Rian Johnson
| Rian Johnson | |
|---|---|
 Rian Johnson in 2012 | |
| Born |
December 17, 1973 Maryland, U.S. |
| Alma mater | USC School of Cinematic Arts |
| Occupation | Director, producer, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1995–present |
Rian Craig Johnson (born December 17, 1973) is an American writer, producer, director, and voice actor. He won the Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival with his debut feature film, Brick.[1][2][3]
Johnson directed The Brothers Bloom (2008) and Looper (2012), as well as three episodes of the AMC series Breaking Bad ("Fly", "Fifty-One", and "Ozymandias").
In March 2015, Johnson was announced as the writer and director of Star Wars: Episode VIII (2017), the eighth film in the Star Wars saga and the second in the sequel trilogy. He will also write the story treatment for Star Wars: Episode IX (2019).
Early life
Johnson was born in Maryland. He was raised in San Clemente, California, and attended San Clemente High School, where Brick was predominantly filmed. He then attended the University of Southern California and graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 1996. Johnson's first short film, Evil Demon Golfball from Hell!!!, which is loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart", was included as an easter egg on the Looper Blu-ray.[4]
Career
Johnson's film career, as told to Robert K. Elder, author of The Film That Changed My Life, was largely inspired by Annie Hall, a film that he said "broke so many rules in terms of film narrative." He stated: "It moved me in a way that very few other films have moved me. That's something that, I pray to God, if I am able to keep making movies, I can only hope, twenty years down the line maybe, I'll be able to approach."[5]
His debut film, made for just under $500,000, Brick is a crime drama. Johnson has often said that he looked to the novels of Dashiell Hammett as inspiration for the film's unique use of language. While the film is classified as a film noir, Johnson claims that no references were made to film noir during production, so as to focus the production away from reproducing a genre piece. Brick was released on DVD by Focus Features.[6]
Johnson directed the video for The Mountain Goats' song "Woke Up New" in 2006. He is a professed fan of the band, and was asked to direct the video when bandleader John Darnielle noticed a reference to them in the credits for Brick. A song is credited to "The Hospital Bombers Experience", which is a reference to the Mountain Goats song titled "The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton". Johnson also directed a live performance film of the Mountain Goats' 2009 album The Life of the World to Come. The film consists of a single shot, depicting Darnielle performing the entire album on guitar and piano with minimal accompaniment. This film was screened in New York City, Chicago, Seattle, and Portland, Oregon upon its completion, and was released as a limited edition DVD on Record Store Day (April 17, 2010).
Johnson's second film, The Brothers Bloom, is a con-man story released in theaters in May 2009, and later on DVD by Summit Entertainment.[7]
Johnson's third film, Looper, began shooting in Louisiana on January 24, 2011 and was released on September 28, 2012 by TriStar Pictures and FilmDistrict.[8] Set in the near future, it has been described as dark science fiction, and involves hitmen whose victims are sent from the future.[9] The film opened the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival[10] and the 2012 Palo Alto International Film Festival.[11] Looper was a surprise success at the box office.
Johnson has made a number of short films, some of which are available on his website. His short film from high school titled Ninja Ko is available as an easter egg on the Brick DVD. The Brothers Bloom DVD features a short, Buster Keaton-esque silent film he made in college. After working with Joseph Gordon-Levitt on Brick, the two shot a short film in Paris, France titled Escargots. In 2002, he directed a short film titled The Psychology of Dream Analysis, which is available to view on his Vimeo account.[12]
Johnson directed the episode "Manifest Destiny" of the TV series Terriers.[13]
In March 2010, Johnson announced on his website that he was directing an episode of the TV series Breaking Bad for its third season. The episode, "Fly", aired on May 23, 2010. This is notable in that it is his first time professionally directing a script that he did not write, which he has stated many times that he had no interest in when it came to film.[14] Johnson later directed a second episode of the show, "Fifty-One", which aired on August 5, 2012, and earned him a Directors Guild of America Award.[15] He directed a third episode of the show, "Ozymandias", which quickly became widely considered as one of the greatest episodes of television ever aired.[16]
