Susan Johnson is an American film producer and director, known for directing the 2016 comedy film '' Carrie Pilby'' and the 2018 feature '' To All the Boys I've Loved Before''.

Early life and education

Johnson earned a full scholarship to the American Film Institute's Conservatory, from which she graduated in 2000 with a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in directing. For her coursework, she directed three short films, ''Second Coming'' (1999), ''Call My Name'' (1999), and ''Destiny Stalled'' (2000).

Career

Johnson began her career as an assistant for the

William Morris Agency The William Morris Agency (WMA) was a Hollywood-based talent agency. It represented some of the best known 20th-century entertainers in film, television, and music. During its 109-year tenure it came to be regarded as the "first great talent ag ...

. In 1992, along with music journalist Kevin Murphy, she founded the music video production company Vendetta Films, which produced the music video for EMF's cover "

Search and Destroy Search and destroy, seek and destroy, or simply S&D is a military strategy best known for its employment in the Malayan Emergency and the Vietnam War. The strategy consists of inserting ground forces into hostile territory, ''search''ing out ...

", from the ''Unexplained'' EP. The following year, she produced the music videos for four Gloria Estefan songs, including "

Mi Tierra ''Mi Tierra'' (''My Homeland'') is the third studio album by Cuban-American recording artist Gloria Estefan, released on June 22, 1993, by Epic Records. Produced by husband Emilio Estefan, it is a Spanish-language album and pays homage to her Cub ...

", "

Con Los Años Que Me Quedan "Con Los Años Que Me Quedan" () is a song by Cuban–American singer-songwriter Gloria Estefan from her third studio album, ''Mi Tierra'' (1993). It was written by the artist and her husband Emilio Estefan, with Emilio, Jorge Casas, and Clay O ...

", from the album ''

''. She directed

Sara Evans Sara Lynn Evans (; born February 5, 1971) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is also credited as a record producer, actress, and author. She had five songs reach the number one spot on the ''Billboard'' country songs cha ...

videos “Three Chords and the Truth” , “The Cryin’ Game”, and “I Don’t Want To See The Light”. In 1998 she directed

The Warren Brothers The Warren Brothers are an American country music duo composed of brothers Brett Warren (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica, mandolin, piano) and Brad Warren (background vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar). The duo has released three ...

' music video "

Guilty Guilty or The Guilty may refer to: * Guilt (emotion), an experience that occurs when a person believes they have violated a moral standard Law *Culpability, the degree to which an agent can be held responsible for action or inaction *Guilt (law) ...

", and the following year, she directed their music video " Better Man". In 1999, Johnson directed the music video for

Mindy McCready Malinda Gayle McCready (November 30, 1975 – February 17, 2013) was an American country music singer. Active from 1995 until her death in 2013, she recorded a total of five studio albums. Her debut album, 1996's ''Ten Thousand Angels'', wa ...

's "All I Want Is Everything", from the album '' I'm Not So Tough''. Johnson began her film producing career with the coming-of-age film '' Mean Creek'' (2004), for which she won the

Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award The Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award is presented to the creative team of a film budgeted at less than $500,000 by the Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers. It is named after ac ...

and the

Humanitas Prize The Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing, and is given to writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced and meaningful way. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser—also the founder of Paulist P ...

. In 2005, she produced the drama ''

Nearing Grace ''Nearing Grace'' is a 2005 film directed by Rick Rosenthal, based on the novel by Scott Sommer. Plot High school senior Henry Nearing ( Gregory Smith) has to cope with the death of his mother and is also forced to come to terms with evolving f ...

'', starring

Jordana Brewster Jordana Brewster (born April 26, 1980) is a Panamanian-American actress. Best known for her role as Mia Toretto in the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise, she made her acting debut in an episode of ''All My Children'' in 1995 and next took on the recu ...

, Gregory Smith,

David Morse David Bowditch Morse (born October 11, 1953) is an American actor, singer, television director, and writer. He first came to national attention as Dr. Jack "Boomer" Morrison in the medical drama series '' St. Elsewhere'' (1982–88). His film c ...

, and Ashley Johnson, from a script by Jacob Estes which was adapted from the Scott Sommer novel. The following year, Johnson produced the drama film ''

Eye of the Dolphin ''Eye of the Dolphin'' is a 2007 American drama film written by Wendell Morris & Michael Sellers. The film starred Carly Schroeder, Adrian Dunbar, George Harris, Katharine Ross and Christine Adams. ''Eye of the Dolphin'' was directed by Sellers ...

'' (2006), starring

Jane Lynch Jane Marie Lynch (born July 14, 1960) is an American actress, comedian and author. She is known for starring as Sue Sylvester in the musical comedy series '' Glee'' (2009–2015), which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award. Lynch also gained recog ...

Carly Schroeder Carly Brook Schroeder (born October 18, 1990) is an American actress and U.S. Army officer. She is best known for playing Serena Baldwin, the daughter of Scotty Baldwin and Lucy Coe in the '' General Hospital'' spin-off ''Port Charles''. Sh ...

