28 Facts About Rian Johnson

1.

Rian Craig Johnson was born on December 17,1973 and is an American filmmaker.

2.

Rian Johnson made his directorial debut with the neo-noir mystery film Brick, which received positive reviews and grossed nearly $4 million on a $450,000 budget.

3.

Rian Johnson landed his largest project when he wrote and directed the space opera Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which grossed over $1 billion.

4.

Rian Johnson returned to the mystery genre with Knives Out and its sequel Glass Onion, both of which earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay, respectively.

5.

Rian Johnson created a murder mystery series titled Poker Face for Peacock with Natasha Lyonne.

6.

Rian Johnson was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023.

7.

Rian Johnson was born on December 17,1973, in Silver Spring, Maryland.

8.

Rian Johnson grew up in Denver, Colorado, until sixth grade, when he moved to San Clemente, California.

9.

Rian Johnson attended San Clemente High School, where Brick was predominantly filmed.

10.

Rian Johnson attended the University of Southern California and graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 1996.

11.

Rian Johnson has said he was inspired to become a film director after seeing Woody Allen's 1977 film, Annie Hall.

12.

Rian Johnson's debut film, Brick, is a crime drama released in 2005 and made for just under $500,000.

13.

Rian Johnson has often said that he looked to the novels of Dashiell Hammett as inspiration for the film's unique use of language.

14.

Rian Johnson directed the video for the Mountain Goats' song "Woke Up New" in 2006.

15.

Rian Johnson is a professed fan of the band and was asked to direct the video when bandleader John Darnielle noticed a reference to them in the credits for Brick.

16.

Rian Johnson directed a live performance film of the Mountain Goats' 2009 album The Life of the World to Come.

17.

Rian Johnson's second film, The Brothers Bloom, is a con-man story released in theaters in May 2009 to moderately positive critical reviews.

18.

In March 2010, Rian Johnson announced that he was directing an episode of the TV series Breaking Bad for its third season.

19.

Rian Johnson directed a second episode of the show, "Fifty-One", which aired on August 5,2012, and earned him a Directors Guild of America Award.

20.

Rian Johnson directed a third episode, "Ozymandias", which received high praise from critics, frequently cited as being 'one of the best television episodes' to air.

21.

Rian Johnson has made a number of short films, some of which are available on his website.

22.

Rian Johnson directed the episode "Manifest Destiny" of the TV series Terriers.

23.

On June 20,2014, news broke that Rian Johnson would write and direct the eighth installment in the Star Wars film series.

24.

Rian Johnson confirmed the report that following month and the film, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, was released on December 15,2017, to positive reviews from critics and audiences.

25.

On November 9,2017, it was announced that Rian Johnson would write a new trilogy of Star Wars films, separate from the main story arc of previous films in the franchise, and would direct the first installment of his trilogy.

26.

Rian Johnson penned the script and co-produced with longtime producing partner Ram Bergman.

27.

In July 2020, Rian Johnson directed a commercial for the augmented mobile video game Pokemon Go.

28.

Rian Johnson has been married to film writer and podcaster Karina Longworth since 2018.