On March 12, 2015, Johnson confirmed that he would write and direct Star Wars: Episode VIII, which began filming in September 2015 with a scheduled release date of December 15, 2017.[17][18][19] On June 20, 2014, Johnson was reported to be in talks to write a treatment for Star Wars Episode IX.[20][21]
Personal life
Aside from filmmaking, Johnson is a folk singer and banjo player, and some of his songs can be found on his website. His brother is music producer Aaron Johnson. His cousin, Nathan Johnson, composed the score for Brick, The Brothers Bloom, and Looper. Johnson and Nathan make up a folk duo called The Preserves. Other cousins, including Zachary and Marke Johnson, have been involved in design and illustration work for Johnson's films.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Other | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Evil Demon Golfball from Hell!!! | Yes | Yes | Short film | |
| 2005 | Brick | Yes | Yes | Yes | editor |
| 2008 | The Brothers Bloom | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2012 | Looper | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2016 | Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | Yes | Death Star technicians, Cameo | ||
| 2017 | Star Wars: Episode VIII | Yes | Yes | Post-production. Set for release on December 15, 2017.[19] | |
| 2019 | Star Wars: Episode IX | Yes | Yes | Story treatment |
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Episode | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Terriers | Yes | "Manifest Destiny" | — | |
| 2010–2013 | Breaking Bad | Yes | "Fly" | — | |
| Yes | "Fifty-One" | ||||
| Yes | "Ozymandias" | ||||
| 2015 | BoJack Horseman | "Yes, And" | Bryan | Voice only | |
| "Out to Sea" |
Awards and Nominations
References
- ↑ "Rian Johnson". The New York Times. 2010. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
- ↑ "Car Talk with Rian Johnson". The New York Times. 2009. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
- ↑ "IN THE NEWS Rian Johnson". Los Angeles Times. September 7, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
- ↑ "Blu-ray.com". Bluray.highdefdigest.com. Retrieved 2014-03-05.
- ↑ Johnson, Rian. Interview by Robert K. Elder. The Film That Changed My Life. By Robert K. Elder. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2011. N. p17. Print.
- ↑ Stephen Holden (March 31, 2006). "Joseph Gordon-Levitt Is a Teenage Bogart at Noir High in 'Brick'". The New York Times. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
- ↑ Stephen Holden (May 14, 2009). "My Brother, My Partner in Crime". The New York Times. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
- ↑ "Official Looper production blog". Loopermovie.tumblr.com.
- ↑ Fischer, Russ (May 13, 2009). "Rian Johnson lets slip a few more details about Looper". CHUD.com. Retrieved May 18, 2009.
- ↑ "Looper to launch Toronto film festival". BBC News. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
- ↑ "PALO ALTO INT'L FILM FESTIVAL RETURNS SEPT. 27–30 2012" (PDF). Palo Alto International Film Festival. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
- ↑ from rcjohnso Plus 5 years ago Not Yet Rated (2008-08-19). "Vimeo.com". Vimeo.com. Retrieved 2014-03-05.
- ↑ "TV Squad". TV Squad. Retrieved 2014-03-05.
- ↑ "Comingsoon.net". Comingsoon.net. 2008-07-30. Retrieved 2014-03-05.
- ↑ Couch, Aaron; Kilday, Gregg (February 2, 2013). "DGA Awards: Ben Affleck Named Best Director for 'Argo'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
- ↑ Mendelsohn, Tom (September 17, 2013). "Is Breaking Bad's Ozymandias the greatest episode of TV ever written?". The Independent. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- ↑ "Rogue One Is the First Star Wars Stand-Alone Film, Rian Johnson to Write and Direct Star Wars: Episode VIII". Starwars.com. March 12, 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- ↑ Breznican, Anthony (September 9, 2015). "CORRECTED: Star Wars: Episode VIII will shoot in Ireland this month". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
- 1 2 McClintock, Pamela (January 20, 2016). "'Star Wars: Episode VIII' Gets New Release". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
- ↑ Fleming, Jr., Mike (June 20, 2014). "'Star Wars' Bombshell! Rian Johnson To Write, Direct Next Two Films". Deadline.com. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
- ↑ Shaw, Lucas (June 20, 2014). "Rian Johnson to Write and Direct 'Star Wars' 8 — But Not 9". The Wrap. TheWrap.com. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rian Johnson. |
- Official website
- Video on Vimeo
- Rian Johnson at the Internet Movie Database
- Rian Johnson at AllMovie
- Rian Johnson on Twitter
- Article on Johnson and the making of Brick
- Brick Review at RockTag.us
- The Man in the Herringbone Hat by Rian Johnson
- Interview with Rian Johnson on Futuremovies.co.uk