Patrick Read Johnson
Patrick Read Johnson, on the set of 5-25-77
Born (1962-05-07) May 7, 1962
Wadsworth, Illinois, United States
Occupation(s)Film director, scriptwriter, film producer, actor, visual effects artist
Years active1980–present

Patrick Read Johnson (born May 7, 1962) is an American filmmaker, special effects artist and screenwriter. Born in Wadsworth, Illinois, he is best known for his directorial work on the films Spaced Invaders, Angus, Baby's Day Out, The Genesis Code and 5-25-77. He also has written and produced such films as Dragonheart.

Career

Starting out in the field of practical special effects and models, Johnson was one of the first people outside of Industrial Light and Magic to see Star Wars (albeit in an incomplete form) as chronicled in his semi-autobiographical film 5-25-77. He first saw the film during Spring Break, sometime between late March and early April 1977, when ILM was scrambling to complete VFX shots.[1] He had also visited the set of Close Encounters of the Third Kind at Future General Corporation a few days before and found Douglas Trumbull's work to be "engineered, intimidating and mature" compared to John Dykstra's "shooting-from-the-hip" style.

Johnson ascended into mainstream Hollywood filmmaking following the modest success of Spaced Invaders, invited by John Hughes to work on his adaptation of Dennis the Menace, and then later, the comedy Baby's Day Out. Baby's Day Out was tremendously popular in South Asia, including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In India, it was played at the largest theater in Calcutta for over a year.[2]

He also wrote the fantasy film Dragonheart, which spawned a franchise. He proposed the idea for the film to producer Raffaella De Laurentiis. Johnson described it as "The Skin Game with a dragon in it...or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Dragon", and that he wanted "the idea of a dragon and a knight conning villages for money" because he thought that the concept was "not only funny, but kind of sweet".[3]

Up until 2021 Johnson served as a filmmaking instructor at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.[4]

5-25-77

Johnson began developing 5-25-77 in 1999 after he met Gary Kurtz. In 2001, Johnson began seeking funding for 5-25-77, and didn't start shooting the film until 2004.[5] An incomplete "preview cut" was exhibited in 2007 at Star Wars Celebration IV [6] and at the Hamptons International Film Festival in 2008, where 5-25-77 won the Heineken Red Star Award.[7]

On May 25, 2012, the 35th anniversary of the release of Star Wars, Johnson began a cross-country road trip in his 1975 Ford Pinto to attract the funding needed to finish the film's remaining post-production work.[8] Johnson spent the summer of 2012 test-screening 5-25-77, his trip also becoming the subject of a documentary called Hearts of Dorkness, by filmmaker Morgan Flores.[9][10]

In 2013, Toronto International Film Festival's Next Wave Film Festival invited Johnson to show 5-25-77 as a "work in progress", the attention from the festival Johnson attributed to the bid of his promotional tour the summer before.[11]

In 2017, it was announced Johnson had completed the film and that it would receive a limited theatrical release on May 25.[12]

Filmography

Films

Filmmaking credits

Title Year Director Writer Executive
producer		 Notes
Spaced Invaders 1990 Yes Yes
Baby's Day Out 1994 Yes
Angus 1995 Yes
Dragonheart 1996 Story Yes
The Genesis Code 2010 Yes
5-25-77 2017 Yes Yes Yes Also wrote title music

Acting credits

Title Year Role(s) Notes
Spaced Invaders 1990 Commander / Enforcer Drone (voice)
Joey's Last Wish 2014 Awards Presenter Shorts
The Roma Project 2015 Dr. Towns
Gilded 2016 Steven Henderson
Telemetry NASA Official
5-25-77 2017 Dr. Johnson

Technical credits

Title Year Credits Notes
Deal of the Century 1983 Model maker Uncredited
2010: The Year We Make Contact 1984 Miniatures crew
An American Tail 1986 Miniature model maker
King Kong Lives Crew leader: special effects miniatures
Dead Heat 1988 Second unit director / special effects / video graphic animation / Songwriter (song Deat Heat)
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure 1989 Miniature construction: Perpetual Motion Pictures
Warlock Visual effects coordinator / miniature construction: Perpetual Motion Pictures
Dark Country 2009 Visual effects producer: Moonwalker

Television

Filmmaking credits

Title Year Director Writer Producer Notes
Dinosaurs 1991 Yes Episode: "When Food Goes Bad"
When Good Ghouls Go Bad 2001 Yes Yes Television movie
LazyTown 2004 Supervising 2 episodes
Starsailor TBA Yes Yes Yes

Acting credits

Title Year Role Notes
Masterpiece 2022 Jac's Dad 1 episode

Technical credits

Title Year Credits Notes
V 1983 Mothership miniature Episode: "Part I", uncredited
Amazing Stories 1985 Model maker Episode: "The Mission", uncredited

Music videos and video concerts

Performer Title Year Composer Director Producer
Alan Parsons I Can't Get There from Here 2019 Yes Yes
As Lights Fall Yes Yes
The Neverending Show: Live in the Netherlands 2021 Yes
One Note Symphony: Live in Tel Aviv 2022 Yes

References

  1. ↑ "PATRICK READ JOHNSON Drives to the Basement – Ain't It Cool with Harry Knowles". Nerdist. 2012-07-05. Retrieved 2012-08-17.
  2. ↑ Ebert, Roger (August 6, 2009). "John Hughes: In Memory". Rogerebert.com. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
  3. ↑ Welkos, Robert W. (1996-06-12). "Screenwriters Want to Tell Own Stories". Los Angeles Times.
  4. ↑ "Patrick Johnson - School of Filmmaking".
  5. ↑ DeMara, Bruce (15 February 2013). "Star Wars-inspired 5-25-77 a long, long time in the making: Director Patrick Read Johnson brings his nearly finished love letter to his own idealistic filmmaking youth to TIFF's Next Wave Festival". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  6. ↑ Whittaker, Richard (1 July 2012). "Voyage to the 'Hearts of Dorkness': Patrick Read Johnson and the strange oddysey of 5-25-77". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  7. ↑ IMDb
  8. ↑ "Wadsworht Director Has New Hope for Star Wars Flick". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2014-03-03. Retrieved 2013-05-01.
  9. ↑ "Star Wars-inspired 5-25-77 a long, long time in the making". The Star. Toronto. February 15, 2013.
  10. ↑ Dorkshelf.com
  11. ↑ "Chicago Sun-Times".
  12. ↑ "The first fan to see 'Star Wars' made a new film about it".
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