# Patrick Read Johnson
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{{short description|American film director}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Patrick Read Johnson
| image = Patrick Read Johnson.jpg
| caption = Patrick Read Johnson, on the set of ''[5-25-77](/source/5-25-77)''
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1962|5|7|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [Wadsworth](/source/Wadsworth%2C_Illinois), [Illinois](/source/Illinois), United States
| occupation = [Film director](/source/Film_director), [scriptwriter](/source/scriptwriter), [film producer](/source/film_producer), [actor](/source/actor), [visual effects artist](/source/visual_effects)
| years_active = 1980{{ndash}}present
}}
'''Patrick Read Johnson''' (born May 7, 1962) is an American [filmmaker](/source/filmmaker), [special effects artist](/source/special_effects_artist) and [screenwriter](/source/screenwriter). Born in [Wadsworth](/source/Wadsworth%2C_Illinois), [Illinois](/source/Illinois), he is best known for his directorial work on the films ''[Spaced Invaders](/source/Spaced_Invaders)'', ''[Angus](/source/Angus_(film))'', ''[Baby's Day Out](/source/Baby's_Day_Out)'', ''[The Genesis Code](/source/The_Genesis_Code),'' and ''[5-25-77](/source/5-25-77)''. He also has written and produced such films as ''[Dragonheart](/source/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](/source/Industrial_Light_and_Magic) to see ''[Star Wars](/source/Star_Wars_(film))'' (albeit in an incomplete form) as chronicled in his semi-autobiographical film ''[5-25-77](/source/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.[{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibohxrzqzjk|publisher=[Nerdist](/source/Nerdist_YouTube_Channel)|title=PATRICK READ JOHNSON Drives to the Basement – Ain't It Cool with Harry Knowles|date=2012-07-05|accessdate=2012-08-17}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead YouTube link|date=February 2022}}] He had also visited the set of ''[Close Encounters of the Third Kind](/source/Close_Encounters_of_the_Third_Kind)'' at Future General Corporation a few days before and found [Douglas Trumbull](/source/Douglas_Trumbull)'s work to be "engineered, intimidating and mature" compared to [John Dykstra](/source/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](/source/John_Hughes_(filmmaker)) to work on his adaptation of ''[Dennis the Menace](/source/Dennis_the_Menace_(1993_film))'', and then later, the comedy ''[Baby's Day Out](/source/Baby's_Day_Out)''. ''Baby's Day Out'' was tremendously popular in [South Asia](/source/South_Asia), including [India](/source/India), [Pakistan](/source/Pakistan), [Sri Lanka](/source/Sri_Lanka) and [Bangladesh](/source/Bangladesh). In India, it was played at the largest theater in [Calcutta](/source/Calcutta) for over a year.[{{Cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/john-hughes-in-memory |title=John Hughes: In Memory |last=Ebert |first=Roger |authorlink=Roger Ebert |date=August 6, 2009 |website=Rogerebert.com |access-date=February 23, 2015}}]
He also wrote the fantasy film ''[Dragonheart](/source/Dragonheart)'', which spawned a franchise. He proposed the idea for the film to producer [Raffaella De Laurentiis](/source/Raffaella_De_Laurentiis). Johnson described it as "''[The Skin Game](/source/Skin_Game)'' with a dragon in it...or ''[Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Dragon](/source/Butch_Cassidy_and_the_Sundance_Kid)''", 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".[{{cite news|last=Welkos|first=Robert W.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-06-12-ca-14049-story.html|title=Screenwriters Want to Tell Own Stories|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=1996-06-12}}]
