Patrick Read Johnson is a feature film writer/director with such deep connections with Chicago that he left Hollywood after 18 years just to live in the area once again.
Born in La Grange, Illinois on May 7th, 1962, Mr. Johnson grew up in the towns of Northbrook, Lake Bluff, Zion, and Wadsworth. His early years were spent setting fire to his model trains, hoisting his space-suit-clad little brother up in the air, to hang beneath Christmas light stars, or re-enacting shark attacks from Jaws in his family’s swimming pool with the use of copious amount of Rit Crimson Red dye. All of it captured on Super-8 film for the latest “epic” in production inside Johnson’s converted garage/movie studio. After High School, Johnson headed for L.A. with the intention of attending USC Film School. Work got in the way, however, when he landed a job as a model maker at a local visual effects facility. A year later, at the age of 19, he sold his first screenplay,"The Fortress", to 20th Century Fox and, for the next 7 years, lived the dual identity of Screenwriter/Visual Effects Artist. During that period Johnson sold several more screenplays and moved up the effects ladder from model maker to Visual Effects Supervisor and Second Unit Director.
Finally in 1988, with Scott Lawrence Alexander, he wrote "Martians!!!" which was produced the next year under Johnson's direction. The film so impressed Steven Spielberg that the master director helped arrange for its theatrical distribution through Touchstone Pictures, which released the work in 1990 as "Spaced Invaders". The film, which cost a mere 1.75 million dollars to make, went on to gross nearly 16 million dollars domestically and had a long and successful video and cable run thereafter.
Johnson soon found himself in a first look Directing/Writing/Producing deal with Universal Studios. One of the first projects to go into development under this arrangement was an original story Johnson had been toying with for a few years that finally crystallized when he partnered up with screenwriter Charles Edward Pogue. The result of their collaboration was Dragonheart.
In addition to his motion picture work, Mr. Johnson has worked extensively with the Muppets, both in the development of Muppet Movie screenplays for Jim Henson Pictures, as well as the direction of a number or award-winning MUPPET MEETING FILMS . He also helmed "When Food Goes Bad"-- an FX- laden episode of the hit TV series DINOSAURS.
Patrick Read Johnson’s feature motion picture directing credits include: "Spaced Invaders" (Touchstone, 1990), "Baby's Day Out" (20th Century Fox, 1994) and "Angus" (Turner Pictures, 1995) In addition to projects at Universal Studios-- “The Day Before Midnight”, “Bones”, and “Epiphany”, Johnson also developed Columbia Pictures’ "Sinbad at the Edge of the World" and Warner Brothers’ “Speed Racer”. He is also the creator (Story by) and Executive Producer of the fantasy-adventure film "Dragonheart", starring Dennis Quaid and Sean Connery.
Mr. Johnson recently completed writing and directing R.L. Stine’s “When Good Ghouls go Bad” , starring Christopher Lloyd, which was produced by 20th Century Fox Television in association with the director’s production company, Moonwatcher. Future projects include the cave-diving science fiction film “The Descent”, the American Graffiti-esque “5-25-77” and “Starsailor", an epic science-fiction/coming-of-age adventure set aboard a fleet of solar sail spacecraft in the far future.
He currently resides with his wife and two children in Wadsworth.
For more information, visit their website: http://www.moonwatcher.com
Got a correction? Click
Here
