Joe Johnston
Joe Johnston is an acclaimed American film director and special-effects artist, recognized for his work on popular action-adventure films including *The Rocketeer* (1991), *Jumanji* (1995), and *Captain America: The First Avenger* (2011). Born on May 13, 1950, in Austin, Texas, Johnston initially pursued a career in commercial art before transitioning into the film industry. His notable contributions to the *Star Wars* saga as a concept artist and visual-effects director helped define modern visual storytelling in cinema.
Johnston's directorial debut came with the hit film *Honey, I Shrunk the Kids* (1989), which showcased his skill in blending visual effects with engaging narratives. Following this, he directed several successful films, including the adventurous *Jumanji* and the dramatic *October Sky* (1999). His work often combines imaginative storytelling with cutting-edge technology, cementing his reputation in Hollywood. In recent years, he has been involved in various projects, including a new take on his earlier film, *Honey, I Shrunk the Kids*, set to begin production in 2024. Throughout his career, Johnston has made significant contributions to the film industry, shaping the visual effects landscape and creating beloved cinematic experiences.
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Joe Johnston
Director
- Born: May 13, 1950
- Place of Birth: Austin, Texas
Contribution: Joe Johnston is a film director and special-effects artist best known for action-adventure films such as The Rocketeer (1991), Jumanji (1995), and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).
Background
Joseph Eggleston Johnston II was born in Austin, Texas, on May 13, 1950. He attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and California State University, Long Beach, where he pursued a career as a commercial artist. Johnston dropped out of school in 1975 after finding work as a product designer.
Soon after he began working, Johnston saw an advertisement on a bulletin board looking for local designers and artists for a science-fiction film. Disenchanted with his new job, he answered the advertisement and was hired by the company, Lucasfilm Limited, to work on George Lucas's new movie, Star Wars (1977), later renamed Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope.
In 1984, still employed by Lucasfilm, Johnston took a sabbatical from work at Lucas’s urging and attended film school at the University of Southern California. During this time, Lucas paid both Johnston’s tuition and half his salary. Johnston left the school after a year and has said that he was asked not to return because he broke too many rules.
Career
Johnston worked as a concept artist and effects technician for A New Hope and served as visual-effects director for the sequels, Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Star Wars, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983). His many contributions to the Star Wars universe include the character design of Yoda and the armor design of bounty hunter Boba Fett. Johnston later said that working for Lucasfilm was the best film school he could ever have attended.
In addition to the Star Wars films, Johnston was also a part of the visual-effects team on the first Indiana Jones film, Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which won an Academy Award for best visual effects. For the sequel, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Johnston acted as the second art director.
Throughout the 1980s, Johnston gradually worked his way up the ranks. He served as production director for the television movies The Ewok Adventure (1984) and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985) and as the second unit director on the science-fiction film Batteries Not Included (1987). In Lucas’s fantasy-adventure film Willow (1988), Johnston was credited as an associate producer.
Johnston received his first opportunity to direct a film when Walt Disney Studios chief Jeffrey Katzenberg offered him a job helming the comedy Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989). In the film, a scientist accidentally shrinks his children; thanks to his years of experience in effects and storyboard planning, Johnston was able to use camera tricks and effects to great effect in order to achieve the necessary visuals. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids was a massive hit, grossing over $200 million worldwide and giving rise to a sequel and a television show.
Next, Johnston approached Disney about directing The Rocketeer (1991), based on a comic book to which Disney owned the rights. Johnston was hired, and the film went quickly into production. The Rocketeer is an action-packed homage to the adventure films of the 1930s and 1940s. Despite impressive special effects, the film failed both financially and critically, though it later acquired a cult following on home video. Before his next feature film, Johnston worked on smaller projects, directing a 1993 episode of the television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1991–93) and the live-action sequences featured in the animated film The Pagemaster (1994).
More successful than The Rocketeer was Johnston’s next feature-length directorial effort, Jumanji (1995), which starred Robin Williams. Jumanji tells the story of a mystical board game that causes the perils of the game, such as wild animals and dangerous jungles, to materialize in the real world when a player moves on the board. The spectacular visual effects were created using cutting-edge computer animation and animatronics. While the film received mixed reviews from critics, it did perform well in theaters.
