Joe Johnston: Visual Effects turned Directing Wizard

When George Lucas was creating Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), he hired a number of talented artists: makeup artists, set designers, effects technicians, and many others. One person who worked as both an effects technician and a concept artist on the film was a man named Joe Johnston. Johnston began his career on “Star Wars,” serving as an art director on The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). Under the mentorship of Lucas, Johnston became an effects expert, and later a producer on several of Lucas’s other films. He ultimately worked his way up to a director on films for Disney and others (though he almost turned down the opportunity.)

Joe Johnston was born on May 13th, 1950 in Austin, TX. He attended California State University, Long Beach and Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design. After his time there, he answered an ad placed by George Lucas, who was looking for artists to work at Lucasfilm when it was founded in 1971. Johnston was hired as a storyboard artist when “A New Hope,” went into production, and later, was intent on leaving Lucasfilm to travel with his money he earned. Lucas convinced him to continue his studies at the USC School of of Cinematic Arts (Ironically, George Lucas’s own alma mater) where Lucas would help Johnston get to the front line for applicants, pay his tuition, and keep him at Lucasfilm as a part time employee. Blown away by the offer, Johnston immediately said yes, and it is because of that decision that he became the conceptual designer who provided the final designs of the “Star Wars,” characters of Yoda and Boba Fett, as well as the vehicles: “Millennium Falcon, X-Wings, Y-Wings, Imperial Star Destroyer, Death Star, and the AT-AT’s.”

Besides “Star Wars,” Joe Johnston also was a visual effects artist on Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). He won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for “Raiders,” which he shared with Richard Edlund, Kit West, and Bruce Nicholson. He was the ultralight sequence designer for Howard the Duck (1986) and the aerial sequence designer for Always (1989). He later was an associate producer on George Lucas’s Willow (1988) directed by Lucas’s mentee, Ron Howard. After “Willow” wrapped, the Walt Disney Studios hired Johnston, in his directorial debut, for their live-action film project, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989). The film was moderately well-received, and as a result of that, Disney signed him to direct The Rocketeer (1991).

In 1999, Johnston “switched gears,” directing the emotional October Sky, a film about space and technology, but told through a story of family relationships. Both the film and Johnston received acclaim from critics and audiences alike. He didn’t completely turn away from his conceptual art skills, however, designing the character of the Iron Giant in Warner Bros.’ The Iron Giant (1999), which was written and directed by Brad Bird, future writer/director of Disney/Pixar’s The Incredibles (2004) and its sequel. He opened up the 2000’s directing Jurassic Park III (2001) and Touchstone Pictures’s Hidalgo (2004). After “Hidalgo,” he took a six-year-break from making movies, returning as the director of the 2010 remake of the 1941 horror film The Wolfman, which starred Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins and won the Oscar for Best Makeup. 

The next year, Johnston was hired by Marvel Studios to direct Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). He then directed the thriller Not Safe For Work (2014), and just recently was hired to do 32 days worth of re-shoots on Disney’s new film The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018), which will be released on November 2nd, whereas the films original director, Lasse Hallstrom was unavailable to do the reshoots due to commitments to another project. It has also been announced that he will direct the upcoming film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair, a reboot of the original film series, the first two: “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” and “Prince Caspian,” of which were distributed and produced by Disney and Walden Media, though the third: “Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” by Fox. Whether or not the film is to be released by Disney or Fox remains to be seen, though it is expected to come out in 2020.

Joe Johnston is a true wizard when it comes to movie-making. Had it not been for his ingenious talents as an artist, many of the technological vehicles in “Star Wars,” just wouldn’t look the way that they look. “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” and “Temple of Doom,” wouldn’t look the same either. From “Star Wars,” to “Indiana Jones,” to the underrated films he directed for Disney, his legacy as an effects artist will live on for years to come

David Swift: Underrated as a Director

Walt Disney hired a great deal of talented to people to work in the animation as well as the live-action departments at his studio. Though only a few of the people he hired were fortunate enough to work in both. An example is David Swift. A relative unknown to the public Swift began his career at the Walt Disney Studios as an office boy and then worked his way up to being an animator. After war-time service he became a writer/director of live-action films, and many episodes of popular 1960s television series. 

David Swift was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on July 27th, 1919. He dropped out of high school at the age of 17 and moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue his goal of working for Walt Disney. One of his first jobs in Los Angeles, however, was working as an usher at the Warner Bros theater. He also attended art school and Hollywood High School at night, then landed the Disney office boy job. By 1938, he was promoted to assistant animator under Ward Kimball, one of Walt Disney’s “Nine Old Men.” Swift collaborated with Kimball on the films Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), where they animated the Dwarves and Vultures and Pinocchio (1940), where they animated Jiminy Cricket. Together they also worked on Fantasia (1940), Peter Pan (1953), and the shorts The Reluctant Dragon (1941) and The Nifty Nineties (1941). While under Kimball’s tutelage, Swift became the original drummer for the Disney Studio Dixieland jazz band Firehouse Five Plus 2 in which Ward Kimball played the trombone and Frank Thomas played the piano.  

