Years active 2005–present Name Rian Johnson | Role Writer Siblings Aaron Johnson | |
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Born December 17, 1973 (age 50) ( 1973-12-17 ) Maryland, U.S. Occupation Director, producer, screenwriter Education University of Southern California Awards Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series Nominations Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay Movies Looper, Star Wars: Episode VIII, Brick, The Brothers Bloom, Star Wars: Episode IX Similar People Joseph Gordon‑Levitt, Colin Trevorrow, JJ Abrams, Noah Segan, Emily Blunt Profiles | ||
Episodes viii and ix why rian johnson writing and directing rocks ign keepin it reel podcast
Rian Craig Johnson (born December 17, 1973) is an American film director, screenwriter, editor, and actor. He won the Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival with his debut feature film, Brick. 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").
Contents
- Episodes viii and ix why rian johnson writing and directing rocks ign keepin it reel podcast
- Dp 30 looper writer director rian johnson actor joseph gordon levitt
- Early life
- Career
- Personal life
- References
Johnson is the writer and director of Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), the eighth film in the Star Wars saga and the second in the sequel trilogy.
Dp 30 looper writer director rian johnson actor joseph gordon levitt
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.
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."
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.
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.
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. Set in the near future, it has been described as dark science fiction, and involves hitmen whose victims are sent from the future. The film opened the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and the 2012 Palo Alto International Film Festival. 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.
Johnson directed the episode "Manifest Destiny" of the TV series Terriers.
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. 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. He directed a third episode of the show, "Ozymandias", which quickly became widely considered as one of the greatest episodes of television ever aired.
On March 12, 2015, Johnson confirmed that he would write and direct Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which began filming in September 2015 with a scheduled release date of December 15, 2017. On June 20, 2014, Johnson was reported to be in talks to write a treatment for Star Wars Episode IX. Johnson on April 27, 2017 wrote on his Twitter that the information about him writing a treatment for Episode IX is old, and he's not involved with the writing of that film.
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.
Johnson is currently dating Karina Longworth, host of the film history podcast You Must Remember This.