Rian Johnson

Rian Craig Johnson (born December 17, 1973) is an American writer, producer, and director. 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").

In June 2014, it was reported that Johnson had signed to write a treatment for Star Wars Episode IX. In March 2015, it was confirmed that Johnson would write and direct Star Wars Episode VIII.

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. 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. 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 Episode VIII, which began filming in September 2015 with a scheduled release date of May 26, 2017. On June 20, 2014, Johnson was reported to be in talks to write a treatment for Star Wars Episode IX.

Personal life

Johnson is also a folk singer and banjoist, 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	Role	Notes
1996	Evil Demon Golfball from Hell!!!	Writer, director	Short film
2005	Brick	Writer, director, editor	Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Overlooked Film Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Director Citizen Kane Award for Best Directorial Revelation Deauville Film Festival Grand Special Prize Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision Nominated–BIFA Award for Best Foreign Independent Film Nominated–Empire Award for Best Male Newcomer Nominated–Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Breakthrough Filmmaker Nominated–San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated–Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize
2008	The Brothers Bloom	Writer, director
2012	Looper	Writer, director	Austin Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Original Screenplay Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Screenplay National Board of Review Award for Best Original Screenplay Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated–Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay Nominated–Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated–Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated–Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form Nominated–Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated–Saturn Award for Best Director Nominated–Utah Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated–Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay
2017	Star Wars Episode VIII	Writer, director	Filming. Set for release on May 26, 2017.

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2009	Terriers	Director	Episode: "Manifest Destiny"
2010–2013	Breaking Bad	Director	Episodes: "Fly", "Fifty-One", "Ozymandias" Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series
2015	BoJack Horseman	Bryan	Voice only Episodes: "Yes, And" and "Out to Sea"

External links

• 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