Phil Johnston (filmmaker)

Philip Johnston is an American screenwriter, director, film producer, and voice actor. best known for writing the screenplay for Walt Disney Animation Studios' Wreck-It Ralph (2012) and Zootopia (2016).[1] He returned as the writer for the Wreck-It Ralph sequel, Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) and as co-director of the film (in his directorial debut) alongside Rich Moore.

Phil Johnston
Nationality	American
Education	University of Wisconsin-Madison Columbia University (MFA)
Occupation	Screenwriter, director, film producer, voice actor
Years active	2004–present
Known for	Wreck-It Ralph Zootopia

Early life and career

Johnston was born in Minneapolis to Beverly & William Johnston.[2] He was raised in Neenah, Wisconsin.[3][4] His father was an episcopal priest.[4] When he was young, he received an annual pass that allowed him free entry into the Marcus Theatres, a Wisconsin based theater chain, through a connection at his father's church.[4] Johnston is a graduate of Neenah High School.[2]

He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1994 with a degree in journalism.[5] After graduation he worked in regional news television for nine years.[3] His first job was as a weatherman in Rochester, Minnesota despite knowing nothing about meteorology.[6][3] He then worked as a bureau reporter at the Omaha, Nebraska, ABC affiliate, KETV.[7] Afterwards, he transferred to KARE station in Minneapolis.[8][4]

Johnston graduated with a MFA in film from Columbia University School of the Arts' Film Program in 2004.[9] He was classmates with Jennifer Lee, whom he later brought on to co-write Wreck-It Ralph with.[10]

His short, Flightless Birds, about a community of five trying to save their town was shot in South Dakota.[11]

After graduation, Johnston sold his first work to ABC.[12] The half hour comedy, Life is Super, is about a woman who adopts several children and subsequently turning her experience into a podcast.[12]

Johnston optioned his first feature script to ThinkFilm before it went bankrupt.[3] Jeremy Orm Is a Pervert is about the intersection of a preacher's career and his son's pornography business.[3] This was loosely based on his side hustle back in middle school selling pornographic magazines he acquired from upperclassmen to his classmates.[6] He managed to buy a pair of Air Jordans with the profits before eventually getting the operation shut down by his parents.[6]

His script for Cedar Rapids (2011) was included in the 2009 Black List (survey), a list voted by members of the entertainment industry for favorite, unproduced screenplays.[13]

Personal life

Johnston met his wife, Jill Cordes, while working as a reporter at KETV, Nebraska, where she was a morning anchor.[14]

While attending Columbia, he lived in Brooklyn with his wife, Jill.[4] He was neighbors with film critic Christy Lemire.[4]

Johnston and Cordes moved to LA in 2011.[15] They have two kids together, Fia and Emmett.[15] Their cat, Wayne Sanchez, has undergone feline gender reassignment surgery.[6][15]

Filmography

Year	Film	Role
2004	A Thousand Words (Short)	Director, Writer, Producer, Editor
2005	Two Men (Short)	Producer
2005	Rupture (Short)	Role of Chet Rimson (Radio Announcer)
2005	Flightless Birds (Short)	Director, Writer, Producer, Editor
2006	The Night Listener	Assistant to Patrick Stettner
2007	Bomb (Short)	Producer
2007	Savage Grace	Researcher
2010	Ghosts/Aliens	Writer, Executive Producer
2011	Cedar Rapids	Writer
2012	Wreck-It Ralph	Story by, Screenplay by, Voice of Surge Protector
2013	Garlan Hulse: Where Potential Lives	Producer, Role of Garlan Hulse
2014	A Merry Friggin' Christmas	Writer (as Michael Brown)
2016	Zootopia	Story by, Screenplay by, Voice of Gideon Grey and Annoyed Citizen
2016	The Brothers Grimsby	Story by, Screenplay by, Executive Producer
2018	Ralph Breaks the Internet	Director (with Rich Moore), Story by, Screenplay by[7]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
2004	WorldFest Houston	Independent Student Film & Videos - Graduate Level Student Productions	A Thousand Words	Won
2012	Independent Spirit Awards	Best First Screenplay	Cedar Rapids	Nominated
2013	Annie Awards	Writing in an Animated Feature Production	Wreck-It Ralph	Won
2017	Annie Awards	Writing in an Animated Feature Production	Zootopia	Won	[16]
	Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America	Ray Bradbury Award	Zootopia	Nominated
2018	Chicago Film Critics Association Awards	Best Animated Feature	Ralph Breaks the Internet	Nominated
	Detroit Film Critics Society	Best Animated Feature	Ralph Breaks the Internet	Nominated
	Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards	Best Animated Feature	Ralph Breaks the Internet	Nominated
2019	Golden Globe Awards	Best Animated Feature Film	Ralph Breaks the Internet	Nominated
	Alliance of Women Film Journalists	Best Animated Feature Film	Ralph Breaks the Internet	Nominated
	Critics' Choice Awards	Best Animated Feature	Ralph Breaks the Internet	Nominated
	Annie Awards	Annie Award for Directing in a Feature Production	Ralph Breaks the Internet	Nominated
		Annie Award for Music in a Feature Production	Ralph Breaks the Internet	Nominated
		Annie Award for Writing in a Feature Production	Ralph Breaks the Internet	Nominated
	Satellite Awards	Best Animated or Mixed Media Feature	Ralph Breaks the Internet	Nominated
	Academy Awards	Best Animated Feature	Ralph Breaks the Internet	Nominated

References

1. "Welcome to Zootopia at D23 EXPO!". D23. August 15, 2015. Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
2. "COMMON COUNCIL MINUTES" (PDF). May 3, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
3. Kaufman, Anthony (July 28, 2009). "Phil Johnston - 10 Screenwriters to Watch". Variety. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
4. "Breakfast All Day: Episode 018: A La Carte With Phil Johnston". bfastallday.libsyn.com. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
5. "Badgerwood: Video series features UW-Madison alumni in Hollywood". news.wisc.edu. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
6. "Cartoon Pyramid With Phil Johnston And Mo Willems". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
7. Robinson, Laurann. "Oscars Preview: What goes in to making an Oscar-winning animated film?". Omaha, Nebraska: KETV. Archived from the original on February 28, 2018. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
8. "Former KARE reporter now an Oscar nominee". KARE. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
9. "'Green Book' by Writing Alumnus Peter Farrelly '86 Wins Three Golden Globes". Columbia - School of the Arts. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
10. Stewart, Jill (2013-05-15). "Jennifer Lee: Disney's New Animation Queen". LA Weekly. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
11. Writer, Lynn Taylor Rick, Journal Staff. "Big Dreams in a small town". Rapid City Journal Media Group. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
12. "The Bricks of Breaking In: 'Wreck-It Ralph's' Phil Johnston on Screenwriting as a Second Career". blog.finaldraft.com. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
13. Finke, Nikki; Finke, Nikki (2009-12-11). "The Black List 2009: Full Roster". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
14. "AN ATYPICAL LIFE AFTER TV NEWS – NewsBlues.com". Retrieved 2019-12-09.
15. "About Jill Cordes". Fearless Feisty Mama Blog. 2011-05-11. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
16. "44th Annie Award Nominees". International Animated Film Society. November 28, 2016. Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2016.

External links

• Phil Johnston on IMDb