Rian JohnsonEvery podcast appearance, updated as new ones drop

This week on On Story, we're talking to Rian Johnson about his process writing and directing Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. This third installment of the Knives Out series follows an ambitious young Catholic priest, and former boxer, named Jud Duplencity. Jud teams up with detective Benoit Blanc after the divisive Monsignor of his small, rural parish is murdered mid-sermon. Outside of the Knives Out series, Johnson has two decades of experience writing and directing in the mystery and sci-fi genres. He made his directorial debut in 2005 with Brick, a neo-noir mystery set in a suburban high school. He dove into the sci-fi genre in 2012, with his time-travel action epic, Looper. Next, he served as the writer-director for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the second installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. In addition to his work on film, Johnson has also directed episodes of Breaking Bad, and created the "case of the week" crime-comedy series Poker Face. Rian Johnson sat down with AFF moderator Casey Baron for a post-screening Q&A for his newest feature, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.

Sean and Amanda begin the show by honoring the towering career of Rob Reiner following his devastating passing (1:22). Then, they open up the mailbag and answer your questions about the general panic and angst about the future of the movie business (7:48). Next, they cover Rian Johnson’s new murder mystery sequel, ‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery,’ starring Josh O’Connor and Daniel Craig (1:10:14). Finally, Johnson joins the show to discuss why he gravitates toward murder mysteries as a storyteller, how his personal relationship with religion and faith has evolved over time, and why he was blown away by O’Connor’s performance (1:24:58). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Rian Johnson Producer: Jack Sanders Shopping. Streaming. Celebrating. It’s on Prime. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why do so many people choose to be religious? What draws people to embrace belief? Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson discuss with filmmaker Rian Johnson, his new film "Wake Up Dead Man" and the themes of faith his movie brings up. References and resources Global religious population: https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/09/how-the-global-religious-landscape-changed-from-2010-to-2020/ American religious population: https://religionunplugged.com/news/2025/12/8/us-religious-decline-stalls-as-new-pew-data-shows-stabilization-even-among-young-adults Jon Stewart on faith: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSmrEVjQdG8 Arthur Brooks on faith: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty-research/policy-topics/public-leadership-management/happiness-may-be-decline-we-can-all Websites The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.world Nathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.me Joseph Holmes: josephholmestudios.com Rian Johnson: https://x.com/rianjohnson

There’s a mystery afoot on today’s episode of Script Apart – and that mystery is how you write a film like Wake Up Dead Man, the new Knives Out movie from my guest today, Rian Johnson. How do you craft a whodunit that’s simultaneously gripping, hilarious and loaded with weighty reflections on religion’s use as a weapon of fear in our current political climate? In the words of Benoit Blanc, it “makes no damn sense” to me, “Compels me, though.” Which is why it was such a treat to ask the man himself. Rian’s a filmmaker who you might know from 2005 high school noir Brick, 2008’s The Brothers Bloom or the fantastic 2012 sci-fi Looper. He directed one of the best episodes of TV this side of the millennium in the form of Breaking Bad’s ‘Fly’ episode, and created the brilliant Poker Face, starring Natasha Lyonne. In 2019, he wrote and directed Knives Out, starring Daniel Craig as a Southern-accented sleuth, which was a huge sensation. A sequel followed in 2022, as part of a major deal with Netflix. And somewhere amid all that, he made a low-budget indie that probably completely passed under your radar because it was barely discussed upon release. Let me just check my notes here… Star Wars: The Last Jedi? Never heard of it personally. Wake Up Dead Man is maybe his most personal and politically-charged film yet, though, as you’ll hear in this conversation. Rian’s relationship with religion is… well, it’s complicated. In this spoiler conversation, he tells me about his lapsed faith and story of growing up in the Church… before leaving it. It’s a story that totally altered my perspective on The Last Jedi – a movie about lapsed faith – and shone a fascinating light on this latest adventure in the life of Benoit Blanc. We get into the overlap between the “cult of personality” church figurehead, Wicks, in Wake Up Dead Man and the politicians in our newspaper headlines each morning right now – many of whom position themselves of Christians and preach messages of fear; them against us. And Rian also tells me what the future perhaps looks like for him, twenty years on from Brick – the next steps in his storytelling to come. Script Apart is hosted by Al Horner and produced by Kamil Dymek . Follow us on Instagram , or email us on thescriptapartpodcast@gmail.com. To get ad-free episodes and exclusive content, join us on Patreon . Get coverage on your screenplay by visiting ScriptApart.com/coverage . Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Sam Clements is curating a fictional film festival. He'll accept almost anything, but the movie must not be longer than 90 minutes. This is the 90 Minutes Or Less Film Fest podcast. In episode 153 Sam is joined by filmmaker Rian Johnson , director of Brick , Looper , Star Wars: The Last Jedi , Knives Out, and Glass Onion . His new movie Wake Up Dead Man , the third in the Knives Out trilogy, is streaming now on Netflix. Rian has chosen Trouble in Paradise (83 mins). Directed by Ernst Lubitsch, the 1932 film stars Miriam Hopkins, Kay Francis, and Herbert Marshall. Sam and Rian discuss the influences on Wake Up Dead Man , under-appreciating Trouble in Paradise on first watch, and the enduring appeal of Ernst Lubitsch. Thank you for downloading. We'll be back in a couple of weeks! Rate and subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/90minfilm If you enjoy the show, please subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends. We're an independent podcast and every recommendation helps - thank you! You can also show your support for the podcast by leaving us a tip at our Ko-fi page: https://ko-fi.com/90minfilmfest Website: 90minfilmfest.com Blue Sky: @90minfilmfest.bsky.social Instagram: @90MinFilmFest We are a proud member of the Stripped Media Network. Hosted and produced by Sam Clements . Edited and produced by Louise Owen . Guest star Rian Johnson . Additional editing and sound mixing by @lukemakestweets . Music by Martin Austwick . Artwork by Sam Gilbey . Bonus Link: Listen to Justin Simien talk to Sam about Trouble In Paradise in episode 104

