Rian Johnson

Rian Craig Johnson (born December 17, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He made his directorial debut with the neo-noir mystery film Brick (2005), which received positive reviews and grossed nearly $4 million on a $450,000 budget. Transitioning to higher-profile films, Johnson achieved mainstream recognition for writing and directing the science-fiction thriller Looper (2012) to critical and commercial success. Johnson landed his largest project when he wrote and directed the space opera Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), which grossed over $1 billion. He returned to the mystery genre with Knives Out (2019) and its sequel Glass Onion (2022), both of which earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay, respectively. Additionally, Johnson is also known for directing three highly acclaimed episodes for the television series Breaking Bad (2008–2013), namely "Ozymandias," "Fly," and "Fifty-One"; for the latter, he received the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing—Drama Series in 2013. He also created a murder mystery series titled Poker Face for Peacock with Natasha Lyonne. Johnson was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023. Description above from the Wikipedia article Rian Johnson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Works

American Fiction

A novelist fed up with the establishment profiting from "Black" entertainment uses a pen name to write a book that propels him into the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain.

Release Date:2023-11-10

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Vote Count:1058

Blood Relatives

A nomadic recluse living on the fringes of society reconsiders his bloodthirsty legacy when a teenage girl shows up claiming to be his daughter.

Release Date:2022-09-23

Department:Crew

Job:Thanks

Vote Count:12

Baby Driver

After being coerced into working for a crime boss, a young getaway driver finds himself taking part in a heist doomed to fail.

Release Date:2017-06-28

Department:Crew

Job:Thanks

Vote Count:15874

Looper

In the year 2044, time travel has not yet been invented but in 30 years it will have been. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they will send their target into the past where a looper, a hired gun, like Joe is waiting to mop up. Joe is getting rich and life is good until the day the mob decides to close the loop, sending back Joe's future self for assassination.

Release Date:2012-09-26

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:10250

The Woman

A lawyer puts his family in jeopardy when he captures the last member of a violent clan and tries to forcibly tame her.

Release Date:2011-10-14

Department:Sound

Job:Songs

Vote Count:538

The Life of the World to Come

The Mountain Goats in solo and duo performance at Pomona College. In this film by Rian Johnson, John Darnielle performs The Life of the World to Come on piano and guitar. Shot in the same building where, as an eight-year-old piano student and new transplant to Claremont, he performed Bach minuets for the state examiner, The Life of the World to Come takes the songs from the album and restores them to their raw original states: skin, blood, and bone.

Release Date:2010-03-26

Department:Directing

Job:Director

The Brothers Bloom

The Brothers Bloom are the best con men in the world, swindling millionaires with complex scenarios of lust and intrigue. Now they've decided to take on one last job – showing a beautiful and eccentric heiress the time of her life with a romantic adventure that takes them around the world.

Release Date:2008-09-09

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:644

Brick

After a phone call from his ex-girlfriend, teenage loner Brendan Frye learns that her dead body was found. Vowing to solve her murder himself, he must infiltrate high-school cliques that he previously avoided. His search for the truth brings him before some of the school’s roughest characters.

Release Date:2006-03-31

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:1252

May

A socially awkward veterinary assistant with a lazy eye and obsession with perfection descends into depravity after developing a crush on a boy with perfect hands.

Release Date:2003-04-11

Department:Editing

Job:Editor

Vote Count:624

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

Benoit Blanc returns in his most dangerous case yet.

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Metal Lords

For teenage misfits Hunter and Kevin, the path to glory is clear: Devote themselves to metal. Win Battle of the Bands. And be worshipped like gods.

Release Date:2022-04-08

Department:Crew

Job:Thanks

Vote Count:663

Scream

Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, a new killer has donned the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town’s deadly past.

Release Date:2022-01-12

Department:Crew

Job:Thanks

Character:Party Guest (voice) (uncredited)

Vote Count:3388

tick, tick... BOOM!

On the brink of turning 30, a promising theater composer navigates love, friendship and the pressure to create something great before time runs out.

Release Date:2021-11-11

Department:Crew

Job:Thanks

Vote Count:2096

Last Night in Soho

A young girl, passionate about fashion design, is mysteriously able to enter the 1960s where she encounters her idol, a dazzling wannabe singer. But 1960s London is not what it seems, and time seems to be falling apart with shady consequences.

Release Date:2021-10-21

Department:Crew

Job:Thanks

Vote Count:3479

Capone

The 47-year old Al Capone, after 10 years in prison, starts suffering from dementia and comes to be haunted by his violent past.

Release Date:2020-06-26

Department:Crew

Job:Thanks

Vote Count:382

Scare Package

Chad Buckley is a horror aficionado, and he's lonely. Chad spends his days at his struggling genre video store arguing with his only regular customer, Sam. When an unsuspecting applicant shows up, Chad begins to teach him about the rules of horror and his video store at large, much to the chagrin of Sam. During Chad's on-boarding process, we weave in and out of different hilarious horror shorts, each one geared at a different set of horror tropes. As this new applicant learns the ropes, he begins to suspect Chad of something sinister, but we quickly learn that he may have a secret of his own.

Release Date:2019-10-04

Department:Crew

Job:Thanks

Vote Count:138

Destroyer

When Erin Bell was a young cop, she was given an undercover assignment that ended badly and destroyed her life. Years later, she must face her demons in order to make peace with her past.

Release Date:2018-12-25

Department:Crew

Job:Thanks

Vote Count:726

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

A rogue band of resistance fighters unite for a mission to steal the Death Star plans and bring a new hope to the galaxy.

Release Date:2016-12-14

Department:Crew

Job:Thanks

Character:Death Star Technician

Vote Count:15392

The Hollars

Aspiring New York City artist John Hollar returns to his Middle America hometown on the eve of his mother’s brain surgery. Joined by his girlfriend, eight months pregnant with their first child, John is forced to navigate the crazy world he left behind.

Release Date:2016-08-25

Department:Crew

Job:Thanks

Vote Count:307

The Invitation

Will and his new girlfriend Kira are invited to a dinner with old friends at the house of Will’s ex Eden and her new partner David. Although the evening appears to be relaxed, Will soon gets a creeping suspicion that their charming host David is up to something.

Release Date:2016-04-08

Department:Crew

Job:Thanks

Vote Count:2624

Tales of Halloween

Ten stories from horror's top directors. Ghosts, ghouls, monsters, and the devil delight in terrorizing unsuspecting residents of a suburban neighborhood on Halloween night. This creepy anthology combines classic Halloween tales with the stuff of nightmares.

Release Date:2015-10-16

Department:Crew

Job:Thanks

Vote Count:498

Nosferatu vs. Father Pipecock & Sister Funk

A reimagining /regurgitation and re-dubbing of a classic silent horror flick! Shot in mind-shattering 2D (& 36DD), featuring T&A and epic voice-over ‘voom’, by Ms. Ilham Otaku & Pepe Chingadero! Original 1922 star Max Schreck plays (in newly tinted archive footage, mixed, with new) Count Orlock, a deviant, adulterous, shape-shifting Transylvanian vampire aristocrat & super creep, who is tearing Bremen, a new corn-hole & it's up to a 'brotha-in-a-collar' and a creole nun with a flamin' gun, to stop him, in this 'creature-feature' fang-fest! Co-Starring Canadian Scream Queen: Vivita, with new footage shot in tantalizing Watt-a-Rama & dubbed in Tex-O-Phonic Super-Sound

Release Date:2014-03-09

Department:Crew

Job:Thanks

Vote Count:2

The World's End

Five friends who reunite in an attempt to top their epic pub crawl from 20 years earlier unwittingly become humankind's only hope for survival.

Release Date:2013-07-18

Department:Crew

Job:Thanks

Vote Count:5456

Welcome to the Jungle

A company retreat on a tropical island goes terribly awry.

Release Date:2013-04-27

Department:Crew

Job:Thanks

Vote Count:427

Building Brick

Building Brick is the Behind the Scenes documentary for the film Brick (2006). Brick was written and directed by Rian Johnson in San Clemente, CA in 2003. The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Nora Zehetner, Lucas Haas, Noah Segan Building Brick was filmed and edited by L Jean Schwartz (Disclaimer: I shot most of this footage when I was 17 with my family camcorder, edited it when I was 19, and this is not a very high res version, but it has only been available on the German DVD so I wanted a way that my friends could see it) Also, I am endlessly immensely grateful to Rian Johnson for giving me the opportunity to be part of Brick.

Release Date:2006-09-21

Department:Camera

Job:Camera Operator

Character:

Vote Count:1

Escargots

An adaptation of a children's poem called Chanson des escargots qui vont à l'enterrement by Jacques Prévert, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Filmed in Paris, France and Los Angeles, California.

Release Date:2006-03-31

Department:Camera

Job:Camera Operator

The Psychology of Dream Analysis

Soon after entering a course called "The Psychology of Dream Analysis," Lillian discovers she has been having another person's dreams all her life.

Release Date:2002-01-01

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:3

Ben Boyer and the Phenomenology of Automobile Marketing

While sitting on the toilet one November morning, Ben Boyer receives a Jungian lesson on archetypal marketing.

Release Date:2001-07-20

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:3

Evil Demon Golfball from Hell!!!

A man is tormented by a seemingly possessed golf ball.

