	post-production supervisor
Gabrielle Mahon	....	production supervisor
Ben Urquhart	....	post production executive (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Casey Madigan	....	second second assistant director
Christo Morse	....	first assistant director
Annie Tan	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Peter Bundrick	....	key carpenter
Craig Capitelli	....	set dresser
John K. Conway	....	set dresser (as John Conway)
Tom Conway	....	leadman (as Thomas Conway)
Catriona Crosby	....	set dresser
John W. Farraday	....	set dresser
Frank-Joseph Frelier	....	art department coordinator
Matthew Hanley	....	set dresser
Richard Hebrank	....	construction coordinator
Chryss Hionis	....	assistant set decorator
T.J. Horan	....	set dresser
David Itzhak	....	foreman
Christian Kelly	....	set dresser
Jeannette Kim	....	assistant art director
Imogen Lee	....	assistant property master
Julie Marr	....	camera scenic
Kerri McGill	....	scenic industrial
Daniel Nisenson	....	set dresser
Richard Peete	....	prop assistant
Michael Powsner	....	prop assistant
Thomas Hudson Reeve	....	on-set dresser
Sarah E. Rosa	....	scenic (as Sarah Rosa)
Michelle Schluter-Ford	....	assistant set decorator
Lee Shevett	....	key construction grip
Ryan Webb	....	property master
Andrea Werner	....	buyer
Zachary Zirlin	....	graphic artist
Laura Lerner	....	scenic artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Jamie Baker	....	foley editor
Michael Barry	....	sound re-recording mixer
Ron Bochar	....	sound re-recording mixer
Ron Bochar	....	supervising sound editor
David Boulton	....	adr recording engineer
Marko A. Costanzo	....	foley artist (as Marko Costanzo)
James Cruz	....	mix technician (as Jimmy Cruz)
Ruth Hernandez	....	adr editor
Paul Hsu	....	sound effects editor
George A. Lara	....	foley engineer
Branka Mrkic	....	dialogue editor (as Branka Mrkic-Tana)
James Nichols	....	sound consultant: Dolby
Brendan Jamieson O'Brien	....	boom operator (as Brendan O'Brien)
Adam Sanchez	....	utility sound
Sara Stern	....	assistant sound editor
Thomas Varga	....	production sound mixer (as Tom Varga)
Michael Miller	....	adr mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Drew Jiritano	....	special effects coordinator
Andrew Mortelliti	....	assistant special effects coordinator
Richard Moran	....	special effects technician (uncredited)
Stephen Powers	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Aaron Baker	....	digital artist: Method Studios
Aleksandar Djordjevic	....	digital artist: Method Studios
Jason Hawkins	....	digital artist: Method Studios
Alice Kahn	....	visual effects coordinator: Method Studios
Tram Le	....	visual effects producer
Gregory D. Liegey	....	visual effects supervisor: Method Studios (as Gregory Liegey)
David Piombino	....	digital artist: Method Studios
Lesley Robson-Foster	....	on set visual effects supervisor
Cara Buckley	....	head of production: Method Studios NYC (uncredited)
Alejandro Monzon	....	rotoscope artist (uncredited)

Stunts
Brian Keith Allen	....	stunts
Bobby Beckles	....	stunts
Peter Bucossi	....	stunt coordinator
Chris Colombo	....	stunts
Norman Douglass	....	stunts
Roy Farfel	....	stunts
Greg Harvey	....	stunts
Don Hewitt	....	stunts (as Don Hewitt Sr.)
Donald John Hewitt	....	stunts (as Donald J. Hewitt)
Asa Liebmann	....	stunts
Mick O'Rourke	....	stunts
Gary Tacon	....	stunts
Khiry Ward	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Kai Wai Cheng	....	grip
James P. Dolan	....	rigging gaffer
Alexander Donaldson	....	video projectionist
Devin Donegan	....	key video assist
Joe Donohue III	....	dolly grip (as Joe Donohue)
Gerard Fiore	....	best boy rigging grip
Richard Gioia	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera (as Rick Gioia)
Brad Goss	....	key rigging grip
Tommy Kerwick Jr.	....	best boy grip (as Tom Kerwick Jr.)
Tom Kerwick	....	key grip
William V. Kerwick	....	grip
David Lee	....	still photographer (as David C. Lee)
Jordan Levie	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Matthew Luberda	....	grip (as Matt Luberda)
Frida Marzouk	....	electrician
John Mitchell	....	electrician (as John A. Mitchell)
John J. Moers	....	documentary cameraman
Michael P. Prisco Jr.	....	best boy rigging electric
Michael P. Prisco Jr.	....	rigging best boy electric
Gerard Sava	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Gerard Sava	....	steadicam operator
I. Nate Scaglione	....	best boy electric
Joseph Sciretta	....	house electric
Robert Sciretta	....	gaffer
Sean Sciretta	....	electrician
Jeffrey Taylor	....	loader
Paul Turner	....	electrician
Tom Whipple	....	video playback operator
Jack Donnelly	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Jack Donnelly	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)
Travis Hottinger	....	electrician (uncredited)
John Nijhawan	....	grip (uncredited)
Ian O'Neill	....	grip (uncredited)
Jonathan Salvo	....	grip (uncredited)
Daniel Wallenstein	....	grip (uncredited)

