Rian Johnson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rian Johnson
Johnson in 2017
Born	Rian Craig Johnson (1973-12-17) December 17, 1973 (age 51) Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Southern California
Occupation	Director producer writer
Years active	1990–present
Known for	Brick (2005) Looper (2012) Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) Knives Out trilogy (2019–) Poker Face (2023–)
Spouse(s)	Karina Longworth ​ (m. 2018)​
Relatives	Aaron Johnson (brother) Nathan Johnson (cousin)

Rian Craig Johnson (born December 17, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He is known for writing and directing many popular movies and TV shows. His first movie was the mystery film Brick (2005), which was made with a small budget but earned good reviews.

Later, Johnson became famous for writing and directing the science-fiction thriller Looper (2012). He then took on a huge project, writing and directing Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), which made over $1 billion worldwide. He also returned to mystery films with Knives Out (2019) and its sequel Glass Onion (2022). Both films earned him nominations for the Academy Award for Best Screenplay.

Johnson also directed three highly praised episodes of the TV series Breaking Bad (2008–2013), including "Ozymandias". He also created a new mystery TV series called Poker Face for Peacock, starring Natasha Lyonne. In 2023, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Early life and education

Rian Johnson was born on December 17, 1973, in Silver Spring, Maryland. He grew up in Denver, Colorado, before moving to San Clemente, California, in sixth grade. He went to San Clemente High School, where his first movie, Brick, was mostly filmed.

After high school, he studied at the University of Southern California. He graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 1996. One of his early short films, Evil Demon Golfball from Hell!!!, was based on a story by Edgar Allan Poe.

Filmmaking career

Johnson has shared that he was inspired to become a film director after watching Woody Allen's 1977 film, Annie Hall. He said it moved him in a special way.

First films and music videos

Johnson's first movie, Brick, was a crime drama released in 2005. It was made for less than $500,000. Johnson often mentioned that he used the writing style of author Dashiell Hammett as inspiration for the film's unique language. Even though Brick is a film noir (a type of crime film), Johnson focused on telling the story rather than just copying the style of other noir films.

In 2006, Johnson directed a music video for the Mountain Goats' song "Woke Up New." He is a big fan of the band. He also directed a live concert film for the band's 2009 album, The Life of the World to Come.

His second film, The Brothers Bloom, was a story about con artists. It was released in May 2009 and received good reviews from critics.

Television work

In March 2010, Johnson announced he would direct an episode of the TV series Breaking Bad. The episode, "Fly", aired in May 2010. He directed two more episodes for the show: "Fifty-One" in 2012 and "Ozymandias" in 2013. "Ozymandias" was highly praised by critics and is often called one of the best TV episodes ever. Johnson won a Directors Guild of America Award for his work on "Fifty-One."

Johnson has also made several short films. One of his high school short films, Ninja Ko, can be found as a hidden feature on the Brick DVD. He also directed a short film called Escargots with actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Paris. In 2002, he directed The Psychology of Dream Analysis.

Major film projects

Johnson in 2012

Johnson's third film, Looper, started filming in Louisiana in January 2011. It was released on September 28, 2012. This movie is a dark science fiction story set in the near future. It is about hitmen who get rid of victims sent back from the future. Looper was a big success at the box office.

On June 20, 2014, it was announced that Johnson would write and direct the eighth film in the Star Wars series. He confirmed this news the next month. The film, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, was released on December 15, 2017. It received positive reviews from both critics and audiences.

After The Last Jedi, Johnson directed the murder mystery film Knives Out. It starred Daniel Craig, Ana de Armas, and Christopher Plummer. Johnson wrote the script and produced the film with his long-time partner, Ram Bergman. Knives Out was released on November 27, 2019. It was a huge hit with critics and audiences, earning over $300 million worldwide. Johnson received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for this film.

In September 2019, Johnson and Ram Bergman started their own company called T-Street. This company creates new movies and TV shows.

Because Knives Out was so successful, a sequel was approved in February 2020. Johnson returned to write and direct it. In March 2021, it was announced that Johnson was writing and directing a ten-episode mystery TV series for Peacock called Poker Face. It premiered on January 26, 2023.

In 2021, Netflix bought the rights to two sequels for Knives Out. The first sequel, Glass Onion, began filming on June 28, 2021. It was shown in theaters for one week in November 2022 before streaming on Netflix starting December 23. In March 2024, Johnson signed a deal with Warner Bros. to produce two more films through his T-Street studio.

Personal life

Rian Johnson enjoys playing the banjo and is a folk singer. His brother, Aaron Johnson, is a music producer. His cousin, Nathan Johnson, has composed the music for many of Rian's films, including Brick, The Brothers Bloom, Looper, Knives Out, and Glass Onion. Rian and Nathan also have a folk music duo called the Preserves.

Since 2018, Johnson has been married to Karina Longworth. She is a film writer, historian, and podcaster. They met when she was working as a film critic.

Filmography

Feature film

Executive producer

• Fair Play (2023)
• American Fiction (2023)

Short film

Television

Other works

Documentary films

• The Mountain Goats: The Life of the World to Come (2010)

Music videos

Commercials

Acting roles

Technical credits

Frequent collaborators

Work Person	2005	2008	2012	2017	2019	2022	2023–	2025
	Brick	The Brothers Bloom	Looper	Star Wars: The Last Jedi	Knives Out	Glass Onion	Poker Face	Wake Up Dead Man
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Nora Zehetner
Lukas Haas
Noah Segan
Andy Nyman
Daniel Craig
K Callan
Natasha Lyonne
Ram Bergman (producer)
Steve Yedlin (cinematographer)
Bob Ducsay (editor)
Nathan Johnson (composer)

Awards and recognition

See also

In Spanish: Rian Johnson para niños