Joe Johnston Biography

Joseph Eggleston Johnston II (born May 13, 1950) is an American film director and former effects artist best known for such effects-driven movies as Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), Jumanji (1995) and Jurassic Park III (2001). These movies include a number of period films such as The Rocketeer (1991), The Wolfman (2010), and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). In 1999, Johnston won critical acclaim for his biographical drama October Sky.

Early life

Johnston was born in Austin, Texas, and attended California State University, Long Beach, and Pasadena's Art Center College of 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, and was art director on one of the effects teams for the sequel. 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. Johnston continued to work on many films as an effects expert.

He was also associate producer on fantasy Willow, and production designer on two mid-80s 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; , ).

In 1984, Lucas gave Johnston a sabbatical, with salary, and paid his tuition to attend the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Johnston left after a year, saying he "was asked not to return" because he "broke too many rules".

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. Johnston rebounded, directing the family hit Jumanji, starring Robin Williams. The film overcame lukewarm reviews to gross over $260 million.

Johnston was set to direct Hulk, 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. Based on a true story, the film won Johnston both acclaim and awards.

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, the film stars Chris Evans as the comic book hero and Hugo Weaving as his archenemy the Red Skull. In 2012, Johnston directed the thriller Not Safe for Work for Blumhouse Productions.

On April 26, 2017, Variety announced that Johnston had been hired by the Mark Gordon Company to direct the fourth installment of The Chronicles of Narnia film series, originally from Walden Media, The Silver Chair. On November 4, 2017, Joe Johnston announced that The Silver Chair would be his final directorial effort. On December 12, 2017, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Johnston would helm 32 days of reshoots on the film The Nutcracker and the Four Realms due to its director Lasse Hallstrm being unavailable.

Filmography

Feature films

Year	Title	Director	Producer	Effects Artist	Art Director	Actor	Notes
1977	Star Wars						Death Star trooper (uncredited)
1980	The Empire Strikes Back						Captain Shawn Valdez - Hoth Rebel (uncredited)
1981	Raiders of the Lost Ark
1983	Return of the Jedi
1984	Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
1986	Howard the Duck						Ultralight sequence designer
1987	Batteries Not Included						Second unit director, production manager
1988	Willow						Associate producer
1989	Always						Aerial sequence designer
	Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
1991	The Rocketeer
1994	The Pagemaster						Live-action scenes
1995	Jumanji
1999	The Iron Giant						Designer: Iron Giant
	October Sky
2001	Jurassic Park III
2004	Hidalgo
2010	The Wolfman
2011	Captain America: The First Avenger						Executive producer
2014	Not Safe for Work
	The Lawful Truth						Captain Waters
2018	The Nutcracker and the Four Realms						Reshoots; given co-director credit along with Lasse Hallstrm.
2020	The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair

Television

Year	Title	Notes
1978-1979	Battlestar Galactica	Effects illustration and design
1984	The Ewok Adventure	Production Designer TV movie
1985	Ewoks: The Battle for Endor
	Star Wars: Droids	Writer Episode: "Coby and the Starhunters"
1993	The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles	Director Episode: "Princeton, February 1916"
2015	Lumen	Director Executive producer TV movie
2017	The Creeps	Executive producer Short

Critical reception

Film	Rotten Tomatoes
	Overall
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)	73%
The Rocketeer (1991)	61%
The Pagemaster (1994)	18%
Jumanji (1995)	50%
October Sky (1999)	90%
Jurassic Park III (2001)	50%
Hidalgo (2004)	47%
The Wolfman (2010)	35%
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)	80%
Not Safe for Work (2014)	N/A

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Film	Result
1981	Academy Award	Best Visual Effects Shared with Richard Edlund, Kit West and Bruce Nicholson	Raiders of the Lost Ark
1990	International Fantasy Film Award	Best Film	Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
1992	Hugo Award	Best Dramatic Presentation Shared with Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo, William Dear and Dave Stevens	The Rocketeer
1995	International Fantasy Film Award	Best Film Shared with Pixote Hunt	The Pagemaster
1996	Saturn Award	Best Director	Jumanji
	Young Artist Award	Best Family Feature - Action-Adventure
1999	Ajijic International Film Festival Award	Best Film	October Sky
2001	Saturn Award	Best Science Fiction Film	Jurassic Park III
	Golden Trailer Award	Best Horror/Thriller Film
	Golden Raspberry Award	Worst Remake or Sequel
2004	Golden Trailer Award	Best Drama	Hidalgo
2010	Saturn Award	Best Horror/Thriller Film	The Wolfman
2012	Hugo Award	Best Dramatic Presentation Shared with Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely	Captain America: The First Avenger
	Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Award	Best Film