“Growing up, I felt like a student of John [Avildsen]’s and his movies as I not only was inspired by them, but learned valuable filmmaking techniques through studying how he shot his pictures,” said director Derek Johnson of the eponymous subject of his latest film, John Avildsen: King of the Underdogs. Avildsen is the award-winning director of iconic movies Rocky and The Karate Kid, yet not many know his name. Johnson set out to change that with this documentary that traces the life of the genius behind the camera of two of cinema’s classic films. See facebook.com/JohnGAvildsenUnderdog .
What made you so intent on telling his story?
If you ask anyone who directed Rocky, nine times out of 10 they say Sylvester Stallone. If you ask them who directed The Karate Kid, they have no idea. I've always thought it was a shame that this great director never got the recognition he deserved (aside from winning the Best Director Oscar for Rocky) and it was interesting to me that John all but vanished from movie making. I wanted to show the world that this is the legend behind their favorite movies. It's not every day that you get to meet your heroes, befriend them, be mentored by them and especially get to make a movie about them. I'm very thankful for this opportunity.