Roy and I are thrilled to be able to welcome Patrick Read Johnson as our guest on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. Johnson’s own youthful obsession with science fiction propelled him to a career in Hollywood. His pet project, “5-25-77” (2022), reflects his coming-of-age as an aspiring filmmaker in a small Midwestern town around the time of the release of “Star Wars” (on May 25, 1977).
A couple of weeks ago, we used the film as a springboard to discuss our own boyhood fascinations with “2001,” “Planet of the Apes,” “Star Wars,” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” and how they informed our parallel experiments in making Super-8 films. Now we’ll have a chance to hear all about Johnson’s career (including his work on the “Dragonheart” franchise) and hopefully plenty of behind-the-scenes nuggets, like the details of his real-life meetings with Douglas Trumbull, John Dykstra, and Steven Spielberg – and what it was like to be one of the first people to be shown a rough cut of “Star Wars” before it was ever distributed to theaters.
Everything was very hands-on, back in the day, when your mom could pick up the phone and get you an appointment in Hollywood, or you could revolutionize the world of special effects by working with models in a hot garage, reeking of burnt coffee.
Listen with rapt attention as Johnson talks about old times and how he strove to recreate that bygone era in his most personal film (18 years in the making!). Ask away in the comments section. We’ll share your questions when we livestream on Facebook, YouTube, etc., this Friday evening at 7:30 EST!
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