Up until 2021 Johnson served as a filmmaking instructor at the [University of North Carolina School of the Arts](/source/University_of_North_Carolina_School_of_the_Arts).[{{Cite web|url=https://www.uncsa.edu/faculty-staff/patrick-johnson.aspx|title = Patrick Johnson - School of Filmmaking}}]
===''5-25-77''===
Johnson began developing ''[5-25-77](/source/5-25-77)'' in 1999 after he met [Gary Kurtz](/source/Gary_Kurtz). In 2001, Johnson began seeking funding for ''5-25-77'', and didn't start shooting the film until 2004.[{{cite news | last = DeMara | first = Bruce | title = 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. | date = 15 February 2013 | url = https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2013/02/15/star_warsinspired_52577_a_long_long_time_in_the_making.html
|newspaper=[Toronto Star](/source/Toronto_Star) | accessdate = 2 May 2013}}] An incomplete "preview cut" was exhibited in 2007 at [Star Wars Celebration](/source/Star_Wars_Celebration) IV [{{cite news | last = Whittaker | first = Richard | title = Voyage to the 'Hearts of Dorkness': Patrick Read Johnson and the strange oddysey of 5-25-77 | url = http://www.austinchronicle.com/blogs/screens/2012-07-01/voyage-to-the-heart-of-dorkness/ |newspaper=[The Austin Chronicle](/source/The_Austin_Chronicle) | date = 1 July 2012 | accessdate = 2 May 2013
}}] and at the [Hamptons International Film Festival](/source/Hamptons_International_Film_Festival) in 2008, where ''5-25-77'' won the Heineken Red Star Award.[[https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000310/2008 IMDb]]
On May 25, 2012, the 35th anniversary of the release of ''[Star Wars](/source/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.[{{cite news| title=Wadsworht Director Has New Hope for Star Wars Flick| url=http://newssun.suntimes.com/photos/galleries/12774830-417/wadsworth-director-has-new-hope-for-star-wars-flick.html| work=Chicago Sun-Times| access-date=2013-05-01| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303092547/http://newssun.suntimes.com/photos/galleries/12774830-417/wadsworth-director-has-new-hope-for-star-wars-flick.html| archive-date=2014-03-03| url-status=dead}}] Johnson spent the summer of 2012 test-screening ''5-25-77'', his trip also becoming the subject of a documentary called ''[Hearts of Dorkness](/source/Hearts_of_Dorkness)'', by filmmaker ''[Morgan Flores](/source/Morgan_Flores)''.[{{cite news| url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2013/02/15/star_warsinspired_52577_a_long_long_time_in_the_making.html | location=Toronto | work=The Star | title=Star Wars-inspired 5-25-77 a long, long time in the making | date=February 15, 2013}}][[http://dorkshelf.com/2013/02/11/interview-patrick-read-johnson/ Dorkshelf.com]]
In 2013, the [TIFF Next Wave](/source/TIFF_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.[Norman Wilner, [https://nowtoronto.com/movies/tiff-next-wave-film-festival-2013-02-14/ "TIFF Next Wave Film Festival"]. ''[Now](/source/Now_(newspaper))'', February 14, 2013.]
In 2017, it was announced Johnson had completed the film and that it would receive a limited theatrical release on May 25.[{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/5-25-77-star-wars-movie-first-fan-patrick-read-johnson-interview/|title = The first fan to see 'Star Wars' made a new film about it}}]
== Filmography ==
=== Films ===
==== Filmmaking credits ====
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Title
!Year
!Director
!Writer
!Executive
producer
!Notes
|-
|''[Spaced Invaders](/source/Spaced_Invaders)''
|1990
|{{Yes}}
|{{Yes}}
|
|
|-
|''[Baby's Day Out](/source/Baby's_Day_Out)''
|1994
|{{Yes}}
|
|
|
|-
|''[Angus](/source/Angus_(film))''
|1995
|{{Yes}}
|
|
|
|-
