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PROFESSIONAL BIO OF KAREN JOHNSON Karen Johnson produces documentary and fiction films through her company Goodmovies Entertainment. She is interested in stories with an original voice, which also have universal appeal, and is particularly drawn to stories featuring interesting, non-stereotypical women and girls. Karen originated and produced Double Dare, an action-packed documentary feature about two strong, dedicated Hollywood stuntwomen, directed by Amanda Micheli. Double Dare was in official selection of the 2004 Toronto Film Festival and won numerous film festival audience awards worldwide. It screened theatrically in the U.S. in 2005 and is being distributed worldwide by First Look Studios and NBC/Universal. Double Dare was selected as one of the top ten documentaries of all time by the Boston-based Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film. Karen produced a feature film adaptation of writer/director Octavio Solis’s award-winning stage play Prospect. Through her prior partnership Wild Rose Productions, she co-produced Twice Upon A Yesterday, starring Penelope Cruz, which was distributed theatrically worldwide in 1998, won many festival awards and was nominated for an Imagen Award and a Goya Award. She has been involved in co-productions with producers in England, Spain and Germany. In addition to KUSAMA: Princess of Polka Dots, her current projects include: Charlotte, a fiction feature about German-Jewish artist Charlotte Salomon, being directed by Paul Morrison, writer/director of the Oscar-nominated film Salomon and Gaenor. It will star two-time Oscar nominee Samantha Morton and Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden; and Nerd Girls, a reality television series in development featuring a team of young women engineering students who build and race a solar car. Karen has had feature film projects in development with Universal Pictures and Sony Pictures. She worked for several other production companies, including Neufeld/Rheme Productions and Raystar Productions before forming her own company. She was an adjunct professor of independent producing at USC, where she earned her master’s degree from the Peter Stark Graduate Producing Program. She previously practiced corporate and securities law with a major international law firm. She is on the Board of Directors of Women in Film and a member of the Film Arts Foundation. Contact: karen@kusamadocumentary.com |