Release Date:1997-06-04

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:15

Untitled Gene Kelly Project

A 12 year old boy who works on the MGM Lot in 1952, begins to create an imagined friendship with the legendary movie star Gene Kelly while working on his next film.

Department:Production

Job:Producer

Blake Edwards: A Love Story in 24 Frames

While known for cinema classics such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Days of Wine and Roses and the Pink Panther series, the iconic director, screenwriter and producer Blake Edwards was also a sculptor and painter, loving husband and devoted father. Featuring never-before-seen archival video and stills, American Masters offers an exploration into his complex life and genre-spanning career, as shared by filmmakers and family.

Release Date:2024-08-27

Vote Count:1

3 Body Problem

Across continents and decades, five brilliant friends make earth-shattering discoveries as the laws of science unravel and an existential threat emerges.

Release Date:2024-03-21

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Episode Count:8

Vote Count:1059

Temple of Film: 100 Years of the Egyptian Theatre

Guillermo del Toro, Rian Johnson and other film luminaries look back at LA's historic Egyptian Theatre as it returns to its former movie palace glory.

Release Date:2023-11-09

Character:Self

Vote Count:21

Fair Play

An unexpected promotion at a cutthroat hedge fund pushes a young couple's relationship to the brink, threatening to unravel not only their recent engagement but their lives.

Release Date:2023-09-28

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Vote Count:522

The Space Western of the Southwest

Eric Cameron chronicles the relationship between Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi and the quaint town of Dingle, Ireland where it was filmed.

Release Date:2023-04-30

Poker Face

Follow Charlie Cale, a woman with an extraordinary ability to tell when someone is lying, as she hits the road and, at every stop, encounters a new cast of characters and crimes she can't help but solve.

Release Date:2023-01-26

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:2

Vote Count:321

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

World-famous detective Benoit Blanc heads to Greece to peel back the layers of a mystery surrounding a tech billionaire and his eclectic crew of friends.

Release Date:2022-11-23

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:5722

Variety Studio: Directors on Directors

PBS SoCal and Variety take you inside the biggest movies and T.V. shows of the past year through candid conversations with today's hottest actors. Hosted by Variety Film Awards Editor Clayton Davis and Variety Chief Correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister, each episode brings together pairs of directors engaging in intimate one-on-one discussions about their craft and work.

Release Date:2021-03-03

Character:Self

Episode Count:1

Knives Out

When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc is mysteriously enlisted to investigate. From Harlan's dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, Blanc sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan's untimely death.

Release Date:2019-11-27

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:12635

The Last Jedi: Meet the Porgs

This piece explores Porg origins and inspiration, design, transition from sketches to final physical puppet, puppet control, sound effects, and digital support features.

Release Date:2018-03-27

The Director and the Jedi

An intimate documentary delving into Rian Johnson's process as he comes in as a director new to the Star Wars universe.

Release Date:2018-03-12

Character:Self

Vote Count:42

Balance of the Force

Explore the mythology of the Force and why Rian Johnson chose to interpret its role in such a unique way.

Release Date:2018-03-12

Character:Self

Vote Count:5

The Force of Sound

Go inside the sound design of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. From the ignition of a lightsaber to the chirp of a porg, Star Wars would not be the same without the brilliant sound design and mixing created by Skywalker Sound.

Release Date:2018-02-20

Character:Self

Vote Count:3

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Rey develops her newly discovered abilities with the guidance of Luke Skywalker, who is unsettled by the strength of her powers. Meanwhile, the Resistance prepares to do battle with the First Order.

Release Date:2017-12-13

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:15441

The Late Late Show with James Corden

Once Craig Ferguson retires, James Corden will be taking over The Late Late Show. The show is a late night talk show that interviews celebrities and has its own bits. And of course, it's all hosted by James Corden.

Release Date:2015-03-23

Character:Self - Guest

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:132

Out of Print

A documentary exploring the importance of revival cinema and 35mm exhibition - seen through the lens of the patrons of the New Beverly Cinema - a unique and independent revival cinema in Los Angeles.

Release Date:2014-08-23

Character:Self

Vote Count:9

BoJack Horseman

Meet the most beloved sitcom horse of the '90s , 20 years later. He's a curmudgeon with a heart of...not quite gold...but something like gold. Copper?

Release Date:2014-08-22

Character:Brian (voice)

Episode Count:2

Vote Count:2482

The Real History of Science Fiction

The series heads to the very frontiers of space and science to produce the definitive television history of science fiction, told through its impact on cinema, television and literature, with the help of filmmakers, writers, actors, and graphic artists. Each episode will explore one of the enduring themes of science fiction: time travel; the exploration of space; robots and artificial intelligence; and aliens.