No one is having as much fun making films as Rian Johnson. Over the course of the last twenty years, Johnson has delivered some of the most original, bold, entertaining films, dazzling audiences with noir mysteries, a sci-fi action thriller, and a journey to a galaxy far far away. But in his latest three pictures, Johnson has crafted his own IP, creating a new cinematic detective series with the help of one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, Daniel Craig. The director, alongside his famed actor and a crew of regular collaborators over the course of his career, delivered the smash hits Knives Out in 2019 and Glass Onion in 2022, whodunit mysteries following the cases of Detective Benoit Blanc. Known for the hilarious tone, massive ensemble casts, and immaculate third act resolutions, the first two entries of the franchise were widely acclaimed by audiences and critics, leading to Johnson landing two Oscar nominations for his screenplays. With the third entry in the Knives Out franchise, the director (in his own words) takes us "back to church" with a mystery centered around Reverend Jud Duplenticy (Josh O'Connor), a new priest who is framed for the murder of an another priest from a small parish in upstate New York. In trying to clear his name, Blanc hears of the case and is willing to assist Father Jud in clearing his name and getting the heart of who committed this horrible crime. In my review out of the Toronto International Film Festival, I raved about the film, calling it "the best entry in the Knives Out franchise to date" and also stating "Johnson and company pull out all the stops to create a dark, tense, comical, sharply-written mystery that sticks the landing." It's an entry that is not only darker, but seems more personal than ever for Johnson, as Wake Up Dead Man dabbles in ideas of faith, wickedness, revenge, spitefulness, how dangerous our world is, and how we need forgiveness more than ever if we are to heel as a species. In my recent, extensive, spoiler-filled discussion with the writer-director, we spoke about Johnson's approach to this entry, when he knew he was going to enter the world of the gothic mystery, and working with Craig on their third film together. We also spoke about collaborating with the new cast, the social, political, religious themes found at the center of the film, as well as his film and literary inspirations for Wake Up Dead Man , as well his thoughts on modern cinema, the importance of celebrating cinema, and if he could get a director to confess their secrets to him, who would he select and why. It's a more serious conversation than the last time Johnson and I spoke when Glass Onion was coming out, but that's a prime example of not just the tonal versatility found within the Knives Out , but also within the person its creator. Insightful, lively, introspectively honest, Rian Johnson is a real original and there aren't many left in Hollywood who are like him. Music: A Minor Omission, Nathan Johnson

Lucy Fenwick Elliott talks to writer director Rian Johnson about his new film Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Our Mystery , in cinemas now. Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) returns for his most dangerous case yet in the third and darkest chapter of Rian Johnson’s murder mystery opus. After a seemingly impossible murder rocks the town, local police chief Geraldine Scott (Mila Kunis) joins forces with Blanc to unravel a mystery that pushes the boundaries of both faith and reason. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts . Follow us on Spotify . Find us on Twitter , Facebook and Instagram with @picturehouses. Find our latest cinema listings at picturehouses.com . Produced by Stripped Media . Thank you for listening. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends. Vive le Cinema.

