Joe Johnston

Early life

Johnston was born Joseph Eggleston Johnston II in Austin, Texas, and attended California State University, Long Beach, and Pasadena's Art Center College of Design, both for industrial design.

Career

Design and visual effects

Much of the work at the beginning of Johnston's screen career combined design and visual effects. He began his career as a concept artist and effects technician on the first Star Wars film, directed by George Lucas. He was the creative designer of the Millennium Falcon spacecraft and co-created the design of Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back, while working for Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) in the 1970s and was art director on one of the visual effects teams for the sequel Return of the Jedi. His association with Lucas would later prove fruitful, when he became one of four to win an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for Lucas and Steven Spielberg's film Raiders of the Lost Ark. Johnston continued to work on many films as an effects expert.

He was also associate producer on fantasy film Willow, and production designer on two mid-1980s TV movies which featured the Ewoks seen in Return of the Jedi.

Johnston is also author of Star Wars novel The Adventures of Teebo: A Tale of Magic and Suspense, which ties into Return of the Jedi (New York: Random House, 1984; , ).

In 1984, at 34, Johnston went to George Lucas and stated his desire to leave Lucasfilm for a year. However, Lucas offered him to go to USC School of Cinematic Arts and study there for a year, complete with paid tuition and half-salary that would let Johnston take any class he wanted. Johnston left after a year, saying he "was asked not to return" because he "broke too many rules".

Directing

Johnston made his directorial debut in 1989 with hit comedy adventure Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, starring Rick Moranis. He followed it with comic-book adaptation The Rocketeer (1991). The film was a commercial failure, as was his next, the live-action/animated The Pagemaster, starring Macaulay Culkin. Johnston rebounded, directing the family hit Jumanji, starring Robin Williams. The film overcame lukewarm reviews to gross over $260 million.

Johnston was set to direct Hulk, but dropped out in July 1997. Johnston then switched gears from visual effects-driven action films to the more personal October Sky (1999), starring a teenage Jake Gyllenhaal as a 1950s West Virginia high school student who dreams of being a rocket scientist for NASA against his father's wishes.

Johnston's first project of the 2000s was the sequel Jurassic Park III, which made over US$300 million at the box office. Johnston followed it with western Hidalgo, starring Viggo Mortensen. Johnston then took a six-year directorial break before signing on at a month's notice to take over the 2010 remake of 1941 horror classic The Wolfman. Shot in England, the film starred Benicio del Toro and Anthony Hopkins.

In part thanks to his experience with the period superhero film The Rocketeer, Johnston was selected to direct Marvel Studios superhero adaptation Captain America: The First Avenger. Released on July 22, 2011, the film stars Chris Evans as the comic book hero and Hugo Weaving as his archenemy the Red Skull. In 2014, Johnston directed the thriller Not Safe for Work for Blumhouse Productions.

On December 12, 2017, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Johnston would direct 32 days of reshoots on the film The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, due to its director Lasse Hallström being unavailable.

On December 5, 2019, it was reported that Joe Johnston was in negotiations with Walt Disney Pictures to direct Shrunk, a legacy sequel to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.

Filmography

Director

Film

Television

Other credits

Film

Television

Bibliography

• 1977: The Star Wars Sketchbook
• 1980: The Empire Strikes Back Sketchbook (with Nilo Rodis-Jamero)
• 1983: Return of the Jedi Sketchbook (with Nilo Rodis-Jamero)
• 1984: The Adventures of Teebo: A Tale of Magic and Suspense
• 2005: Star Wars: Aux origines du mythe (with Doug Chiang)
• 2007: The Hill Culture
• 2011: The Mack Marsden Murder Mystery

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/joe_johnston Joe Johnston], Rotten Tomatoes.com
2. Diaz, Victor. [http://austin.ynn.com/content/entertainment/movies_and_film/279552/austin-born-oscar-winner-directs--captain-america- "Austin-born Oscar winner directs 'Captain America'"] {{Webarchive. link. (March 31, 2012, Austin.YNN.com, July 22, 2011.)
3. Bouzereau, Laurent. (1997). "Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays". [[Ballantine Books]].
4. [https://www.starwars.com/news/empire-at-40-joe-johnston-boba-fett-interview EMPIRE AT 40. DESIGNING AN ICON: JOE JOHNSTON ON THE JOURNEY TO CREATE BOBA FETT]
5. Buchanan, Jason. [https://www.allmovie.com/artist/joe-johnston-an12766 Joe Johnston Profile], AllMovie.com
6. Joe Johnston. (1984). "''The Adventures of Teebo''". OpenLibrary.org.
7. (March 8, 2004). "2004 interview with Joe Johnston. Retrieved 12 August 2012". Articles.baltimoresun.com.
8. (July 17, 2001). "Back to Jurassic Park with Joe Johnston".
9. (July 18, 2011). "2001 ''filmschoolrejects'' website interview with Joe Johnston. Retrieved 12 August 2012". Filmschoolrejects.com.
10. "Jumanji (1995) – Box Office Mojo". boxofficemojo.com.
11. Michael Fleming. (April 14, 1997). "A Mania For Marvel". [[Variety (magazine).
12. Nicholson, Amy. [http://www.boxofficemagazine.com/articles/2010-01-exclusive-captain-america-jp4-news "Exclusive: 'Captain America' & 'JP4' News"] {{webarchive. link. (March 5, 2012. ''[[Boxoffice (magazine)). Boxoffice]]'', January 13, 2010
13. Kit, Borys. (December 12, 2017). "Joe Johnston to Direct Disney's 'Nutcracker and the Four Realms' Reshoots (Exclusive)".
14. (5 December 2019). "'Honey, I Shrunk the Kids' Director in Talks to Return for Reboot Starring Josh Gad (EXCLUSIVE)".
15. (12 February 2020). "Rick Moranis Closes Deal To Return To 'Honey, I Shrunk The Kids' Franchise With 'Shrunk' At Disney".
16. Kit, Borys. (December 12, 2017). "Joe Johnston to Direct Disney's 'Nutcracker and the Four Realms' Reshoots (Exclusive)".
17. Kit, Borys. (July 5, 2018). "Lasse Hallstrom, Joe Johnston to Share Director Credit on 'Nutcracker and the Four Realms' (Exclusive)".