Derek Wayne Johnson

Derek Wayne Johnson (born February 23, 1983) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer.
Early life and education.
Born and raised in Carthage, Texas, Johnson began making short films at an early age, winning several awards while still in high school. Johnson directed his first feature film, "Within Us", in his senior year of film school at Stephen F. Austin State University. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Film in 2006.
Career.
After college, Johnson tried his hand at acting, starring in independent feature films and appearing in small roles in theatrically released and made-for-TV movies. Deciding to forgo acting and focus solely on filmmaking, he directed three independent feature films in Texas and Louisiana, including "Broken Blood" and "Scrape", before relocating to Hollywood.
In 2017, Johnson directed and produced a documentary about Academy Award-winning director John G. Avildsen whose credits include "Rocky" and "The Karate Kid". "John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs" examines Avildsen's life, career and films and features interviews with Sylvester Stallone, Ralph Macchio, Martin Scorsese, Talia Shire and Burt Reynolds, among others. The documentary is an unofficial companion to the book "The Films of John G. Avildsen: Rocky, The Karate Kid, and Other Underdogs" written by Larry Powell and Tom Garrett.
Sylvester Stallone hand-picked Johnson to direct and produce a documentary on the making of the original "Rocky", titled "40 Years of Rocky": "The Birth of a Classic" (aka "Becoming Rocky": "The Birth of a Classic"). Originally intended to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of "Rocky" in 2016, hence the title, production was put off for a couple of years due to certain delays. The documentary was released June 9, 2020 in the U.S. and Canada by Virgil Films and internationally by Branded Studios. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquired the documentary to eventually air on their cable and streaming channel Epix. The documentary features Sylvester Stallone narrating behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the film.
Johnson directed and produced "STALLONE: Frank, That Is", a feature-length documentary about musician and actor Frank Stallone, brother of Sylvester Stallone, released January 19, 2021 by Branded Studios. The multi-award winning documentary features interviews with Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Billy Dee Williams, Duff McKagan, Joe Mantegna, and many others.
Sylvester Stallone once again hand-picked Johnson to edit the upcoming 2021 documentary "Keep Punching: The Present Meets the Past", directed by John Herzfeld. The documentary follows Stallone's journey in the editing room as he reworks his classic 80's hit Rocky IV into a new version titled "Rocky vs. Drago: The Ultimate Director's Cut".
Johnson and producing partner Chris May recently formed two production companies in Hollywood, CA; Cinema 83 Entertainment, which focuses on feature films, and Cinema 83 Documentary Films which focuses on documentaries.
Personal life.
Johnson cites his original VHS copy of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" as the reason he became a filmmaker, calling it "the holy grail" of his movie collection and the film he studied the most growing up.
Johnson is a lifelong martial artist and 3rd Level Black Belt in the art of American Karate.