Steve Johnson

Biography

Steve Johnson, an American special effects artist from Houston, Texas, was drawn to the craft as a child by Universal and Hammer monster films. While still in high school he showed his portfolio to Rick Baker, who helped him land work with Rob Bottin. His early credits include The Howling (1981), An American Werewolf in London (1981) and Ghostbusters (1984), for which he created Slimer, and he designed the alien Sil for Species (1995). He founded his own effects company, Steve Johnson's XFX, in 1986; it was later renamed Edge FX. He won Emmy Awards for the miniseries The Stand (1994) and The Shining (1997), and his company worked on The Outer Limits and Stargate SG-1. Other credits include The Abyss (1989), Blade II (2002), for which he won a Fangoria Chainsaw Award, and Spider-Man 2 (2004). He wrote, produced and directed the short Everloving in 2003.

66years old

Turns 67 on February 7in 89 days

Born February 7, 1960Houston
Star sign: AquariusThe sign runs January 20 to February 18
Also credited as Steven Marcus Jacobs (birth name) and Rubberhead

Movie Career

Films: 5
Career span: 36 years1980 to 2016

Every film, newest first

2016You're So Cool, Brewster! The Story of Fright NightIMDb rating 8.1
2015The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened?IMDb rating 7.1
2011More Brains! A Return to the Living DeadIMDb rating 7.6
2006The Sci-Fi BoysIMDb rating 6.9
1980Humanoids from the DeepIMDb rating 5.7

Genres

Did you know?!

Getting ready for a role
Johnson's work in 1982 was on Ivan Reitman's new project, Ghostbusters. There he created "Slimer", a character he based on John Belushi and the "librarian ghost".
Big break
Johnson was still a high school student when he showed his portfolio to Rick Baker, one of his idols. Baker saw his talent for problem-solving and helped him land work with Rob Bottin, an effects creator.
First role
Johnson's first job in film was with four-time Oscar winner Greg Cannom on The Galactic Connection, a film that was never released.
Getting ready for a role
For Innocent Blood, Johnson came up with scleral lenses coated in silicone glass and Scotchlite. Lights from a color wheel bounced colors back toward the camera, so the lenses seemed to glow and shift color on command, with no digital after-effects.
Getting ready for a role
For Lord of Illusions, Johnson and Bill Bryan built a pulsing, morphing creature using plastic bags, yogurt containers, methyl cellulose slime, and gravity instead of stop motion or mold-casting.
Behind the camera
Johnson wrote, produced and directed the short Everloving in 2003. It was shown as part of the Brooklyn Film Festival.