James Flynn, a well-known Irish film producer, has passed away, according to reports. He was 57. Flynn, who was credited with prominent films including John Michael McDonagh’s Calvary, Veronica Guerin, and Angela’s Ashes by Joel Schumacher, as well as a key player in the newly formed Irish Film Board, made a substantial contribution to the current vitality of the film industry.
The announcement comes as The Banshees of Inisherin, a film co-produced by Flynn and directed by Martin McDonagh, is up for nine Academy Award nominations. Flynn collaborated on the film Sweety Barrett 25 years ago with Oscar-nominated producer Ed Guiney, who remembers him as a smart individual. The Irish Times quoted him as saying, “James was a beautiful person, a fantastic producer – he had an encyclopedic knowledge of film and was the smartest of any of my generation of filmmakers.”
“At the Film Board, as a member of Screen Producers Ireland, and as a producer, he made enormous contributions to the business.”
Flynn started his career as John Boorman’s Merlin Films’ head of development. He joined as business manager when the Irish Film Board (now Screen Ireland) was reinstituted in 1993 and eventually assumed the position of deputy chief executive.
The foundation for the industry’s current remarkable success was laid during this time. Together, he and Morgan O’Sullivan, a true veteran of Irish television and film, worked on major international television series including Penny Dreadful, The Tudors, and The Borgias. Both in front of and behind the camera, an entire generation of Irish professionals developed crucial skills in such programs.
He founded Metropolitan Films with his wife Juanita Wilson in 1997, and since then, the company has worked on more than 80 feature films and television shows. Wilson’s The Door, a Flynn production, received an Academy Award nomination in 2010. He served as executive producer on Cartoon Saloon’s The Secret of Kells, which received a nomination for the best-animated film in the same year. He most recently worked with longtime collaborator Neil Jordan to produce the fast-paced thriller Greta, and in 2021 he served as executive producer on Ridley Scott’s epic medieval drama The Last Duel.
From 1997 to 2000, Flynn served on the boards of the Screen Commission of Ireland and Screen Training Ireland, respectively. “He was witty and wise,” Guiney said. “He really made me laugh as well as always being a generous source of advice and support to so many of us. He will be sorely missed and is a huge loss to the industry.”
Metropolitan Film released the following statement: “All of us at Metropolitan Films are profoundly saddened by the passing of our esteemed founder, colleague, and great friend James Flynn, who passed away peacefully on Saturday morning with his wife Juanita Wilson and children Alex and Anna by his side.
“No, there aren’t enough words to appropriately express the enormous impact James has made over the course of three decades, both nationally and internationally, on the Irish film and television business. Whether they were renowned Irish and worldwide industry practitioners or young, up-and-coming filmmakers, he freely and generously offered his assistance and counsel to everyone who asked for it.
“James fought his recent illness with courage, dignity, and positivity to the very end. For that reason, we are acutely aware that the news of his passing has been an unexpected shock for all of us.”
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