Casting Department
Tineka Becker	....	casting associate
Todd Feldman	....	extras casting associate
Jason Harris	....	adr voice casting
Kristian Sorge	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ngina Bowen	....	set costumer
Careen Fowles	....	set costume supervisor
Catherine Riley	....	assistant costume designer (as Katie Riley)
Monica Ruiz-Ziegler	....	costumer: Robert De Niro (as Monica Ruiz Ziegler)
Lindsey C. Brush	....	costume coordinator (uncredited)
Chandra Moore-Telfer	....	costume ager/dyer (uncredited)
Yaneya Rovira	....	daily set costumer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Matt Breitenbach	....	digital intermediate assist
Ryan Duffy	....	digital scanning and recording: Deluxe New York
Alex Durie	....	digital restoration: Deluxe New York
Joe Gawler	....	digital intermediate colorist: Deluxe New York (as Joseph Gawler)
Markus Janner	....	digital scanning and recording: Deluxe New York
Brent Kleinman	....	digital intermediate engineer: Deluxe New York
Christian Kontis	....	digital restoration: Deluxe New York
Tim Mullen	....	digital intermediate engineer: Deluxe New York
David Pultz	....	lab timer: Deluxe New York
Matt Roozen	....	post-production assistant (as Matthew Roozen)
Jonathan Sanden	....	digital intermediate editor: Deluxe New York
Darrell R. Smith	....	digital intermediate supervising producer: Deluxe New York
Jason Swiniuchowski	....	post-production assistant
Jay Tilin	....	smoke artist: Deluxe New York
Ofe Yi	....	assistant editor
Thomas Centrone	....	colorist (uncredited)
Molle DeBartolo	....	digital intermediate project manager (uncredited)
Mathieu Reid	....	color timer (uncredited)
Seth Weinman	....	post-production technician: dailies (uncredited)

Music Department
Christine Bergren	....	music legal and clearances
Andy Brown	....	music performer
Andy Brown	....	orchestra conductor
Linda Cohen	....	music supervisor
Caroline Dale	....	musician: cello solos
Jessica Dannheisser	....	orchestrator
John M. Davis	....	music editor
Matthias Gohl	....	music arranger (as Teese Gohl)
Damon Gough	....	music performer (as Badly Drawn Boy)
Sally Heath	....	musician: piano
Martin Hollis	....	recording engineer
The London Metropolitan Orchestra	....	music performer
Stephen McLaughlin	....	music mixer (as Steve McLaughlin)
Stephen McLaughlin	....	music score producer (as Steve McLaughlin)
Seadna McPhail	....	recording engineer
Angie Pollock	....	additional vocals
Paul Saunderson	....	music arranger
Mary Scully	....	musician: contra bass (as Mary Sculley)
Steve Wright	....	music production assistant

Transportation Department
Thomas Beauter	....	driver (as Thomas D. Beauter)
Scott Bucciero	....	driver
David Buckman	....	driver (as David 'mo chedda' Buckman)
Jim Buckman	....	transportation captain
Peter Connors	....	transportation co-captain (as Pete Connors)
Rocco Curatolo	....	driver
Jesse Czypinski	....	driver (as Jesse Supinski)
Christopher Defeo	....	driver
Billy Featherstone	....	driver
Kenneth Garrison	....	driver
Angelo Geremia	....	driver
Steven R. Guglielmetti	....	driver
Steve Hollingsworth	....	driver
Greg Jacobs	....	driver
Greg Miller	....	driver
Richard Nelson Jr.	....	driver (as Richard Nelson)
James Pompey	....	driver
Ernest Sanders	....	driver
William Speranza	....	driver (as William J. Speranza)
Daniel Stewart	....	driver

