they loved the script and were essentially promising a green light on it
and other projects. "I made the mistake a lot of young filmmakers make
and played one side against the other. I finally ended up at Universal
with a huge deal and nice offices, great computer equipment, and a
screening area. I made them pay for me to be there, which, of course,
I ultimately had to pay for when all those expenses were charged to my
project later."
While at Universal, Johnson began developing Dragonheart, a film he
wanted to direct. Although she was more interested in Starsailor, Raffaella
De Laurentiis sent Johnson off to the family's hotel in Bora Bora to eat,
drink, and work on the script for Dragonheart. Returning to the States, he
realized he needed help and partnered up with Chuck Pogue (The Fly).
Together, they came up with a script that Universal green-lighted, and
Johnson was off to scout locations in Spain with Laurentiis.
Every agency in Hollywood, including Johnson's representatives at
CAA, championed the project and sent over top stars to vie for roles.
Johnson had conceived of Draco, the dragon, with Sean Connery in mind.
"Sean had read the script and expressed interest in doing the role." Liam
Neeson was his choice for the knight. The Henson Creature Shop would
build the dragon. But it was not to be. When he delivered test footage of
the dragon, Universal misinterpreted it as representative of the quality
level of the film Johnson would direct. "I was getting in a lot of fights
with Universal." The studio was comfortable with Johnson being the
director of a $2 million movie. Making the jump to a $20 million movie
overnight made studio executives nervous. Eventually, Universal took
away the directorship of Dragonheart and gave it to someone else.
In an effort to make up some of the loss, Universal offered Johnson a
film entitled The Day Before Midnight, which was later developed into the
ground. It was time to move on. At about the same time, he received a
call from John Hughes, asking if he was interested in Dennis the Menace.
After Johnson had finished Spaced Invaders, Hughes brought him a
serious project called Reach the Rock. At the time, Johnson did not feel that
he was ready for such a dramatic piece and passed on the project. Hired
to direct Dennis, he relocated to Chicago and started "designing it, casting
it, and getting locations going." When his vision for the film strayed too
far from Hughes's concept, Johnson was replaced as director.
As a concession, Warner Bros., the studio behind Dennis, gave Johnson
offices and he started developing Speed Racer, which ultimately never got
off the ground. Nearly a year to the day after Dennis the Menace, Hughes
called Johnson and offered him Baby's Day Out. Although it was not an
ideal project for his talents and passion, he took the job. "Remember, at
this point I'd only directed one $2 million dollar picture, and this had a
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