This week on On Story, a covnersation with writer-director Rian Johnson on his love of genre media from noir to sci-fi, and the long process of outlining which allows him to craft intricate stories without getting lost in the second act. Johnson made his directorial debut in 2005 with the neo-noir mystery, Brick. Set against the backdrop of a suburban high school, Brick draws inspiration from classic noir mysteries while adding a coming-of-age twist. Johnson dove into the sci-fi genre with his time-travel action-thriller Looper, released in 2012. Starring Bruce Willis, Looper follows the work of contract killers who are tasked with executing targets who have been sent backwards through time by crime syndicates from the future. Next, Johnson served as writer-director for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, an installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Most recently, Johnson has been busy writing, directing and producing his murder-mystery film franchise Knives Out. After earning Johnson an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, Knives Out was followed by its first sequel, Glass Onion. The third film in the series, Wake Up Dead Man, will be coming to select theaters this November before streaming on Netflix. The series is known for its star-studded ensemble cast, led by Daniel Craig, as the eccentric, gentlemanly detective, Benoit Blanc. In addition to his work in film, Johnson has also directed episodes of Breaking Bad and created the case-of-the-week crime-comedy series Poker Face, starring Natasha Lyonne. Barbara Morgan sat down with Rian Johnson for a conversation on his expansive career and his intricate writing process. Clips of Brick courtesy of Focus Features. Clips of Looper courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing. Clips of Knives Out courtesy of Lionsgate. Clips of Poker Face courtesy of Peacock.

At this year's Philadelphia Film Festival , I was lucky enough to attend as press which meant I got the chance to chat with Rian Johnson. The sequel to Knives Out called Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery played at the festival. The film itself is an incredible follow up to the first film with an outstanding ensemble cast. Rian Johnson only dives further into the world of mysteries. The sequel brings the series investigator Detective Blanc, played by the incredible Daniel Craig , back for another adventure. I got the chance to chat with Rian Johnson for a bit about Detective Blanc, Daniel Craig's role in helping further the characters development, and the framework of this film's mystery.

The mystery of Shasta Fay Hepworth bookends Inherent Vice . Despite a few brief memories and cameos, she primarily anchors either end of the story, suffusing the long stretch of two hours and 30 minutes in between with the dusting of her starstuff, as if she is this universe’s Big Bang and Big Crunch—the story cannot begin, nor end, without her; but even further, the story is her, a strange supercosmos of Shasta Fay. Sprinkled throughout this long tale is the history of Doc and Shasta, the two once-young lovers who, in the words of their narrator, “each gradually located a different karmic thermal.” And at the exact moment of the film’s halfway point, Shasta reappears as a postcarded memory, in the film’s—and Paul Thomas Anderson’s—most heartrending moment, soaked in sweet melancholy like only PTA can orchestrate it, a memory that sends Doc hurtling towards the dark heart of Golden Fang, but how? Was the postcard a secret message from Shasta, coded in lovetalk, to help him locate the Fang? Was it simply a note of lovesick regret, and his flash to return to the scene simply a moment of coincidental luck? Is the appearance of the Fang’s headquarters here, where Doc and Shasta once kissed, some brutal metaphor for time sweeping away their love? Or was the postcard simply a hallucination sent forth from some blood-kinked, cell-deprived fold of Doc’s overtaxed cerebellum? What’s real, and what is simple hope? What is a true memory, and what is the fictional story we tell ourselves to survive it? That’s a question our host wrestles with today, while talking to someone who’s no stranger to tales of mystery and love and time and space… About the Guest - RIAN JOHNSON Rian Johnson is the writer-director behind BRICK, THE BROTHERS BLOOM, LOOPER, STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (the best STAR WARS, if you're keeping track of that kind of thing), and KNIVES OUT. He also directed your favorite episodes of BREAKING BAD. Beginning with episode 26, he will be the new host of INCREMENT VICE, and is looking forward to interviewing KNIVES OUT 2: KNIVES HARDER scribe Travis Woods. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy