Rian Johnson
| Rian Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Rian Craig Johnson December 17, 1973 Maryland, United States |
| Occupation | Director, producer, screenwriter |
| Years active | 2005 – present |
Rian Craig Johnson (born December 17, 1973) is an American writer and director, who won the Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival with his debut feature, Brick.[1][2][3]
Contents |
[edit] Background
Johnson was born in Maryland. He was raised in San Clemente, California, and attended the 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 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 broke so many rules in terms of film narrative":
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.[4]
In addition to his film work, Johnson is also a folk singer and banjoist. Some of his songs can be found on his website.
His brother is well-known music producer Aaron Johnson. His cousin, Nathan Johnson, composed the score for Brick and The Brothers Bloom. Rian 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 relating to Rian's films.
[edit] Film career
[edit] Brick
Made for just under $500,000, Brick is a crime drama starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. 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 during production no references were made to film noir so as to focus the production away from reproducing a genre piece. Brick was released on DVD by Focus Features.[5]
[edit] The Brothers Bloom
The Brothers Bloom, Johnson's second film, is a con-man story starring Mark Ruffalo, Adrien Brody, Rachel Weisz, and Rinko Kikuchi. The Brothers Bloom was released in theaters in May 2009, and later on DVD by Summit Entertainment.[6]
[edit] Looper
Looper, Johnson's third film, began shooting in Louisiana on January 24, 2011[7] and is currently in production. Set in the near future, it has been described as dark sci-fi, and involves hitmen that are sent their victims from the future.[8] The film will star Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt, and Paul Dano.[9]
[edit] Other projects
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 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 titled Escargots. In 2002, he directed a short film titled The Psychology of Dream Analysis, which is available to view on his Vimeo account.[10]
In March 2010, Johnson announced on his website that he was directing an episode of the TV show Breaking Bad for its third season. This is notable in that it is his first time professionally directing a script he did not write, which he has stated many times he had no interest in when it came to film.[11]
Johnson has also directed an episode of TV show Terriers that aired during its first season.[12]
[edit] References
- ^ The New York Times
- ^ The New York Times
- ^ The Los Angeles Times
- ^ 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.
- ^ The New York Times
- ^ The New York Times
- ^ "Official Looper production blog". http://loopermovie.tumblr.com/post/2908571344/day-one-shot-one.
- ^ Fischer, Russ (May 13, 2009). "Rian Johnson lets slip a few more details about Looper". Chud.com. http://chud.com/articles/articles/19420/1/RIAN-JOHNSON-LETS-SLIP-A-FEW-MORE-DETAILS-ABOUT-LOOPER/Page1.html. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
- ^ "Looper (2012)". IMDb.com. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1276104/.
- ^ Vimeo.com
- ^ Comingsoon.net
- ^ TV Squad
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Rian Johnson at Vimeo
- Rian Johnson at the Internet Movie Database
- Rian Johnson at AllRovi
- Rian Johnson on Twitter
- Article on Johnson and the making of Brick
- Brick Review at RockTag.us
|
|||||
