When NYU alum Beau Flynn was growing up in Miami, he dreamed of working on Wall Street and couldn’t believe his luck when he got there at 18 years old. However, after studying at the Stern School of Business for his first year, Flynn transferred to the College of Arts & Science and discovered his love for filmmaking. 

Now, Flynn is a Hollywood producer with over 60 films and TV shows under his belt, including commercial hits like “Journey to the Center of the Earth” in 2008 and the 2017 comedy “Baywatch.” After a decadeslong career creating for both movie and television screens, Flynn is gearing up for the release of the live-action “Moana,” his latest project. 

In an interview with WSN, Flynn discussed finding his passion at NYU, finding his way through the film industry and working closely with actor Dwayne Johnson. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

WSN: What was your favorite memory at NYU?

Flynn: I remember preparing for a monologue in a Tisch class and having night terrors. Everyone around me was so talented. But in retrospect, it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. It was incredibly bonding and pushed me out of my comfort zone in a huge way. I didn’t understand it at the time, but that class ended up grounding me. It helped me find a sense of place and overcome my fear of public speaking. That acting class gave me a glimpse into actors’ worlds, and it’s stayed with me ever since.

After graduating from NYU in 1993, Flynn landed a job in the mailroom at Profile Records, a leading hip-hop label in the 1980s. He said his daily responsibilities included logging a bag of vinyl records from the office to the post office and delivering soda and ice each day to the company president, Cory Robbins.

Flynn said that one afternoon, he ran into a friend from NYU at the post office while hauling a mailbag and found himself feeling embarrassed of the job. So, he took the encounter as a sign: It was time to finally chase his dream in the film industry. He had also heard that the entire staff at Profile Records’ Los Angeles office had left, so Flynn decided to pitch Robbins on an idea to help kickstart his career. 

WSN: How did you get the opportunity to move to LA? 

Flynn: I finally worked up the courage and went into Cory Robbins’ office to ask if I could be the temporary assistant to keep the LA office running. He said yes, so I packed and moved to LA on my mailroom salary. While I was the only one there, I found this thing called the Hollywood Creative Directory — basically a phone book of every production company in town. I printed out my resume and faxed 150 of them. I only got two calls back. Neither company was hiring, but both of them said the same thing: ‘You should work for Scott Rudin.’ So I left Profile and started as an intern for Rudin, but within two weeks, I was promoted to assistant. So it all started because I had the nerve to walk into that office and pitch the idea of running the LA office. 

Flynn said that he learned the fundamentals of the filmmaking industry while serving as an assistant for Rudin, a controversial producer known for films like “The Truman Show,” “Lady Bird” and “The Social Network.” After leaving the position two years later, Flynn said that he set out to create his first short film, which was eventually released in 1996 as a feature-length movie titled “Johns.”  

While producing the 2012 action movie “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,” Flynn met the starring actor Dwayne Johnson. Flynn said that the two quickly became friends and went on to create numerous movies together, including “San Andreas” — a 2015 disaster film about a large earthquake. 

WSN: What inspired you to create ‘San Andreas,’ and what was the impact of that film? 

Flynn: When I moved to LA, I was in the Northridge earthquake. It was terrifying, and that experience never left me. But I thought it would be such a cool movie to do a big earthquake movie. At the time, me and Dwayne Johnson were on the set of ‘Hercules,’ and I gave him a script of ‘San Andreas,’ and he agreed. That movie really changed my career because it opened my door to making tentpole movies for the world, and we broke a lot of records. I really do genuinely care and love all the movies, but that one has an inflection point in my career — and Dwayne’s too. So we both got to experience something off of that film that was very unique. 

Flynn said that he’s recently wrapped up producing “Moana,” starring Johnson, also a co-producer, and Catherine Laga’aia. The upcoming musical film is based on the popular 2016 animated Disney movie and is slated for release in July 2026. 

WSN: What advice would you give to students and aspiring producers

Flynn: When I left Miami for NYU, I was really ambitious. I felt contained in Miami, and I had these huge dreams, which was great, but I also put these unrealistic goals and timeframes on myself. When I didn’t hit them, I started feeling like a failure. Then I slowed things down and broke my goal into smaller, more manageable pieces that I knew I could actually achieve. Once I started hitting those smaller milestones and those wins gave me energy, so that approach has stuck with me throughout my career.

Contact Amelia Hernandez Gioia at [email protected].