David Swift served with the 8th Air Force during World War II, organizing bombing missions over Germany. After returning to Los Angeles, he created the show Mister Peepers (1952-1955). He also wrote and directed episodes of the shows General Electric Theater (1953-1962), Playhouse 90 (1956-1961), and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955-1962), and wrote comedy radio scripts for the likes of Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante, and Red Skelton. Ultimately, he came back to the Walt Disney Studios and was hired to be writer/director of the film Pollyanna (1960) which ignited Hayley Mills’s career at Disney. Ironically, one if the shorts that Swift worked on for the studio, “Nifty Nineties,” played in front of “Pollyanna,” and in that short Ward Kimball voiced an animated, caricatured version of himself. “Pollyanna,” was not a critical success, though it earned Hayley Mills the Academy Award for Best Juvenile Performance by an Actor or Actress in a leading role, the last recipient of that category. Swift reunited with Mills the very next year writing and directing her in The Parent Trap (1961). 

One day while “Parent Trap,” was in production, David Swift had to run up to his office to get his script. On his way up, he ran into Walt Disney, who said “Hey Bud!” (He referred to David Swift has “Bud.”) “I want you to meet two guys.” Swift replied “Walt, I don’t have time.” Walt said, “It’s my studio, come with me.” Naturally, he went, and Walt introduced him to Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, whom he had hired to write music for the film. Swift was caught off guard, at first, because there originally were no plans to have any music in the film. But he immediately saw the potential of the Sherman’s music when he heard them play the songs “For Now, For Always,” which is played in the scene of the film where Maureen O’Hara and Hayley Mills are walking in the park together and the film’s trademark song “Let’s Get Together.” He ended up very excited that their music would be included. (The Sherman’s also wrote “The Parent Trap,” title song which is played in the film’s opening titles.) 

After “Parent Trap,” David Swift continued directing films with Under the Yum Yum Tree (1963) and Good Neighbor Sam (1964), both of which starred Jack Lemmon, and the film based on the hit Broadway musical of the same name: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967). He returned to Disney a final time to write the film Candleshoe (1977) which was Jodie Foster’s final film for Disney. Swift was originally supposed to direct the film, but he decided to step down from the director’s chair due to belief that Foster was not right for the leading role in the movie. He was replaced with Norman Tokar. Swift is also given screen credit as one of the writers of Disney’s remake of The Parent Trap in 1998.

Throughout his career, David Swift never received any major awards for his unique body of work. Though his talents in school helped him produce films and television shows that to this day are loved by both kids and adults. He passed away on December 31st, 2001, capping a career that lasted for more than 50 years. The legacy of his screenwriting/direction will continue to live on, primarily because “Pollyanna,” and “The Parent Trap,” remain beloved classics among Disney movie fans.   

“I Want” Song Blog

Have you ever heard of the “I Want” Song? In musical terms, that is used to describe the moment near the beginning of the show when the main protagonist expresses that they are unsatisfied with their current life and they explain what they hope to achieve someday. Sometimes its an intimate moment about a life-long dream, but it usually gives us as an audience the ability to emotionally connect with the show’s main character. The “I Want” Song has been used for many years, and is one of the most common prototypes for both stage and screen musicals, and is often the musical’s most popular song. The term is believed to have been invented by A. Lehman Engle, who was a composer of Broadway, Television, and Film.    

One of the very first songs to really define the “I Want” Song prototype was “Over the Rainbow,” in The Wizard of Oz (1939). Dorothy Gale dreams of going to a place where she will never have any problems or get herself into any trouble—“where troubles melt like lemon drops”— because she’s convinced that anywhere is better than her farm in Kansas. In this blog, I’ll acknowledge some other examples of “I Want” songs—both Disney and Classic Broadway/Hollywood—and explain how they are examples of dreaming of “where happy little blue birds fly.”

