Joe Johnston Movies and Career Information

Joseph Eggleston "Joe" Johnston II (born May 13, 1950) is an American film director and former effects artist best known for such effects-driven movies as Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Jumanji, The Rocketeer, Jurassic Park III, the period drama October Sky, The Wolfman, and Captain America: The First Avenger. Johnston was born in Austin,Texas, and attended California State University, Long Beach, as well as the Art Center College of Design. He began his career as a concept artist and effects technician on the original Star Wars, directed by George Lucas. His association with Lucas would later prove fruitful, as he won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for his work on Lucas and Steven Spielberg's film Raiders of the Lost Ark. He continued to work on many films as an effects expert, and moved into producing with the film Willow before making his directorial debut with the hit Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. Johnston followed this with the comic-book adaptation The Rocketeer (1991). The film was a commercial failure, as was his next, the animated and live-action The Pagemaster. Johnson would rebound, however, directing the family hit Jumanji, starring Robin Williams. The film overcame