Nationality American Spouse Brett Nolan (m. 2007) Role Author | Name Gillian Flynn Period 2007–present Children Flynn Nolan | |
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Occupation Author, screenwriter, comic book writer Alma mater University of KansasMedill School of Journalism Notable works Sharp ObjectsDark PlacesGone Girl Parents Judith Ann, Edwin Matthew Flynn Books Gone Girl, Dark Places, Sharp Objects, The Novels of Gillian Flynn, The Gillian Flynn Collectio Similar People David Fincher, Rosamund Pike, Gilles Paquet‑Brenner, Carrie Coon, Atticus Ross | ||
The National Writers Series - An Evening with Gillian Flynn
Gillian Schieber Flynn (; born February 24, 1971) is an American author, screenwriter, comic book writer and former television critic for Entertainment Weekly. Flynn's three published novels are the thrillers Sharp Objects, Dark Places, and Gone Girl, the last of which she adapted for the screen in the 2014 film of the same name directed by David Fincher.
Contents
- The National Writers Series An Evening with Gillian Flynn
- Gillian flynn interview 2014 gone girl author reveals secrets behind her hit thriller
- Early life and education
- Career
- Books
- Comic book writing
- Television writing
- Film
- Personal life
- References
Gillian flynn interview 2014 gone girl author reveals secrets behind her hit thriller
Early life and education
Flynn was born in Kansas City, Missouri and raised in midtown Kansas City's Coleman Highlands neighborhood. Both of her parents were professors at Metropolitan Community College–Penn Valley: her mother, Judith Ann (née Schieber), was a reading-comprehension professor, and her father, Edwin Matthew Flynn, was a film professor. She has an older brother, Travis, who is a railroad machinist. Her uncle is Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Robert Schieber. Flynn was "painfully shy" and found escape in reading and writing. Growing up, Flynn's father would take her to watch horror movies.
Flynn attended Bishop Miege High School and graduated in 1989. As a teenager, she worked odd jobs which required her to do things such as dress up as a giant "yogurt cone who wore a tuxedo."
She attended the University of Kansas, where she received her undergraduate degrees in English and journalism. She spent two years in California, writing for a trade magazine for human resources professionals, before moving to Chicago and attending Northwestern University for a master's degree at its Medill School of Journalism in 1997. Flynn initially wanted to work as a police reporter, but she chose to focus on her own writing, as she discovered she had "no aptitude" for police reporting.
Career
After graduating from Northwestern, Flynn worked freelance briefly at U.S. News & World Report before being hired as a feature writer in 1998 at Entertainment Weekly. She was promoted to television critic and wrote about films but was laid off in December 2008.
She attributes her craft to her 15-some years in journalism. She said, "I could not have written a novel if I hadn't been a journalist first, because it taught me that there's no muse that's going to come down and bestow upon you the mood to write. You just have to do it. I'm definitely not precious."
Some critics have accused Flynn of misogyny due to the often unflattering depiction of female characters in her books. Flynn identifies as a feminist. She feels that feminism allows for women to be bad characters in literature. She states, "The one thing that really frustrates me is this idea that women are innately good, innately nurturing." Flynn also said people will dismiss "trampy, vampy, bitchy types – but there's still a big pushback against the idea that women can be just pragmatically evil, bad, and selfish". In 2015, Flynn explained her decision to write cruel female characters, saying, "I've grown quite weary of the spunky heroines, brave rape victims, soul-searching fashionistas that stock so many books. I particularly mourn the lack of female villains – good, potent female villains."
Books
When Flynn was working for Entertainment Weekly, she was also writing novels during her free time. She has written three novels and one short story.
Comic book writing
Flynn was an avid reader of comic and graphic novels when she was a child. She collaborated with illustrator Dave Gibbons and wrote a comic book story called Masks. It is part of the anthology series Dark Horse Presents and was published by Dark Horse Comics in February 2015.
Television writing
In February 2014, it was reported that Flynn will be writing the scripts for Utopia, an HBO drama series adapted from the acclaimed British series Utopia. The HBO series is to be directed and executive produced by David Fincher. As of July 2015 the project has been cancelled due to budget disputes between Fincher and HBO. Flynn will serve as executive producer and co-writer, alongside Marti Noxon, on the HBO adaptation of her novel Sharp Objects starring Amy Adams.
Film
For her Gone Girl screenplay, Flynn was nominated for the Golden Globe, Writers Guild of America Award and BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Flynn and filmmaker Steve McQueen co-wrote a film adaption of the BBC series Widows. The film is set to star Viola Davis and will be released in 2018.
Personal life
She married lawyer Brett Nolan in 2007 and they have two children. Their son Flynn was born in 2010 and their daughter Veronica was born August 6, 2014. They met through a grad school classmate at Northwestern, but did not start dating until she moved back to Chicago from New York City in her mid-30s. As of at least 2013, they reside in Chicago.