Joe Johnston

Joe Johnston
Joe Johnston
	Johnston at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	Joseph Eggleston Johnston II; May 13, 1950 (age 74); Austin, Texas, U.S.
Education	ArtCenter College of Design
Alma mater	California State University
Occupations	Film director; film producer; effects artist; art director; writer;
Years active	1977–present
Notable work	Honey, I Shrunk the Kids; The Rocketeer; Jumanji; Jurassic Park III; The Wolfman; Captain America: The First Avenger;

Joseph Eggleston Johnston II (born May 13, 1950)^[1]is an American film director, producer, writer, and visual effects artist. He is best known for directing effects-driven films, including Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), The Rocketeer (1991), Jumanji (1995), Jurassic Park III (2001), The Wolfman (2010), and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).

Early life

Johnston was born Joseph Eggleston Johnston II in Austin, Texas,^[2] 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 special 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^[3] and co-created the design of Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back,^[4] while working for Industrial Light & Magic in the 1970s and was art director on one of the 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.^[5] 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; ISBN 0-394-86568-5, ISBN 0-394-96568-X).^[6]

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.^[7]^[8] Johnston left after a year, saying he "was asked not to return" because he "broke too many rules".^[9]

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 animated and live-action 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.^[10]

Johnston was set to direct Hulk,^[11] but dropped out in July 1997. Johnston then switched gears from 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,^[12] 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.^[13]

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.^[14]^[15]

Filmography

Director

Film

Year	Title	Notes
1989	Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
1991	The Rocketeer
1994	The Pagemaster	Live-action sequences
1995	Jumanji
1999	October Sky
2001	Jurassic Park III
2004	Hidalgo
2010	The Wolfman
2011	Captain America: The First Avenger	Also executive producer
2014	Not Safe for Work
2018	The Nutcracker and the Four Realms	Director of reshoots and oversaw post-production;^[16] Received co-director credit along with Lasse Hallström^[17]

Television

Year	Title	Notes
1993	The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles	Episode "Princeton, February 1916"
2015	Lumen	TV movie; Also executive producer

Other credits