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Mark Johnson | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Johnson in 2009 | |
| Born | (1945-12-27)December 27, 1945 (age 79) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Virginia |
| Occupation(s) | Film and television producer |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Mark Johnson (born December 27, 1945) is an American film and television producer. He won theAcademy Award forBest Picture for producing the 1988 filmRain Man.
Johnson was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Dorothy (née King), a realtor, and Emery Johnson, who worked in the air cargo business.[1] He graduated from theUniversity of Virginia in 1971.[2]
Johnson first became involved in show business in 1965, as an actor playing the sheriff's deputy in the Spanish "Spaghetti Western"Brandy, directed byJose Luis Borau. He spent ten years of his youth in Spain, where he worked as a movie extra in films such asFranklin Schaffner'sNicholas and Alexandra andDavid Lean'sDr. Zhivago. His early experiences led to small acting roles in the European westernRide and Kill and the 1964 dramaThe Thin Red Line. After earning a Master's and Doctorate degree in Drama from theUniversity of Virginia and anMA in Film Scholarship from theUniversity of Iowa, Johnson moved to New York. There he entered the Director's Guild training program. One of his first projects wasPaul Mazursky's autobiographical dramaNext Stop, Greenwich Village. Johnson relocated to Los Angeles and worked as an assistant director on such projects asMovie Movie,The Brink's Job,Escape from Alcatraz andMel Brooks'sHigh Anxiety, which was co-written by future business partnerBarry Levinson.
As part ofBaltimore Pictures, his partnership with Levinson, Johnson produced all of the writer-director's films from 1982–1994. In addition toRain Man, their diverse slate of features includesGood Morning, Vietnam,The Natural,Tin Men,Toys,Young Sherlock Holmes,Avalon,Diner (their 1982 debut project, for which Levinson's screenplay garnered anOscar nomination) andBugsy, which was nominated for tenAcademy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.Bugsy also captured a Best PictureGolden Globe Award.
In 1994, Johnson established his own independent production company, Gran Via Productions,[3] and won theLos Angeles Film Critics New Generation Award for his very first effort;A Little Princess, directed byAlfonso Cuarón. Under his new banner, Johnson produced the comedyHome Fries, written byVince Gilligan and starringDrew Barrymore, and the dramatic thrillerDonnie Brasco, starringAl Pacino andJohnny Depp. Gilligan won a screenwriting competition of which Johnson was a judge, subsequently had two of his screenplays produced by Johnson,Home Fries andWilder Napalm. Johnson would later serve as a producer for Gilligan's television seriesBreaking Bad.[4] He also served as executive producer forCBS-TV'sL.A. Doctors andFalcone, and for the hit dramaThe Guardian.
Johnson's recent slate of motion pictures includesThe Alamo andThe Rookie, both directed by John Lee Hancock;The Banger Sisters, withSusan Sarandon andGoldie Hawn;Brad Silberling's dramaMoonlight Mile, with Sarandon andDustin Hoffman;Tom Shadyac's supernatural thrillerDragonfly, withKevin Costner andKathy Bates; Levinson's Irish satireAn Everlasting Piece;Robert Zemeckis's spooky thrillerWhat Lies Beneath, starringHarrison Ford andMichelle Pfeiffer; the hit comedyGalaxy Quest, withTim Allen,Alan Rickman andSigourney Weaver; andMy Dog Skip, the acclaimed family drama (co-produced withJohn Lee Hancock) starringFrankie Muniz,Diane Lane andKevin Bacon.
In recent years, Johnson produced Nick Cassavetes's dramaThe Notebook,The Wendell Baker Story, which marked the directorial debuts of brothersLuke andAndrew Wilson, andHow to Eat Fried Worms.