Other crew
Norman W. Boyd Jr.	....	prosthodontics: Robert De Niro
Renee Burke	....	script supervisor (as Renee Foley Burke)
Maurice Cabrera	....	parking coordinator
Agust Calabro	....	production assistant
Michael Coast	....	assistant: Robert De Niro (as Mike Coast)
Lauren Cozzens	....	production secretary
Mark Curley	....	location assistant
Robert Darwell	....	legal services: Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
Muhammad Dawud	....	security
Agustin De La Puente	....	craft service
Joshua P. Dease	....	first assistant accountant
Emily Evashevski	....	production assistant
Maria Pia Fanigliulo	....	assets
Maria Pia Fanigliulo	....	green representative
Megan Gagnon	....	production assistant
Shellie Gillespie	....	production accountant
Erika Goldfarb	....	assistant production coordinator
Trish Gray	....	location scout
Eva Hannon	....	accounting clerk
Rob Herling	....	location assistant
Erica Joseph Hunter	....	second assistant accountant (as Erica Joseph-Hunter)
Ashley Kravitz	....	clearance services
Ronnie Kupferwasser	....	location manager
Yana Collins Lehman	....	post production accountant
Keith Marlin	....	production assistant
Carol McConnaughey	....	unit publicist
K.C. McLeod	....	assistant: Caroline Baron
Leslie Merlin	....	production assistant
Joel Morales	....	craft service
Huy Nguyen	....	legal services: Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
Mathew Noack	....	location assistant
Kory O'Donnell	....	production coordinator
Douglas Odell	....	water safety
Paul Pena	....	production assistant
Martin Peterson	....	production assistant
Michael Riolo	....	production assistant
Natasha Rivera	....	production assistant
Tafv Sampson	....	production assistant
Mike Sapia	....	parking assistant (as Big Mike)
Christopher Sarli	....	production assistant
Kelsey Schuyler	....	assistant post production accountant
Traci Spicer	....	location assistant
Tessie Tan	....	payroll accountant (as Tessie P. Tan)
Anthony Torres	....	chef
Daniel Tresca	....	assistant location manager (as Dan Tresca)
Lauren Tuck	....	assistant: Andrew Miano
Finise Avery	....	stand-in/double (uncredited)
Edmar Flores	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Sarah Follett	....	location scout (uncredited)
David C. Huet	....	second unit production assistant (uncredited)
Ana Laura Pulido	....	location intern (uncredited)
Brandee Sanders	....	crew (uncredited)

Thanks
Patricia Weitz	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Focus Features (presents)
• Depth of Field
• Corduroy Films
• Tribeca Productions (as Tribeca)

Distributors

• Alliance Films (2012) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Benelux Film Distributors (2012) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Focus Features (2012) (USA) (theatrical)
• Odeon (2012) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Shaw Organisation (2012) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Star Films (2012) (Peru) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures International (UPI) (2012) (France) (theatrical)
• Golden Scene (2012) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• Golden Scene (2012) (Hong Kong) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Prorom Media-Trade (2012) (Bulgaria) (all media)
• Prorom Media-Trade (2012) (Hungary) (all media)
• Prorom Media-Trade (2012) (Romania) (all media)
• Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2013) (Australia) (DVD)
• Zon Audiovisuais (2012) (Portugal) (all media)

Special Effects

• Method Studios (visual effects)

Other Companies

• CS  sound post production (as CS, Inc. NYC)
• CS  sound mixing
• Digital Cinema  sound mixing
• AON/Albert G. Ruben Insurance Services  insurance
• Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton  legal services (as Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP)
• Trevanna Post  post-production accounting
• Gourmet To U  catering
• VW Craft Service  craft service
• Deluxe New York  digital intermediate
• Wildfire Titles and Graphics  end titles
• Northpole  music recording
• Moolah Rouge  music recording
• British Grove Studios  music recording
• Northpole  music mixing
• DC Comics  permission: "Justice Leage of America"
• New York State Governor's Office for Motion Picture & Television Development  special thanks
• New York City Mayor's Office of Film, Theater & Broadcasting, The  special thanks
• NYPD Movie and TV Unit  special thanks
• The City of Yonkers  special thanks
• City of Vernon  special thanks
• Bowery Mission, The  special thanks
• AIDS Service Center NYC  special thanks
• ARRI / Camera Service Center  camera equipment provided by (uncredited)
• BLT Communications  poster design (uncredited)
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix (uncredited)
• Freewheel Film and Media  special thanks (uncredited)
• Intelligent Media  international monitoring agency
• Lakeshore Records  soundtrack (uncredited)
• Pat Hobby Film and Media  special thanks (uncredited)
• Pivotal Post  Avid HD editing equipment provided by (uncredited)

