Derek Wayne Johnson is an award-winning director, writer, producer and editor. In his senior year of film school at Stephen F. Austin State University, Johnson wrote and directed his first feature film, "Within Us." After college he broke into the movie business in Texas and Louisiana by directing independent feature films such as “Broken Blood” and “Scrape.”
 

Johnson directed and produced “John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs”, a documentary about Academy Award-winning director John G. Avildsen, whose credits include “Rocky” and “The Karate Kid.” The film features interviews with Sylvester Stallone, Ralph Macchio, Martin Scorsese, Burt Reynolds, Talia Shire and many more.

Sylvester Stallone handpicked Johnson to direct and produce “40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic” (aka "Becoming Rocky: The Birth of a Classic"), a documentary featuring Stallone narrating behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the original film. The film was recently acquired by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in North America. 

Johnson recently completed “STALLONE: Frank, That Is”, a documentary about Grammy and Golden Globe nominated singer, musician and actor Frank Stallone, brother of Sylvester. The film features interviews with Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Geraldo Rivera, Joe Mantegna, John Oates, Richie Sambora, Duff McKagan and more and is due for release late 2020.

Johnson and his producing partner Chris May recently formed two production companies in Hollywood, CA; Cinema 83 Entertainment, which focuses on feature films, and Cinema 83 Documentary Films which focuses on documentaries.