Adrian Lyne Biography

Fast Facts

• Pursued a career as an accountant
• but disliked it
• As a result, he entered the world of advertising, which eventually led him to direct TV commercials
• Was inspired to become a filmmaker by such French New Wave directors as Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut
• Played trumpet in a jazz group during his 20s
• Observed teenagers in the classrooms of a San Fernando Valley school prior to filming his first feature, the 1979 slice-of-life film Foxes, which focused on four teen girls
• Initially rejected the offer to direct the 1983 hit Flashdance
• Turned down the opportunity to direct A Chorus Line, choosing instead to helm 9 1/2 Weeks
• Had serious problems finding a distributor for his adaptation of Lolita, which he completed in 1996; the rights were eventually sold to Showtime, which sold the rights to an independent distributor in 1998