Rian Johnson, Brick

Rian Johnson, who spent six years raising the money to write and direct Brick, his debut feature, is the kind of gritty, determined success story that makes Hollywood seem slightly unreal. Interviewed at last fall's Venice Film Festival, the filmmaker is amazingly modest for having made what The New Yorker's David Denby calls "The most entertaining picture to be released so far this year." Johnson's take on classic film noir puts his Shamus (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) in a California high school. He shot Brick in just 20 days and edited the film on his home computer. Its Sundance premiere won it a distribution deal - and now a not-so-low budget career awaits...

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