Rian Johnson


Rian Craig Johnson is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for writing and directing the neo-noir film Brick, the comedy-drama The Brothers Bloom, the science-fiction thriller Looper, the space opera , and the murder-mystery Knives Out, the last of which was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and earned Johnson a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
He also directed three episodes of the television drama series Breaking Bad, including the episode "Fifty-One", for which he received the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series in 2013.

Early life

Johnson was born on December 17, 1973 in Silver Spring, Maryland. He grew up in Denver, Colorado until sixth grade, when he moved to San Clemente, California. He attended San Clemente High School, where Brick was predominantly filmed. He 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!!!, loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart", was included as an easter egg on the Looper Blu-ray.

Career

Johnson has said he was inspired to become a film director after seeing Woody Allen's 1977 film, Annie Hall. "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."
Johnson's debut film, Brick, is a crime drama released in 2005 and made for just under $500,000. 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.
Johnson's second film, The Brothers Bloom, is a con-man story released in theaters in May 2009 to moderately positive critical reviews. On Metacritic, the film was assigned a weighted average score of 55 out of 100 based on 26 reviews from mainstream critics.
In March 2010, Johnson announced 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 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, "Ozymandias", which received high praise from critics, frequently cited as being 'one of the best television episodes' to air.
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.
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.
On June 20, 2014, news broke that Johnson would write and direct the eighth installment in the Star Wars film series. Johnson confirmed the report that following month and the film, , was released on December 15, 2017, to positive reviews from critics and audiences. After Colin Trevorrow departed Episode IX, Johnson turned down an offer from Lucasfilm to write and direct the follow-up to The Last Jedi. On November 9, 2017, it was announced that Johnson would write a new trilogy of Star Wars films, separate from the main story arc of previous films in the franchise, and would direct the first installment of his trilogy.
Following The Last Jedi, Johnson directed the murder mystery film Knives Out, starring Daniel Craig, Ana de Armas and Christopher Plummer. He penned the script and co-produced with longtime producing partner Ram Bergman. Knives Out was released on November 27, 2019, and was a major success with critics, as well as audiences, grossing over $300 million at the box office worldwide. It earned Johnson his first Academy Award nomination, for Best Original Screenplay.
In September 2019, Johnson and producer Ram Bergman launched T-Street, a company that will generate original content for film and TV shows. The venture is fully capitalized by global media company Valence Media. T-Street launched with a first look deal with Valence Media's Media Rights Capital for film and television projects. Valence Media holds a substantial minority equity stake in the company. Johnson and Bergman intend to make their own original creations through the company, and produce others.
Due to the success of Knives Out, Lionsgate announced that a sequel was officially approved.
In 2020, Johnson directed a commercial for the augmented mobile video game Pokémon Go.

Personal life

Johnson is a folk singer and banjo player. His brother is music producer Aaron Johnson. His cousin Nathan Johnson composed the scores for Brick, The Brothers Bloom, Looper, and Knives Out. Rian and Nathan make up a folk duo called the Preserves.
Johnson has been married to film writer and podcaster Karina Longworth since 2018.

Filmography

Film

Television

Other works

Music videos

Technical credits

Acting roles

Commercials

Awards and nominations

YearWorkAwardResult
2005BrickSundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision
2005BrickSundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize
2006BrickBIFA Award for Best Foreign Independent Film
2006BrickCentral Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay
2006BrickCentral Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Overlooked Film
2006BrickChicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Director
2006BrickCitizen Kane Award for Best Directorial Revelation
2006BrickDeauville Film Festival Grand Special Prize
2006BrickSan Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Original Screenplay
2006BrickOnline Film Critics Society Award for Best Breakthrough Filmmaker
2006BrickUtah Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay
2006BrickToronto Film Critics Association Award for Best First Feature
2006BrickIndependent Spirit John Cassavetes Award
2007BrickAustin Film Critics Association Award for Best First Film
2007BrickEmpire Award for Best Male Newcomer
2008The Brothers BloomStockholm International Film Festival Bronze Horse
2012LooperAustin Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay
2012LooperBroadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay
2012LooperChicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay
2012LooperFlorida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Original Screenplay
2012LooperHouston Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Screenplay
2012LooperHugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
2012LooperLas Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Screenplay
2012LooperNational Board of Review Award for Best Original Screenplay
2012LooperOnline Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Screenplay
2012LooperWashington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay
2012LooperUtah Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay
2013LooperCentral Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay
2013LooperNorth Carolina Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay
2013LooperNorth Carolina Film Critics Association Award for Best Director
2013LooperRay Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation
2013LooperWriters Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay
2013LooperSaturn Award for Best Director
2013Breaking BadDirectors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series
2018'Empire Award for Best Director
2018'Saturn Award for Best Director
2018'Saturn Award for Best Writing
2018'Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
2018'Circuit Community Awards for Honorable Mentions
2018'Denver Film Critics Society for Best Adapted Screenplay
2018Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation
2019Knives OutFantastic Fest Audience Award
2019Knives OutPhiladelphia Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film
2019Knives OutPhiladelphia Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay
2019Knives OutWashington DC Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay
2019Knives OutSan Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Screenplay
2019Knives OutDublin Film Critics' Circle Award for Best Screenplay
2019Knives OutPhoenix Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay
2019Knives OutKansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Original Screenplay
2019Knives OutOklahoma Film Critics Circle Award for Best Original Screenplay
2019Knives OutSeattle Film Critics Society Award for Best Screenplay
2019Knives OutSan Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Award for Best Original Screenplay
2019Knives OutPhoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Screenplay
2019Knives OutSatellite Award for Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical
2019Knives OutUtah Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay
2020Knives OutCentral Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay
2020Knives OutChicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay
2020Knives OutHouston Film Critics Society Award for Best Screenplay
2020Knives OutNorth Carolina Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay
2020Knives OutChicago Independent Film Critics Circle Award for Best Studio Film
2020Knives OutChicago Independent Film Critics Circle Award for Best Original Screenplay
2020Knives OutGolden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
2020Knives OutOnline Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Screenplay
2020Knives OutAustin Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay
2020Knives OutHollywood Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay
2020Knives OutAlliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Best Screenplay, Original
2020Knives OutCritics' Choice Movie Award for Best Comedy
2020Knives OutCritics' Choice Movie Award for Best Original Screenplay
2020Knives OutWriters Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay
2020Knives OutAcademy Award for Best Original Screenplay