Neyman, Michael.

Neyman had read FLIGHT in Berkeley High School; he wrote a screenplay in 1955; succeeded in obtaining the rights to film it in 1956 "through the kindness of John Steinbeck, " and by 1959 succeeded in obtaining $80,000 from 27 shareholders in a corporation. He was then 23. But he went over budget and the picture was taken away from him by the principal investor, Barnaby Conrad, and both script and footage changed considerably. Michael Neyman studied cinema at USC, continued his career as a professional cameraman, but never again tackled a theatrical feature.