budget of $50 million." Having to make numerous compromises, the film
never achieved Johnson's vision of what it could be, but it did get made
with him as the director.
"While Baby's Day Out was in postproduction, I was flying to San
Francisco, to Skywalker Ranch, to work on the mix. On the flight I saw a
movie called Cool Runnings. I remember being sent that script early in my
heyday of being the newly discovered fair-haired boy and thinking `This is
never going to be a movie.'" Noting that the film was produced by Dawn
Steele, he telephoned manager Melinda Jason when the flight landed and
asked her to tell Steele that he was a fan of the movie. Three hours later,
Steele called him with an invitation to lunch when he came to L.A.
Over lunch, Steele told Johnson that she wanted to work with him.
An hour later she sent him a script entitled A Brief Moment in the Life of
Angus Bethune, which later became Angus. At first he shied away from
the project, but Steele was relentless and finally he agreed to direct the
project. Again, studio executives imposed changes to his vision for the
film. "It was a challenging experience, but one I'm ultimately proud of."
Post Angus, Johnson continued to develop projects and write. Then came
a call from David Madden, president of production for Fox TV movies,
asking him to take over a project called When Good Ghouls Go Bad. "He said
`You're going to have to completely rewrite it and you'll have to go to
Australia to make it. You'll only have $3 million and so many days . . . but
it will be you and I creatively producing it.' I said, `You got me.'
"Now I'm working on 5-25-77, which is the story of a young kid from
Wadsworth, Illinois, who got to see Star Wars and Close Encounters before
anybody else . . . it's American Graffiti on the night that Star Wars came
out. It's about finding the courage to take a step that no one believed I
could take. It's very heartfelt." Carrie Fisher is slated to play Johnson's
mom. Truth is sometimes better than fiction.
Special Skills
Mel Damski says a director must be good at "using the camera to tell
the story, talking to actors, interpreting the script, and understanding
what the important story points are." A director also must be able to get
along with people and inspire them to work as a team.
Advice for Someone Seeking This Job
"My first advice is to read, read, read," says Damski. "I think that's the
best education you can get. Be as aware of the world around you as pos-
sible. Directing is about storytelling and understanding human nature.
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