Rian Craig Johnson (born December 17, 1973) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for writing and directing the neo-noir film "Brick" (2005), the comedy-drama "The Brothers Bloom" (2008), the science-fiction thriller "Looper" (2012), the space opera "" (2017), and the murder-mystery "Knives Out" (2019), the last of which was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and earned Johnson a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.