, George Harris,

Katharine Ross Katharine Juliet Ross (born January 29, 1940) is an American film, stage, and television actress. Her accolades include one Academy Award nomination, one BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. A native of Los Angeles, Ross spent most of her ...

, and

Adrian Dunbar Adrian Dunbar (born 1 August 1958) is a Northern Irish actor, director and singer, known for his television and his theatre work. Dunbar co-wrote and starred in the 1991 film '' Hear My Song'', nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the BA ...

. In 2007, Johnson formed Braveart Films with actor Gregory Smith, and produced the comedy '' Wieners'', starring

Kenan Thompson Kenan Thompson (; born May 10, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He has been a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' since 2003, making him the longest-tenured cast member in the show's history. He was also t ...

and

Darrell Hammond Darrell Clayton Hammond (born October 8, 1955) is an American actor, stand-up comedian and impressionist. He was a regular cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 2009, and has been its announcer since 2014. Upon his departure, Hammo ...

Zachary Levi Zachary Levi Pugh ( ; born September 29, 1980) is an American actor. He received critical acclaim for starring as Chuck Bartowski in the series '' Chuck'', and as the title character in '' Shazam!'' and its 2023 sequel, as a part of the DC Ex ...

Jenny McCarthy Jennifer McCarthy Wahlberg (' Jennifer Ann McCarthy; born November 1, 1972) is an American actress, model, and television personality. She began her career in 1993 as a nude model for ''Playboy'' magazine and was later named their Playmate of ...

Andy Milonakis Andrew Michael Milonakis (; born January 30, 1976) is an American actor, comedian, rapper, and streamer. He is best known for his work on '' The Andy Milonakis Show'', a sketch comedy series that aired on MTV and MTV2 from 2005 to 2007. Othe ...

, and

Joel Moore Joel David Moore (born September 25, 1977) is an American character actor and director. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Moore studied acting in college before relocating to Los Angeles to pursue a film career. His first major role was as Owen ...

. Johnson also produced the ''Eye of the Dolphin'' sequel, ''

Beneath the Blue ''Beneath the Blue'', also known as ''Way of the Dolphin'', is a 2010 American drama film sequel to the 2007 Michael Sellers' film '' Eye of the Dolphin'' starring Carly Schroeder. It is distributed by Monterey Media and Quantum Entertainment. The ...

'' (2010), which starred

Paul Wesley Paweł Tomasz Wasilewski (; July 23, 1982), known professionally as Paul Wesley, is an American actor, director and producer. He is known for starring as Stefan Salvatore on the supernatural drama series ''The Vampire Diaries'' (2009–2017) a ...

. She made her directorial debut with the film adaptation of Caren Lissner's novel '' Carrie Pilby'', starring

Bel Powley Isobel Dorothy Powley (born 7 March 1992) is an English actress. Powley was born and raised in London, where she was educated at Holland Park School. She began acting as a teenager on television, starring on the CBBC action television series ''M ...

Nathan Lane Nathan Lane (born Joseph Lane; February 3, 1956) is an American actor. In a career spanning over 40 years he has been seen on stage and screen in roles both comedic and dramatic. Lane has received numerous awards including three Tony Awards, ...

, and

Gabriel Byrne Gabriel James Byrne (born 12 May 1950) is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, audiobook narrator, and author. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined London's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's s ...

. The film premiered at the

2016 Toronto International Film Festival The 41st annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 8 to 18 September 2016. The first announcement of films to be screened at the festival took place on 26 July. Almost 400 films were shown. Awards The festival's final awards were ...

, chosen as one of 34 "Special Presentation Films." It was released by The Orchard in March of the following year, then began showing on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

in September, 2017. Johnson directed the 2018 film adaptation of

Jenny Han Jenny Han is an American author of young adult fiction and children's fiction. She is best known for writing the '' To All the Boys'' series and ''The Summer I Turned Pretty'' trilogy, which were adapted into a film series and TV series, respe ...

's novel '' To All the Boys I've Loved Before'', starring Lana Condor,

John Corbett John Joseph Corbett Jr. (born May 9, 1961) is an American actor and country music singer. On television, he is best known for his roles as Chris Stevens on ''Northern Exposure'' (1990–1995), Aidan Shaw on ''Sex and the City'' (2000–2003), ...

, and

Janel Parrish Janel Meilani Parrish Long (born October 30, 1988) is an American actress and singer. She starred as Mona Vanderwaal in the mystery-drama television series ''Pretty Little Liars'' (2010–2017) and its spinoff '' Pretty Little Liars: The Perfecti ...

. The film was released by

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Susan 1970 births AFI Conservatory alumni American music video directors American music video producers American women film producers American women film directors Independent Spirit Award winners Living people Businesspeople from Phoenix, Arizona Film producers from Arizona 21st-century American women