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- Future Threads by John L. Flynn, Ph.D.
- This book was actually a collection of feature articles about costume design in science fiction films that Flynn had written for several prominent film magazines in the early eighties. The first four chapters were devoted to Robert Fletcher, the costume designer for the first four "Star Trek" films, "The Last Starfighter" (1981), and "Shogun" (1980), and subsequent chapters featured the costume design from other science fiction films and television series. Apparently, Fletcher was impressed with Flynn's costume design that he invited John to join his team on "North and South" miniseries. Future Threads is regrettably out of print, but Amazon.com usually has a copy or two available for sale.
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Cinematic Vampires: The Living Dead on Film and Television by John L. Flynn, Ph.D
Cinematic Vampires began life as volume one in a four-volume study of the horror film, collectively titled Cinematic
Nightmares. Flynn had intended that each volume would focus on a particular sub-genre of the horror film, with volume one dealing with the Vampire film, volume two the Frankenstein mythos, volume three Phantoms and Ghosts, and volume four Werewolves. McFarland & Company only wanted one book, and thus, Cinematic Vampires was published in 1992 to coincide with the debut of Francis Ford Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula" and the first (of many) vampire crazes. The book was extremely popular, and sold well in the first couple of years, especially among
film fans and horror aficionados. His material on Frankenstein, Phantoms and Werewolves was later incorporated into 75 Years of Universal Monsters and 50 Years of Hammer Horror. He also packaged his material on The Phantom of the Opera in a separate book, titled Phantoms of the Opera. Today, over ten years later, the book is considered a thoughtful, well researched pioneering study of the Vampire film, and is liberally quoted in contemporary articles and works. The book is available through McFarland and Company, $39.95, ISBN
0-89950-659-3.
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- The Films of Arnold Schwarzenegger by John L. Flynn, Ph.D.
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In 1993, Arnold Schwarzenegger was
the number one box office star in the world, and Flynn's book on the superstar was published by Citadel Press, a major New York publisher. It went onto become his best
selling work to date. Less than two years later, the book was issued with additional material, and sold even more
copies. At the time when the book came out, Wendy Leigh's Arnold: An Unauthorized Biography had painted a
very unflattering portrait of the bodybuilding superstar as a womanizer and Nazi sympathizer, and Schwarzenegger had sued Leigh over her allegations. Flynn's book provided balance, showing Schwarzenegger as a superstar with a heart of gold. Critic John Mort in Booklist wrote: "Flynn offers an adulatory biographical sketch, and Schwarzenegger's attitude toward his work
comes through in Flynn's commentary. The best
Schwarzenegger films--such as the two Conan epics--tap deep, primitive myths of warriors and their quests, Flynn says. His portrait of what went on behind the scenes in John Milius' filming of 'Conan the Barbarian' is very good indeed. Details concerning the filming and reception of the two Terminator movies, 'Running Man,'
and 'Total Recall' are also here. Schwarzenegger the man emerges...as a shrewd, archconservative capitalist. Fans of the films will enjoy this."
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- Dissecting Aliens by John L. Flynn, Ph.D.
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In 1995, prior to the release of "Alien: Resurrection," Flynn wrote an interesting and informative study of the popularity of the Alien films. 20th Century-Fox opened its vaults so that John could read the original scripts and look at the background material for "Alien" (1979), "Aliens" (1986), and "Alien 3" (1993). He conducted interviews with most of the original casts, and compiled an exceptional work. The book was a huge success in England. Today, the book has been updated to include material from the Predator films, the two Alien-Predator crossovers, and other alien movies.
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