Johnson has either presented or executive producedLuis Llosa's directorial debut,Sniper,Tim Robbins's directorial debut,Bob Roberts,Steven Soderbergh'sKafka,Robert Redford'sOscar-nominatedQuiz Show andJourney of Hope, winner of the 1999 Foreign LanguageAcademy Award. Recent projects includeThe Hunting Party, starringRichard Gere,Lake City, starringSissy Spacek,Ballast, the critically acclaimed debut of director Lance Hammer, andMy Sister's Keeper, starringCameron Diaz,Alec Baldwin andAbigail Breslin. He is working withGuillermo del Toro to produce the movie adaption ofDavid Moody's novelHater.[5]
In 2005, Johnson producedThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, directed byAndrew Adamson and starringTilda Swinton. The film was nominated for threeAcademy Awards and threeBAFTAs, winning one of each. In 2008 he produced a sequel,Prince Caspian. The third film in theNarnia series,The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, directed byMichael Apted, was released December 10, 2010.
Johnson released three feature films in 2012:Not Fade Away, written and directed byThe Sopranos creatorDavid Chase and starringJames Gandolfini,Chasing Mavericks directed byCurtis Hanson and starringGerard Butler, andWon't Back Down starringViola Davis,Maggie Gyllenhaal andHolly Hunter. He produced the 2015 thrillerSecret in Their Eyes starringJulia Roberts,Nicole Kidman andChiwetel Ejiofor.
Johnson was an executive producer onAMC'sEmmy Award-winning seriesBreaking Bad. He was an executive producer on theSundance Channel original seriesRectify, andAMC'sBreaking Bad spinoff,Better Call Saul. In 2019 he producedEl Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie forNetflix. In 2021, he produced the thrillerThe Little Things starringDenzel Washington,Rami Malek andJared Leto, written and directed byJohn Lee Hancock. In 2021 he executive produced theAMC+ series adaptation ofAnne Rice'sInterview with the Vampire.[6] In 2023, he executive producedMayfair Witches, based on anotherAnne Rice property.[7]
In late 2022 it was announced that Johnson would venture into his first-ever Spanish-language series, a Church scandal drama, "Amen" (a working title).[8]
Produced by Johnson, the 2023 releaseThe Holdovers reunitedPaul Giamatti with hisSideways directorAlexander Payne.[9] The film enjoyed widespread critical acclaim and garneredGolden Globe wins forDa'Vine Joy Randolph andPaul Giamatti. From sevenBAFTA nominations it secured two awards, for Best Supporting Actress and Best Casting Director.[10] It was nominated for fiveAcademy Awards, including Best Picture. Ultimately, it secured the Best Supporting Actress award forDa'Vine Joy Randolph.[11]
Johnson served many years on the Board of Governors of theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Producers Branch). For seventeen years, he headed the Best Foreign Language Film Committee.[12] In 2020, the category was renamed Best International Feature Film.
He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.
Producer
Executive producer
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | For the Love of Benji | Second assistant director |
| Sorcerer | ||
| High Anxiety | ||
| 1978 | Movie Movie | |
| The Brink's Job | ||
| 1979 | Escape from Alcatraz | |
| 1980 | Fatso | Assistant director |
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Brandy | Chico | |
| 1987 | Good Morning, Vietnam | Mr. Sloan | Uncredited |
| 2004 | The Notebook | Photographer | |
| 2009 | My Sister's Keeper | Uncle Pervis |
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Cruising | Production executive |
| 1992 | Bob Roberts | Presenter: In association with |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1998−99 | L.A. Doctors | |
| 2000 | Falcone | |
| 2001 | HRT | TV movie |
| 2001−04 | The Guardian | |
| 2006 | Love Monkey | |
| 2008−13 | Breaking Bad | |
| 2014 | Wild Blue | TV movie |
| 2015 | Battle Creek | |
| 2013−16 | Rectify | |
| 2014−17 | Halt and Catch Fire | |
| 2015−22 | Better Call Saul | |
| 2022−present | Interview with the Vampire | |
| 2023−present | Mayfair Witches | |
| TBA | Galaxy Quest |
