Derek Wayne Johnson (born February 23, 1983) is an American film director, screenwriter, editor and producer.

Early life and education

Born and raised in

Carthage, Texas Carthage is a city and the county seat of Panola County, Texas, United States. This city is situated in deep East Texas, 20 miles west of the Louisiana state line. Its population was 6,569 at the 2020 census. History Carthage was founded in 1847 ...

, Johnson began making short films at an early age, winning several awards while still in high school. Johnson directed his first feature film, ''Within Us'', in his senior year of film school at Stephen F. Austin State University. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Film in 2006.

Career

Acting and Directing

After college, Johnson tried his hand at acting, starring in independent films and appearing in theatrically released and made-for-TV movies. Deciding to forgo acting and focus solely on filmmaking, he directed three feature films in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, including ''Broken Blood'' and ''Scrape'', before landing in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Documentaries

Upon arriving in Hollywood, Johnson directed ''John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs'', about the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning director whose credits include ''

Rocky ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burge ...

'' and ''

The Karate Kid ''The Karate Kid'' is a 1984 American martial arts drama film written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John G. Avildsen. It is the first installment in the ''Karate Kid'' franchise, and stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue an ...

''. The documentary features interviews with Sylvester Stallone,

Ralph Macchio Ralph George Macchio Jr. ( ; born November 4, 1961) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Daniel LaRusso in three ''Karate Kid'' films and in ''Cobra Kai'', a sequel television series. He also played Johnny Cade in '' The Outsiders' ...

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...

Talia Shire Talia Rose Shire ( née Coppola; born April 25, 1946) is an American actress who played roles as Connie Corleone in ''The Godfather'' films and Adrian Balboa in the ''Rocky'' series. For her work in ''The Godfather Part II'' and ''Rocky'', Shir ...

, Burt Reynolds and many more. Alongside John Avildsen and the cast and crew of ''

'', Johnson received a Commendation by the

City of Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

for his documentary and its association with ''

'' legacy. In 2022, Johnson and his documentary were mentioned in

‘s New York Times Bestselling book ''Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me''. Sylvester Stallone hand-picked Johnson to direct ''

40 Years of Rocky ''40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic'', also known as ''Becoming Rocky: The Birth of a Classic'', is a 2020 American short documentary film directed by Derek Wayne Johnson about the making of the original ''Rocky''. Story The film tells ...

'': ''The Birth of a Classic''. The documentary, narrated by Stallone, details the making of ''

'' and was acquired by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

(MGM). Johnson and his documentary were mentioned in the 2021 ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'' magazine special issue dedicated to the

franchise. Johnson directed ''STALLONE: Frank, That Is'', highlighting musician and actor

Frank Stallone Francesco Stallone Jr. (born July 30, 1950) is an American actor and musician. He is the younger brother of actor Sylvester Stallone and has written music for Sylvester's movies. His song " Far from Over" appeared in the 1983 film '' Staying Al ...

, brother of Sylvester. The documentary features interviews with Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger,

Billy Dee Williams William December Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American actor. He appeared as Lando Calrissian in the '' Star Wars'' franchise, first in the early 1980s for ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) and ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), and thir ...

Duff McKagan Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan (born February 5, 1964), sometimes credited as Duff "Rose" McKagan, is an American musician. He played bass for twelve years in the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late ...

Joe Mantegna Joseph Anthony Mantegna (, ; born November 13, 1947) is an American actor. Mantegna began his career on stage in 1969 in the Chicago production of the musical ''Hair''. He earned a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play and a Joseph Jeff ...

and many others. Sylvester Stallone once again hand-picked Johnson to edit ''The Making of Rocky vs. Drago'', a documentary directed by

John Herzfeld John Herzfeld (born April 15, 1947) is an American film and television director, screenwriter, actor and producer. His feature film directing credits include '' Two of a Kind'' (1983), '' 2 Days in the Valley'' (1996), '' 15 Minutes'' (2001) and ...

and distributed by

(MGM).

Return to Feature Films

Recently, Johnson wrapped production on his directorial return to feature films with ''Blood Streams'', a crime/drama/thriller starring Han Soto, Brad Maule, Hollin Haley, and

Yuji Okumoto is an American actor of Japanese descent. He is best known for his role as Chozen Toguchi in The Karate Kid (franchise), ''The Karate Kid'' franchise. He has also appeared in such films as ''Real Genius'' (1985), ''True Believer (1989 film), Tru ...

. The film was shot entirely in

Panola County, Texas Panola County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 22,491. The county seat is Carthage. Located in East Texas and originally developed for cotton plantations, the county's name is derived fro ...

and will see a worldwide release.

Personal life

Derek Wayne Johnson - Carthage Main Street Arts Walk of Fame - 2022

On February 18, 2022, Johnson received a “star” in downtown

as part of the first class of inductees to the Carthage Main Street Arts Walk of Fame. The plaque is located on the sidewalk outside the historic Esquire Theater. Johnson also received a Key to the City of Carthage, presented by the Mayor. Johnson cites his original VHS copy of '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'' as the reason he became a filmmaker, calling it "the holy grail" of his movie collection and the film he studied the most growing up.Gonzalez, Bobby
"Spoken Dreams: Derek Wayne Johnson, Filmmaker"
''KTLA'', Los Angeles, CA, 19 February 2018. Retrieved on 21 August 2018. Johnson is a lifelong martial artist and 3rd Level Black Belt in the art of American Karate. In 2020, he was inducted into the AMAA Who's Who in the Martial Arts Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Derek Wayne Living people 1983 births Film producers from Texas American directors American producers American male screenwriters American male actors People from Carthage, Texas Film directors from Texas Screenwriters from Texas People from Panola County, Texas Stephen F. Austin State University alumni