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
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