1. “I’m Wishing/One Song,” from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). In this song, Snow White dreams of a life better than being a scullery maid for her cruel stepmother, the Evil Queen, and of finding true love one day. Out of nowhere, Prince Charming appears to be that special love. The Prince also expresses how he has found love her as well and wants to be with her forever. Larry Morey and Frank Churchill wrote all of “Snow White’s,” songs as well as the songs “Love is a Song,” from Bambi (1942) and “Lavender Blue,” from So Dear to My Heart (1948). 
2. “The Boy Next Door,” from Meet Me in St. Louis (1944). Just before “St. Louis’s,” trademark “Trolley Song,”Judy Garland (as Esther Smith) expresses how she is utterly smitten with her next door neighbor, John Truett, and how she hopes that somehow he will notice her and that they will ultimately be together. In life imitating art, Judy Garland was also directed by her future husband on this film, Vincente Minnelli. Vic Damone later sang a revised version of the song called “ The Girl Next Door,” in the film Athena (1954).
3. “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes,” from Cinderella (1950). Much as in Snow White, Cinderella sings “A Dream…” to express her desire to find true happiness, not just finding true love, but a life where she won’t have to constantly cook, clean, etc. for her cruel stepmother and stepsisters. (“Cinderella,” spawned two direct-to-video sequels, Cinderella 2: Dreams Come True (2002) and Cinderella 3: A Twist in Time (2007) as well as a live-action version in 2015).  
4. “Wouldn’t it Be Loverly,” from My Fair Lady (1964). Eliza Doolittle, the humble cockney flower-selling girl, sings of life, better than just walking the streets of London selling flowers, and from the beginning of the movie sets her sights on a warm house with her true love. Julie Andrews made this song a hit, originating the role of Eliza on the Broadway stage in 1955, though it was Marni Nixon’s talents who were dubbed over Audrey Hepburn’s singing voice in the Best Picture Oscar Winning film version. (Coincidentally, “My Fair Lady” was released the same year that Julie Andrews made Mary Poppins (1964)). 
5. “The Sound of Music,” from The Sound of Music (1965). When this timeless and beautiful story begins in the Austrian alps, we learn that Maria Rainer is a rebellious postulant, who loves being outside and near the beautiful Austrian nature despite being a postulant in the convent. Thus, the Mother Abbess encourages her to leave the convent and pursue becoming a governess to the seven children of Captain Georg Von Trapp. And at that moment, she sings another “I Want,” song, “I Have Confidence,” which is about how Maria desperately wants to make a good impression on the Von Trapps. While “The Sound of Music,” the song is in both the Broadway version and film of “Sound of Music,” “I Have Confidence,” was written exclusively for the movie.   
6. “Maybe,” from Annie (1977). In this musical, an eleven-year-old Annie sings from an orphanage in New York, dreaming of finding the parents who abandoned her as a baby, but promised they would return. Her optimism is incredibly relentless as she describes what they “may be” like. While “Tomorrow,” is arguably the most popular song from this show, its “Maybe,” where Annie truthfully expresses what she longs for is most poignant. It was the favorite of Aileen Quinn who is the actress who played Annie in the 1982 film version. 
7. “Once Upon a Time/I Wish,” from Into the Woods (2014). This amazing version of the “I Want,” song includes several different characters, all wanting their own special wish. Cinderella wants to attend the King’s festival, the Baker and his wife want a child, Jack wishes that his cow would give milk and Little Red Riding Hood wishes for bread from the Baker to take to her Grandmother’s house. The show originally opened on Broadway in 1987, though Disney adapted it into its very first film in 2014. 
8. “Part of Your World,” from The Little Mermaid (1989). Ariel dreams of living her life on the land with humans and being with the man she loves, Prince Eric, in this plot-setting song. Disney Chairman (at the time), Jeffrey Katzenberg, initially felt that this song should be cut from the final film after an early film test screening with children. The films writer/directors/producers, John Musker, Ron Clements, and Howard Ashman all unsuccessfully tried to persuade Katzenberg to keep the song, but he relented when Glen Keane, one of Ariel’s supervising animators, was able to get through to him, and it was a hit.
9. “Omigod You Guys,” from Legally Blonde the Musical (2007). From the outset, we learn that Elle Woods wants nothing more than to marry her boyfriend, Warner Huntington III and she is convinced that he is about to propose to her. Of course, he instead dumps her, but through following him to Harvard she finds herself instead of a marriage proposal. “So Much Better,” and “Find My Way,” are songs that complete her transformation to comfort in her own skin. 
10. “When Will My Life Begin,” from Tangled (2010). Rapunzel appreciates her daily routine while living inside her tower, but dreams of getting out to experience life, especially floating lanterns that light up the sky each year on her birthday. “Tangled,” also received an Academy Award Nomination for Best Original Song “I See the Light,” which is the love duet between Rapunzel and Flynn Rider.

“I Want,” songs continue today (for example, “How Far I’ll Go,” from Disney’s Moana (2016) and “My Shot,” from Broadway’s Hamilton, both of which were written and composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda). Sharing a few examples of these important songs shows how storytelling through song is a pivotal way to get audiences to identify with—and enjoy—characters and their struggles.