Derek Wayne Johnson

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), due for release in 2020 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and their cable channel Epix. The documentary will feature Sylvester Stallone narrating behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the film.

Johnson directed and produced STALLONE: Frank, That Is, a documentary about musician and actor Frank Stallone, brother of Sylvester Stallone, also due for release in 2020. The documentary will feature interviews with Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Billy Dee Williams, Duff McKagan, Joe Mantegna, and many others.

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.

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.

Derek Wayne Johnson (born February 23, 1983) is an American film director, screenwriter and film producer.