Books and Screenplays...Oh My!
Hello! My name is James Francis Johnson -- the Francis part being the only way to separate myself from all the James, Jim and Jimmy Johnsons in the public domain. I have written and published four books, one, THE EDUCATION OF A WHITE BOY, an honest discussion on Race in America, one a collection of satirical personal ads, one a dictionary of amusing and misanthropic definitions, and the last my first screenplay that makes a mockery of Dr. Phil, who, of course, is a mockery unto himself.
My first screenplay is entitled ME THE STAR, which under its former incarnation, THE ALGORITHM, was a quarterfinalist in the esteemed Academy Nicholl Fellowship Screenwriting Contest. This is a clever look at the near future when Social Media reaches its endgame with everyone, even the most boring and least interesting person, is now a star in their own movie.
My second script, THE TROUPER, features a beautiful native Minnesota aspiring singer/actress who once made a purity vow to her strict Pastor father. She flees from this man to Hollywood where she, out of desperation, collaborates with a Little Person in an effort be a star without compromising her Christian principles.
MY VIRAGO, or HUBRIS THE GREAT, reached the quarterfinals in the 2016 and 2017 Scritptapalooza Competitions. The protagonist. , Hubris the Great, is an erudite, megalomaniacal young man who was raised by his assassin/gangster mother. The is above all else a love story between Hubris and his recovering heroin addict girlfriend, Virago, whom he may lose if he does not grow from a delusional intellectual snob to a man of action in order to outwit his mother's criminal associates.
DEAR ADOLPH, was a quarterfinalist in the 2019 Blue Cat Competition. It offers a unique twist on the premise of changing history for the good by eliminating Hitler. In this case, a lovely German art historian, Maria, is given the chance to save fifty million lives if only she will travel back in time to have sex with Adolph Hitler. Maria is the ultimate movie heroine as she singlehandedly battles, and overcomes, the male-dominated rightwing movement of post-WWI Munich, to say nothing of the lecherous Pablo Picasso and the Paris art world.
My latest script, FOLLOW YOUR PASSION, KILLER!, still needs work, but the premise is original. Gary is a semi-naïve follower of all things Self-Help. One day he decides to summon the courage to follow his passion as dictated to by his motivational heroes -- only his passion is to become a serial killer.
WHAT REVIEWERS SAID ABOUT "THE EDUCATION OF A WHITE BOY"
Race relations in many parts of the United States are still a confusing mess, half a century after the Civil Rights Movement. A change in perspective is required in many people, and this is the sort of soul-bearing book that could help with that shift. Very well done, Mr. Johnson.
-- Veritas Vincit
I love this timely book and hope that it becomes part of the reading of every citizen of this country -no, of the globe. James Francis Johnson is a very important writer and blogger. Watch him rise, but read him now!
-- Grady Harp
It is a fascinating book dealing fairly honestly and realistically with racism, from a unique perspective. If you're interested in racism, I recommend it. Wait, you shouldn't be interested in racism at all.....
-- Owen Robinson
Johnson is a talented and powerfully gifted author that can tell real stories and relate real experiences in interesting and thought-provoking ways. If you want to reacquaint yourself with issues of race that are still ongoing (and some might say intensifying) in America today, then The Education of a White Boy is a book well worth picking up.
-- John J. Staughton
He [Johnson] explains that he is of the view that everyone exhibits characteristics of racism in certain circumstances of their lives but few are honest about it...I really enjoyed The Education of a White Boy because of the open and honest look that Johnson takes at racism not only in others, but also in himself. Everyone should read this book.
-- Robin Perron
