Austin Film Festival to Premiere Rian Johnson’s New ‘Knives Out’ Mystery
Johnson to receive Bill Wittliff Award and screen 'Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery,' the third installment of the acclaimed franchise
The acclaimed filmmaker Rian Johnson, behind “Knives Out” and “Glass Onion,” will present the Texas premiere of “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” at this year’s Austin Film Festival (AFF), taking place October 23–30. He will also be honored with the 2025 Bill Wittliff Award for Screenwriting, an honor presented annually by AFF since 1995 and named after the prolific Texas writer and filmmaker. The third installment in Johnson’s hit whodunit franchise is set to release on Netflix December 12.
“We are thrilled to welcome Rian Johnson back to Austin Film Festival as this year’s recipient of the Bill Wittliff Award for Screenwriting,” said Barbara Morgan, AFF’s co-founder and Executive Director. “Rian is an incredibly gifted screenwriter and visionary filmmaker whose body of work and generosity to the next generation of storytellers exemplifies this award.”
Past recipients of the Wittliff Award include titans of the craft such as Lawrence Kasdan, Nancy Meyers and Kenneth Lonergan. The latest “Knives Out” chapter sees Daniel Craig reprising his role as the ever-curious Southern sleuth Benoit Blanc.
Johnson’s latest film features a stacked cast of suspects, including Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack and Thomas Haden Church.
Filmmaker Rian Johnson honored at AFF
Johnson, who previously earned Academy Award and Writers Guild nominations for his work on the first two films in the franchise, will also speak at AFF’s famed Writers Conference, which features more than 150 panels led by industry professionals.
“I’m honored to be receiving the Bill Wittliff award from the Austin Film Festival,” Johnson said in a recent press release. “I love the AFF and its support of established and emerging writers, and attending will be both a pleasure and a welcomed excuse to procrastinate on my own writing.”
The festival’s Awards Luncheon on October 25 will recognize Johnson alongside producing awardee Christine Vachon and television writer Yvette Lee Bowser. Winners of AFF’s script and film competitions and recipients of industry-sponsored fellowships will also be celebrated during the event.
Badges and passes for the 32nd annual festival are available at austinfilmfestival.com.
RELATED: Texas Book Festival Offers First Look at Lineup for 30th Anniversary