Johnston’s next film was something of a departure for him. Less fantastical and more dramatic than his usual fare, October Sky (1999), based on the memoir of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) engineer Homer Hickam, is an inspiring film about four boys growing up in a small coal-mining community who dream of building rockets. The film received generally positive reviews.
Johnston returned to effects-heavy work with his next film, Jurassic Park III (2001), the second sequel to the blockbuster 1991 hit Jurassic Park. While the film was not a critical success, it did gross over $360 million worldwide. Following this, Johnston once again took on more grounded subject matter in Hidalgo (2004), based on real-life professional horse rider Frank Hopkins and his attempt to complete a long-distance horse race in the Middle East. The film had a large budget of $100 million, which it barely made back in theaters.
After Hidalgo, Johnston took a break from filmmaking before returning in 2010 with The Wolfman, a big-budget remake of the original 1941 film. The remake had been in production for several years prior to Johnston becoming involved, and many felt that the film suffered because of this. However, Johnston bounced back the following year with Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), based on the comic-book character created in the 1940s and part of the same massively popular Marvel Studios franchise that gave rise to Iron Man (2008), Thor (2011), and The Avengers (2012). The film was critically well received and earned more than $360 million.
Johnston next helmed the low-budget thriller Not Safe for Work (2014), which focuses on a paralegal who gets caught up in a murder while at the office. The film received mixed reviews. When director Lasse Hallstrom, who had worked on the project up until that point, was not available to take on re-shoots required to finish the film, Johnston stepped in to complete the work needed for Disney's The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018). Due to this contribution, Johnston earned a credit as director on the film alongside Hallstrom.
In 2017, Johnston was announced as the director of The Silver Chair, the fourth installment of the Chronicles of Narnia series based on the C.S. Lewis books. Work began on the film but it was ultimately scrapped. The cancelation was blamed on diminishing box office returns from the first two movies of the series. While the film was still in progress, Johnston announced that it would be his last foray into directing. However, he was ultimately tabbed as the director for a new variation of his 1989 hit Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, which would once again star Rick Moranis. The film entered preproduction and casting in 2024.
Impact
As both a director and a pioneering visual-effects artist, Johnston has helped create several classic and award-winning films. His work on the Star Wars trilogy changed cinema, especially in the visual-effects department, and as a director, he has used his talent for effects and his knack for visual storytelling to produce accomplished and visually impressive films.
Personal Life
Johnston is married to Lisa Pedersen, an artist who had a bit part in The Rocketeer. They have two children.
Bibliography
Dicker, Ron. “Hidalgo Director: Happily Unknown.” Baltimore Sun. Tribune, 8 Mar. 2004. Web. 21 Aug. 2013.
Gallagher, Brian. "Narnia: The Silver Chair Is Director Joe Johnston's Final Movie." Movieweb, 4 Nov. 2017, movieweb.com/chronicles-narnia-silver-chair-joe-johnston-last-film/. Accessed 19 Sept. 2024.
"Joe Johnston." IMDb, www.imdb.com/name/nm0002653/. Accessed 19 Sept. 2024.
Johnston, Joe. “Interview: Director Joe Johnston Brings Sincerity and Universality to Captain America: The First Avenger.” Interview by Jack Giroux. Film School Rejects. Reject Media, 18 July 2011. Web. 21 Aug. 2013.
Johnston, Joe. “Interview: Director Joe Johnston Talks Captain America.” Interview by Peter Sciretta. SlashFilm. /Film, 20 July 2011. Web. 21 Aug. 2013.
Johnston, Joe. The Star Wars Sketchbook. New York: Ballantine, 1977. Print.
McGowan, Andrew. "Why 'The Chronicles of Narnia' Franchise Ended Prematurely." Collider, 5 Jan. 2024, collider.com/what-happened-chronicles-of-narnia-franchise/. Accessed 19 Sept. 2024.
Rundle, James. “Interview: Joe Johnston.” SciFiNow. Imagine, 7 July 2010. Web. 21 Aug. 2013.