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for language throughout, some sexual content, drug use, and brief nudity

Runtime:

USA:102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Datasat | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #47046) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Singapore:M18 | Portugal:M/16 | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:15 | Australia:MA15+ | UK:15

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Focus Features

Trivia:

Off screen, while taking a break from filming and still in costume, Robert De Niro attempted to enter The Greenwich hotel, which he co-owns. The security did not recognize De Niro, turned him away and would not let him in.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Jonathan Flynn:America has produced only three classic writers - Mark Twain, J.D. Salinger and me. I'm Jonathan Flynn. Everything I write is a masterpiece. And soon, very soon, I shall be known.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Made in Hollywood: Episode #7.19" (2012)

Soundtrack:

The Smile Behind Your Face

A Nutshell Review: Being Flynn

Based on the memoirs of poet Nick Flynn entitled Another Bullshit Night in Suck City, Being Flynn works thanks to the performances put in by Robert De Niro and Paul Dano, playing the father and son Jonathan and Nick Flynn, estranged for many years no thanks to Jonathan's life of a con artist catching up with him, communicating with his son through letters for the most parts of his life, never meeting up. Growing up alone with his mom (Julianne Moore), one might think this is yet another dysfunctional family story, but Nick has a lot more to tell, baring his soul to recount the painful absence and hard fought reaching out to the only close relative he's got, and this journey is one that reminds us on blood being thicker than water, or alcohol for that matter here.

Under the direction of Paul Weisz, whose filmography included vulgar flicks like American Pie and The Little Fockers, which of course also starred De Niro, it was great that this film gets more closely aligned with his other narratively powerful films like About a Boy and In Good Company. While the book by Nick Flynn had a whole host of styles adopted in its various chapters, Weisz tried to capture the same essence in adopting different points of views in this film, as well as to lightly touch it with some comedy. But what it had set its sights on, is to bring out the pain of having to not grow up with a dad present and to be brought up by a single mom, and the struggles one has to experience as an aimless drifter until something clicked, and one puts the foot down to embark on a determined change of lifestyle.

There were elements that I enjoyed in this film, one of which is the parallels drawn between the father and son's lives, both seemingly getting from bad to worse with nary a roof over their heads, and the dependence on substance abuse as a vice, be it the bottle or drugs, in the hope that these will help alleviate the severe discomfort brought on by not being able to have ambitions developed and met. Like father, like son, each of them dreams of making it big one day as a successful writer, but like the chip off the old block, this potential rarely got realized when their lives continue to be at the doldrums.

It provides an inspiration to those of us who deem it impossible to pursue our dreams for a variety of reasons, and while it delivers that awkward feeling of having to reconnect with someone related to by blood, especially if that's a mom or a dad, it pushes anyone caught in similar dilemmas into the same direction of reconciliation, for bygones to be bygones, and that there's nothing more powerful than having to rediscover relations that once was, or even never had begun. Weisz adopted a rather fractured narrative, that tells of the present day with Nick and Jonathan's crossing of paths when the latter gets kicked out of his apartment, and having to live on and off in the homeless shelter his son volunteers in, and interspersed that with Nick's memories of the days being brought up by mom through a series of flashbacks, seen through a relatively innocent prism of a young boy growing up in harsh times.

Subplots came and went without much fanfare, such as Nick's on-off romantic relationship with Denise (Olivia Thirlby), a co-worker at the shelter, and we don't really get to know the other co-workers with any depth other than they each come with issues but are volunteering time at the shelter. But there are moments that sneak in, to make you pause and take stock about whether similar situations with the homeless do exist in our own country, and wonder just what is being done, by others as well as ourselves, in contributing to make some change for the better, whether donation in terms of time, or in kind. And not to mention how bullies often target those without support that will make one seethe at the senseless violence dished out.

Robert De Niro continues to prove to be a dramatic tour de force in putting up another fine performance as the cranky, and what I thought to be proud, man who thinks rather highly of his non-existent talent, and subtly shows how Jonathan is actually very proud of the son he should have made contact with many years ago. Paul Dano may have perfected playing laid back characters, but perhaps having to act opposite a veteran such as De Niro forced him to up his game as well, resulting in a natural chemistry between the two that carried the film from start to end. Recommended, with an eclectic soundtrack serving as a bonus.