Person
Brian Johnson
Surrey, England, UK
Brian Johncock (born 29 June 1939) is a British designer and director of film and television special effects. He changed his surname to Johnson during the 1960s. Joining the team…
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Brian Johncock (born 29 June 1939) is a British designer and director of film and television special effects. He changed his surname to Johnson during the 1960s. Joining the team of special effects artist Les Bowie, Johnson started his career behind the scenes for Bowie Films on productions such as On the Buses, and for Hammer Films. He is known for his special effects work on TV series including Thunderbirds (1965–66) and films including Alien (1979), for which he received the 1980 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects (shared with H. R. Giger, Carlo Rambaldi, Dennis Ayling and Nick Allder). Previously, he had built miniature spacecraft models for Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Johnson's work on Space: 1999 influenced the effects of the Star Wars films of the 1970s and 1980s. Impressed by his work, George Lucas visited Johnson during the production of the TV series to offer him the role of effects supervisor for the 1977 film. Having already been commissioned for the second series of Space: 1999, Johnson was unable to accept at the time. He worked on the sequel, The Empire Strikes Back (1980), whose special effects were recognised in the form of a 1981 Special Achievement Academy Award (which Johnson shared with Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren and Bruce Nicholson).
Filmography
Movies and shows, newest first
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2026
Space: 1999 4K Double Bill - Breakaway and The Metamorph
Movie Special Effects
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2025
Thunderbirds 60th Anniversary Double Bill - Trapped in the Sky / Terror in New York City
Movie Special Effects Assistant
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2025
Prisoners in Space
Movie Special Effects
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2025
The Eagle Obsession
Movie Self
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2024
2001: Creating Kubrick’s Space Odyssey
Movie Himself
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2018
Family Vanished
Movie Det. Flynn
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2018
Century 21 Slough
Movie Himself
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2014
This Is Supermarionation
Movie Special Effects
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2014
Filmed in Supermarionation
Movie Self
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2003
The Beast Within: Making Alien
Movie Self
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2001
2001: The Making of a Myth
Movie Self
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2000
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
TV show Brad Malone
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1999
The Alien Legacy
Movie Self
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1996
Space Truckers
Movie Special Effects
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1994
Highlander III: The Sorcerer
Movie Visual Effects Supervisor
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1991
Their Finest Hour
Movie Writer
More credits
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1990
Caged Fury
Movie Stunts
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1989
Slipstream
Movie Special Effects
-
1986
Aliens
Movie Special Effects
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1985
Spies Like Us
Movie Special Effects
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1984
The NeverEnding Story
Movie Special Effects
-
1983
Krull
Movie Special Effects
-
1983
The Pirates of Penzance
Movie Special Effects Supervisor
-
1982
Journey Through the Black Sun
Movie Special Effects
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1982
Countdown to Disaster
Movie Special Effects
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1981
Dragonslayer
Movie Special Effects
-
1980
SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back
Movie Self
-
1980
Alien Attack
Movie Special Effects
-
1980
The Empire Strikes Back
Movie Special Effects
-
1979
Alien
Movie Special Effects
-
1978
The Medusa Touch
Movie Special Effects Supervisor
-
1978
Revenge of the Pink Panther
Movie Special Effects
-
1977
The Glitterball
Movie Special Effects
-
1975
The Day After Tomorrow: Into Infinity
Movie Special Effects
-
1975
Space: 1999
TV show Visual Effects Director
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1970
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth
Movie Special Effects
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1970
Taste the Blood of Dracula
Movie Special Effects
-
1969
Moon Zero Two
Movie Special Effects
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1968
2001: A Space Odyssey
Movie Special Effects
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1967
Quatermass and the Pit
Movie Special Effects Assistant
