Mike Johnston

Director and Screenwriter

Seattle, Washington

Member Since:
December 2018

Last online:
> 2 weeks ago

Invites sent:
607

About Mike

After starting his career at MTV in New York, Mike Johnston has written and directed commercials for some of the largest brands in the world. Over the last 20 years, he has led digital agencies, traditional agencies and production companies. He has written successful advertising campaigns for every screen. Mike has been awarded Emmys, Tellys and the EPA campaign of the year twice for writing and directing. His articles on comedy have been featured on the homepage of Medium as an Editor’s Pick.

Mike has studied storytelling with Robert McKee "Story," John Vorhaus "Writing Comedy," Richard Walter "Dramatic Storytelling" and Richard Krevolin "Screenwriting from the Soul."

He has completed the following MasterClasses: Aaron Sorkin Screenwriting, David Mamet Dramatic Writing, Malcolm Gladwell Teaches Writing, Ron Howard Teaches Directing, Martin Scorsese Teaches Filmmaking, Ken Burns Teaches Documentary Filmmaking, Steve Martin Teaches Comedy, and Judd Apatow Teaches Comedy.

Finalist, The Academy Nicholl Fellowship 2018
with A GIRL NAMED TROUBLE

Semifinalist, The Academy Nicholl Fellowship 2019
with CAPITAL OFFENSE

Second Rounder, Austin Film Festival 2020
with ANGRY DRIVING SCHOOL

Second Rounder, Austin Film Festival 2021
with CAPITAL OFFENSE

Semifinalist, ScreenCraft Feature Competition 2021
with CAPITAL OFFENSE

Quarterfinalist, ScreenCraft Feature Competition 2021
with A GIRL NAMED TROUBLE

Quarterfinalist, ScreenCraft Feature Competition 2021
with EVERYTHING WE LEFT BEHIND

Second Rounder, Austin Film Festival 2022
with HELD BACK

Semifinalist, ScreenCraft TV Pilot Script Competition 2022
with ANGRY DRIVING SCHOOL

Quarterfinalist, ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellowship 2022
with ANGRY DRIVING SCHOOL

Quarterfinalist, ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellowship 2022
with SEEDS

Semifinalist, ScreenCraft TV Pilot Script Competition 2023
with SECOND COMING

Semifinalist, WeScreenplay TV Pilot Lab 2023
with EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF

Unique traits: Calm.

Gender:
Male

Badges

Photos

Loglines

Second Coming Budget: $100K - $1M | Comedy Jesus Christ becomes human again in order to prepare for the Second Coming. But he’s a fish outta water in the modern world. And the more time he spends as a human, the more susceptible to sin he becomes.
Everything We Left Behind Budget: $5M - $10M | Drama After a young man discovers a windfall of cash, he decides to leave a dying town in Middle America. But before he can, his abusive father shows him why that would be the biggest mistake of his life.
Every Man For Himself Budget: $100K - $1M | Comedy Using the metro bus system, a band of misfit commuters builds a sophisticated network of resources to take down corrupt city officials.
SEEDS Budget: $1M - $5M | Sci-fi Driven by the death of his father, an untested human boy leads a handful of children against a technologically superior robot army. Sparking an interstellar war between two robot worlds. And testing what it really means to be human.
The Bird Mask Budget: $100K - $1M | Horror A cynical ad executive obsessed with finding his birth mother turns to a charismatic sideshow performer, who forces him to confront his own darkness in a mansion filled with endless temptations.
Held Back Budget: $1M - $5M | Comedy A child actor from a hit detective show has aged out of Hollywood. And now as an adult, he’s forced to confront actual criminals while he faces hard truths about his childhood.
All's Fair Budget: $10M - $30M | Comedy ⋄ Crime The best confidence man of his day returns to Seattle for the 1962 World’s Fair to set up the biggest con of his career. But instead, he gets conned by the same guy who ruined his father’s career. Now he’s looking for payback.
A Girl Named Trouble Budget: $5M - $10M | Romance ⋄ Crime A tough guy falls for a woman who steals a bag of money from the wrong people. Now they’re both on the run. But as half the town is chasing the bag of money she stole, he's chasing a girl.
Killer Therapy Budget: $1M - $5M | Comedy After a hitman has a complete mental breakdown, he starts therapy with a sociopathic therapist and other contract killers, only to discover they work for the people who killed his mother and father.
Capital Offense Budget: $1M - $5M | Crime ⋄ Thriller Just as a defendant is about to be found guilty in a home invasion murder case, the judge's granddaughter is kidnapped. The defendant knows where she’s being held because he’s robbed that house before. And wants to go free.
Angry Driving School Budget: $100K - $1M | Comedy An ex-NASCAR driver with anger issues is ordered by the court to work for the optimistic owner of a failing driving school.
Broken Toys Budget: $10M - $30M | Comedy A man is hired to save the biggest merger in corporate history. Just as he loses his secret ability to see the future, all because for the first time in his life, he falls in love.