Art Linson (born 1942) is an American film producer, director and screenwriter. He was born in Chicago, Illinois. His directorial debut was the 1980 comedy, Where the Buffalo Roam, which was loosely based on stories by Hunter S. Thompson and starred Bill Murray as the writer. He also directed 1984's The Wild Life. Linson has produced many films including Car Wash, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Fight Club, Melvin and Howard and the Brian De Palma films The Untouchables, Casualties of War, and The Black Dahlia. He has worked with Michael Mann, David Mamet, and Cameron Crowe. He produced Sunset Strip with his son John. His writing credits include the film American Hot Wax and two books, What Just Happened? Bitter Hollywood Tales from the Front Line (ISBN 1-58234-240-7), which was adapted into the film What Just Happened, and A Pound of Flesh: Perilous Tales of How to Produce Movies in Hollywood (ISBN 0-8021-3551-X). He is an executive producer for the FX drama series Sons of Anarchy. Linson produced a film based on the band The Runaways, with his son John Linson as a co-producer.
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Biography from TMDB.
- March 16, 1942 (84)
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Producer, also director, writer and actor
- 37 on MovieCove · 42 credits in all
What are Art Linson's films like?
Across their 31 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Morality.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 2 · Wry 0 · Earnest 28
A split, not a type: Light 13 · Serious 6 · Dark 11
A split, not a type: Grounded 17 · Stylized 7 · Heightened 6
A split, not a type: Gentle 7 · Charged 10 · Intense 13
Steady 9 · Shifting 13 · Whiplash 8
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 14 · Some laughs 9 · Funny 7
Slow burn 10 · Even-paced 17 · Relentless 3
Casual 12 · Engaged 14 · Full focus 4
A split, not a type: Easy watch 12 · Affecting 6 · Heavy 12
Resolved 21 · Open-ended 6 · Ambiguous 3
Moods and endings
- Happy8
- Bittersweet16
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous5
- Cyclical1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Art Linson's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 18 of their 37 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Art Linson's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
42 credits, 37 with a MovieCove page; 6 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Dutton Ranch(2026)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows
The Madison(2026)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all shows
Marshals(2026)
Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all shows
1923(2022)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all shows
1883: The Road West(2022)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
1883(2021)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
Yellowstone(2018)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all shows
The Outsider(2018)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
The Comedian(2016)
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films
The Runaways(2010)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
What Just Happened(2008)
Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films
Sons of Anarchy(2008)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
Into the Wild(2007)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
The Black Dahlia(2006)
Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films
Lords of Dogtown(2005)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Imaginary Heroes(2004)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
Spartan(2004)
Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films
Heist(2001)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
Sunset Strip(2000)
Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films
Reliving Our Fast Times at Ridgemont High (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Fight Club(1999)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
Pushing Tin(1999)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films
Great Expectations(1998)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
The Edge(1997)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
Heat(1995)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
This Boy's Life(1993)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
Point of No Return(1993)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
Singles(1992)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
Dick Tracy(1990)
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films
Casualties of War(1989)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
We're No Angels(1989)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
Scrooged(1988)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
The Untouchables(1987)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
The Wild Life(1984)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
Melvin and Howard (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)
Where the Buffalo Roam(1980)
Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films
American Hot Wax (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)
Car Wash(1976)
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films1944 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
The Challenger (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 42 titles, 40 of them dated from 1975 to 2026.
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Art Linson's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 66th percentile, the median of all 30; across their 30 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 64th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up16
- 50th to 74th11
- 25th to 49th7
- Below 25th3
Shape of the crowd
16 of their 37 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved10
- Crowd Pleaser16
- Broadly Agreed4
- Mixed7
Reviewers score the atmosphere 71/100 and the pacing 47/100 in their films, across 28 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Art Linson's work okay for kids?
Across up to 25 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity, profanity, alcohol & drugs and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Art Linson work with?
People who share at least 2 of Art Linson's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Robert De Niro shares the most, 8.
Directors
- Brian De PalmaShared titles: The Black Dahlia (2006), Casualties of War (1989), The Untouchables (1987)See all 3 shared titles with Brian De Palma
- David MametShared titles: Spartan (2004), Heist (2001), The Edge (1997), We're No Angels (1989), The Untouchables (1987)See all 5 shared titles with David Mamet
Writers
- Cameron CroweShared titles: Singles (1992), The Wild Life (1984), Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)See all 3 shared titles with Cameron Crowe
- Mitch GlazerShared titles: Great Expectations (1998), Scrooged (1988)See all 2 shared titles with Mitch Glazer
- Robert GetchellShared titles: Point of No Return (1993), This Boy's Life (1993)See all 2 shared titles with Robert Getchell
- John KayeShared titles: Where the Buffalo Roam (1980), Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins (1975)See all 2 shared titles with John Kaye
Actors
- Robert De NiroShared titles: The Comedian (2016), What Just Happened (2008), The Making of 'Heat' (2005), Great Expectations (1998), Heat (1995), This Boy's Life (1993), We're No Angels (1989), The Untouchables (1987)See all 8 shared titles with Robert De Niro
- Sean PennShared titles: What Just Happened (2008), Into the Wild (2007), Casualties of War (1989), We're No Angels (1989), Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)See all 5 shared titles with Sean Penn
- Emile HirschShared titles: The Outsider (2018), Into the Wild (2007), Imaginary Heroes (2004)See all 3 shared titles with Emile Hirsch
- Jared LetoShared titles: The Outsider (2018), Sunset Strip (2000), Fight Club (1999)See all 3 shared titles with Jared Leto
Composers and editors
- Bill PankowShared titles: The Black Dahlia (2006), Casualties of War (1989), The Untouchables (1987)See all 3 shared titles with Bill Pankow
- Richard ChewShared titles: The Runaways (2010), Singles (1992)See all 2 shared titles with Richard Chew
- Mark IshamShared titles: The Black Dahlia (2006), Spartan (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Mark Isham
- Elliot GoldenthalShared titles: The Making of 'Heat' (2005), Heat (1995)See all 2 shared titles with Elliot Goldenthal
Producers
- John LinsonShared titles: The Madison (2026), 1883: The Road West (2022), The Outsider (2018), The Comedian (2016), The Runaways (2010), Sunset Strip (2000), Great Expectations (1998)See all 7 shared titles with John Linson
- Moshe DiamantShared titles: The Black Dahlia (2006), Imaginary Heroes (2004), Spartan (2004)See all 3 shared titles with Moshe Diamant
- David GlasserShared titles: The Madison (2026), 1883: The Road West (2022)See all 2 shared titles with David Glasser
- Taylor SheridanShared titles: The Madison (2026), 1883: The Road West (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Taylor Sheridan
Mixed roles
- Michael MannShared titles: The Making of 'Heat' (2005), Heat (1995)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Mann
