Originality & Imitation / Rian Johnson, Filmmaker

Episode details

“You have to be kind of angry about something to write a script...and if the thing that you're angry about is not something that you identify in yourself, I'm always wary of that.” -Rian Johnson

This is the very first episode! My guest is THE Rian Johnson- he is a writer, director, filmmaker extraordinaire. I was in his very first movie, Brick. He then went on to make The Brothers Bloom, Looper, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. He’s an extraordinary thinker, conversationalist, artist, and human being. For this episode, we took a deep dive into a question from Alexandra Kolmanofsky from Louisville, Kentucky. She asked, “How do you get inspired by other people’s creations and create something unique that is completely your own without taking too much from the inspiration?” Rian offered some incredible insight on what distinguishes inspiration from imitation, what are the limitations and advantages of dealing with genre, and if any piece of art can ever be considered “original.” We also seriously pondered whether cereal is, in fact, soup (or not).  If you have a question about the creative process, share it on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) using the hashtag #creativeprocessing, or by emailing creativeprocessing@hitrecord.org. New episodes available every Tuesday through October 22, 2019.

ABOUT THE GUEST: Johnson’s career began at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. After writing and directing a few short films that won awards but did not bring him to the attention of mainstream audiences, Rian decided to make this film, even if it was his last.
His first feature film Brick premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005 where it won the Special Jury Prize for originality and vision. Always with Ram Bergman producing and Steve Yedlin as his Director of Photography, Rian went on to write and direct Brothers Bloom (2008, starring Mark Ruffalo, Rachel Weisz and Adrian Brody), Looper (2012, starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017, starring Daisy Ridley, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher).

Johnson has also directed many episodes of television including two classic episodes of “Breaking Bad” — both voted in the top 10 best episodes of the series by viewers. 

SELECTED LINKS FOR EPISODE:

Connect with Rian Johnson:Twitter: @rianjohnsonInstagram: @riancjohnson

Movies Mentioned:
-Brick (2005)
-The Brothers Bloom (2008)
-Looper (2012)
-Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)
-Knives Out (2019)
-The Evil Dead (1981)
-Barton Fink (1991)
-Breathless (1960)
-A Woman Is a Woman (1961)
-Barry Lyndon (1975)
-A Clockwork Orange (1971)
-Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
-Miller’s Crossing (1990)
-21 Jump Street (2012)
-Hail, Caesar! (2016)
-True Grit (2010)
-True Grit (1969)
-Sorry to Bother You (2018)
-Under the Skin (2013)

People Mentioned:
-Sam Raimi (Director)
-The Coen Brothers: Joel & Ethan (Writers and Directors)
-William Goldman (Writer)
-Jean-Luc Godard (Director)
-Stanley Kubrick (Director)
-Dashiell Hammett (Writer)
-The Beatles (Musicians)
-Little Richard (Musician)
-Chuck Berry (Musician)
-Phillip K. Dick (Writer)
-Lawrence “Larry” Kasdan (Writer)
-Jonathan Glazer (Director)
-Boots Riley (Director)
-Wes Anderson (Writer and Director)

Other Mentions:
-”You Never Give Me Your Money” - The Beatles (1969)
-The Continental Op by Dashiel Hammett (1989)
-Models of anxiety: Responses of rats to novelty in an open space and an enclosed space. Ennaceur, Abdel & Michalikova, S & Chazot, Paul. (2006).