Release Date:2014-04-19

Character:Himself

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:19

Late Night with Seth Meyers

Seth Meyers, who is "Saturday Night Live’s" longest serving anchor on the show’s wildly popular "Weekend Update," takes over as host of NBC’s "Late Night" — home to A-list celebrity guests, memorable comedy and the best in musical talent. As the Emmy Award-winning head writer for "SNL," Meyers has established a reputation for sharp wit and perfectly timed comedy, and has gained fame for his spot-on jokes and satire. Meyers takes his departure from "SNL" to his new post at "Late Night," as Jimmy Fallon moves to "The Tonight Show".

Release Date:2014-02-25

Character:Self

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:98

No Half Measures: Creating the Final Season of Breaking Bad

A documentary about the making of season five of the acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad.

Release Date:2013-11-26

Character:Self

Vote Count:113

Don Jon

A New Jersey guy dedicated to his family, friends, and church, develops unrealistic expectations from watching porn and works to find happiness and intimacy with his potential true love.

Release Date:2013-09-12

Department:Crew

Job:Thanks

Vote Count:4318

The English Teacher

Small-town Pennsylvania schoolteacher Linda Sinclair balances her staid home life with an incredible passion for her subject. Then a former star pupil reenters her life after failing as a playwright in New York City. Seeing in his script the inspiration that she has always longed to instill in her students, this dyed-in-the-wool romantic enlists the help of long-suffering drama teacher Carl to mount the work as the high school’s next and riskiest production.

Release Date:2013-05-16

Department:Crew

Job:Thanks

Vote Count:356

The Outsider: A Looper's Story

Anna is a Looper, and she has a plan to survive closing her Loop.

Release Date:2012-01-01

Department:Crew

Job:Thanks

Vote Count:1

Brawler

Sidelined by an injury incurred while protecting his young brother, underground fighter Charlie Fontaine feels blindsided when he discovers his brother having sex on his couch with his new wife, Kat. Fueled by rage, a determined Charlie makes plans to get back in the ring and take on his brother in a fight to the death.

Release Date:2011-08-03

Department:Crew

Job:Thanks

Vote Count:6

Terriers

Ex-cop and recovering alcoholic Hank Dolworth partners with his best friend, former criminal Britt Pollack, in an unlicensed private investigation business. The series is set in Ocean Beach, San Diego, California, although it is portrayed as a distinct town, with Dolworth having once been a member of the fictional Ocean Beach Police Department.

Release Date:2010-09-08

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:94

Spike

Described as "Angela Carter rewriting La Belle et la Bête as an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer", the story follows, through a tapestry of dreamlike images, a girl (Sarah Livingston Evans) and her three friends—the characters' names are never revealed—as they find themselves stranded in a dark and surreal forest by someone—or something (Edward Gusts)—who has obsessively loved, watched, and waited for the girl ever since childhood.

Release Date:2008-06-20

Department:Crew

Job:Thanks

Vote Count:6

People Are Dead

A group of disconnected people are brought together by a string of awkward events in post-9/11 Manhattan. A body-snatcher (Mia Tyler) is gathering dead bodies off the streets and no one seems to know why, especially the two detectives (Eddie Steeples, Peter McNolte) who are assigned to find her.

Release Date:2002-05-02

Department:Crew

Job:Thanks

Hey Lady, You Dropped Your Wallet!!!

A hapless young man attempts to return a lost wallet to a woman as she ventures through the city of San Fransisco

Release Date:1993-01-01

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Character:The Whacky Protagonist

Untitled Joseph Gordon-Levitt Film

An AI thriller. Plot TBA.

Department:Production

Job:Producer

Rian Johnson: Planning the Perfect Murder

Director Rian Johnson explains his thought process behind the 2019 film Knives Out.

Character:Himself

Breaking Bad

Walter White, a New Mexico chemistry teacher, is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given a prognosis of only two years left to live. He becomes filled with a sense of fearlessness and an unrelenting desire to secure his family's financial future at any cost as he enters the dangerous world of drugs and crime.

Release Date:2008-01-20

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Episode Count:3

Vote Count:15084

Phyfutima

Release Date:1998-01-01

Department:Camera

Job:Camera Operator

Greater Than a Tiger

Release Date:1997-01-01

Department:Editing

Job:Editor

Omaha (The Movie)

From the co-founder of Slamdance comes the story of a young man who returns home from a trip abroad to confront not just his peculiar family and friends, but also a pair of Colombian jewel thieves and a roving gang of Iowa kickboxers, culminating in a showdown at Carhenge. A seminal movie in the history of independent film, "Omaha: The Movie" was the film that spearheaded the birth of the Slamdance Film Festival.

Release Date:1995-04-28

Department:Production

Job:Production Assistant

Vote Count:2

GOLF

Comedy series about a fictional golf legend.

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Episode Count:1