|''[Dragonheart](/source/Dragonheart)''
|1996
|
|{{Yes|Story}}
|{{Yes}}
|
|-
|''[The Genesis Code](/source/The_Genesis_Code)''
|2010
|{{Yes}}
|
|
|
|-
|''[5-25-77](/source/5-25-77)''
|2022
|{{Yes}}
|{{Yes}}
|{{Yes}}
|Also wrote title music
|}
==== Acting credits ====
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Title
!Year
!Role(s)
!Notes
|-
|''[Spaced Invaders](/source/Spaced_Invaders)''
|1990
|Commander / Enforcer Drone (voice)
|
|-
|''Joey's Last Wish''
|2014
|Awards Presenter
| rowspan="4" |Shorts
|-
|''The Roma Project''
|2015
|Dr. Towns
|-
|''Gilded''
| rowspan="2" |2016
|Steven Henderson
|-
|''Telemetry''
|NASA Official
|-
|''[5-25-77](/source/5-25-77)''
|2022
|Dr. Johnson
|
|}
==== Technical credits ====
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Title
!Year
!Credits
!Notes
|-
|''[Deal of the Century](/source/Deal_of_the_Century)''
|1983
|Model maker
| rowspan="2" |Uncredited
|-
|''[2010: The Year We Make Contact](/source/2010%3A_The_Year_We_Make_Contact)''
|1984
|Miniatures crew
|-
|''[An American Tail](/source/An_American_Tail)''
| rowspan="2" |1986
|Miniature model maker
|
|-
|''[King Kong Lives](/source/King_Kong_Lives)''
|Crew leader: special effects miniatures
|
|-
|''[Dead Heat](/source/Dead_Heat_(1988_film))''
|1988
|Second unit director / special effects / video graphic animation / Songwriter (song ''Deat Heat'')
|
|-
|''[Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure](/source/Bill_%26_Ted's_Excellent_Adventure)''
| rowspan="2" |1989
|Miniature construction: Perpetual Motion Pictures
|
|-
|''[Warlock](/source/Warlock_(1989_film))''
|Visual effects coordinator / miniature construction: Perpetual Motion Pictures
|
|-
|''[Dark Country](/source/Dark_Country)''
|2009
|Visual effects producer: Moonwalker
|
|}
=== Television ===
==== Filmmaking credits ====
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Title
!Year
!Director
!Writer
!Producer
!Notes
|-
|''[Dinosaurs](/source/Dinosaurs_(TV_series))''
|1991
|{{Yes}}
|
|
|Episode: "When Food Goes Bad"
|-
|''[When Good Ghouls Go Bad](/source/When_Good_Ghouls_Go_Bad)''
|2001
|{{Yes}}
|{{Yes}}
|
|Television movie
|-
|''[LazyTown](/source/LazyTown)''
|2004
|
|
|{{Yes|Supervising}}
|2 episodes
|-
|''Starsailor''
|TBA
|{{Yes}}
|{{Yes}}
|{{Yes}}
|
|}
==== Acting credits ====
{| class="wikitable"
!Title
!Year
!Role
!Notes
|-
|''[Masterpiece](/source/Masterpiece_(TV_series))''
|2022
|Jac's Dad
|1 episode
|}
==== Technical credits ====
{| class="wikitable"
!Title
!Year
!Credits
!Notes
|-
|''[V](/source/V_(1983_miniseries))''
|1983
|Mothership miniature
|Episode: "Part I", uncredited
|-
|''[Amazing Stories](/source/Amazing_Stories_(1985_TV_series))''
|1985
|Model maker
|Episode: "The Mission", uncredited
|}
=== Music videos ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Performer
!Title
!Year
!Director
!Producer
!Songwriter
!Notes
|-
| rowspan="2" |[Alan Parsons](/source/Alan_Parsons)
|''I Can't Get There from Here''
| rowspan="2" |2019
|{{Yes}}
|
|{{Yes}}
|Related with ''[5-25-77](/source/5-25-77)''
|-
|''As Lights Fall''
|{{Yes}}
|{{Yes}}
|
|
|}
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{IMDb name|0425957}}
*{{Twitter}}
{{Patrick Read Johnson}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Patrick Read}}
Category:1952 births
Category:Living people
Category:American directors
Category:American male screenwriters
Category:Film directors from Illinois
Category:People from Wadsworth, Illinois
Category:Screenwriters from Illinois
Category:Writers from Chicago
---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Patrick Read Johnson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Read_Johnson) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Read_Johnson?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.