Johan Renck Explained

Johan Renck
Birth Date:5 December 1966
Birth Place:Uppsala, Sweden
Othername:Stakka Bo
Occupation:Film director, music video director, former singer-songwriter
Years Active:1991–present
Website:www.johanrenck.com[1]

Bo Johan Renck (born 5 December 1966) is a Swedish director of music videos, TV and film. He was originally a singer-songwriter from 1991 to 2001, using the moniker Stakka Bo, and had an international hit with his single "Here We Go" in 1993. Renck later became a music-video and television director, winning an Emmy Award in 2019 for his work on the mini-series Chernobyl.

Early life

Renck was born on 5 December 1966 in Uppsala, Sweden, the son of medical doctor and professor Hans Renck and nurse Marina Kylberg. Hans taught at several universities around the world, so the Renck family moved around and lived in Miami, Uppsala, Malmö, Tromsø and Kuwait.[2] He graduated from Stockholm School of Economics with a degree in business.[3]

Career

Music

While at university, he dated singer and ex-model Camilla Henemark of Army of Lovers, who introduced him to the Swedish music business.[2] He started out as one half of Eurodance duo E-Type + Stakka B, but went solo after two singles,[2] [4] continuing to release music as Stakka Bo.

Stakka Bo had a hit single in 1993 with the song "Here We Go", which peaked at No. 13 in the UK Singles Chart.[5] Heavily influenced by the Stereo MCs, who were popular at the time, "Here We Go" appeared in an episode of the animated television series Beavis and Butt-Head and sitcom Derry Girls, in the films Prêt-à-porter, Never Been Kissed and Alien Autopsy[6] and in the video game UEFA Euro 2004.[7]

Due to a very tight budget, he ended up directing the first video for his solo project, and continued making his own videos, eventually directing videos of other Swedish artists such as Titiyo and The Cardigans.[4]

Music videos

He has directed music videos for a number of artists including Madonna's "Nothing Really Matters" and "Hung Up", Kylie Minogue's "Love at First Sight", All Saints' "Black Coffee", Robyn's "Handle Me", Robbie Williams's "Tripping" and "She's Madonna", The Libertines' "What Became of the Likely Lads", Suede's "She's in Fashion", New Order's "Crystal" and "Krafty", Beyoncé's "Me, Myself and I", Chris Cornell's "Can't Change Me", The Knife's "Pass This On", Fever Ray's "Seven" and Bat for Lashes' "Daniel".[8] In 2012 he directed the music video "Blue Velvet" for Lana Del Rey which was also used for the commercial campaign by H&M, as well as the music video for "Wild" by Beach House. In 2015 he directed the ten-minute video for David Bowie's "Blackstar",[9] and "Lazarus" that appeared in January 2016.[10] In 2005, he and his brother Martin directed two videos from Swedish band The Cardigans: "I Need Some Fine Wine and You, You Need to Be Nicer" and "Don't Blame Your Daughter (Diamonds)". He has been associated with Swedish artists like Karin Dreijer and Kent.

Film and television

Renck's first film, Downloading Nancy, 2008 premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on 21 January 2008 in Park City, Utah.[11] While the movie didn't receive very strong reviews, it generated a call from Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan. He directed three episodes of AMC television drama Breaking Bad, and moved on to work on one episode of The Walking Dead,[12] Halt and Catch Fire, and Bates Motel.

In addition, Renck directed a fashion art film called Decadent Control for Imagine Fashion that premiered in March 2011. It starred Roberto Cavalli, Eva Herzigová, Kirsty Hume and Brad Kroenig and used fashion from Agent Provocateur and H&M.[11]

He told Swedish magazine Cafe in 2017 that for a while he preferred to direct pilots (Vikings, Bloodline), but now rather works on mini-series, where one can direct all episodes, such as with The Last Panthers. He says he turned down Better Call Saul, Game of Thrones and Homeland. He told the magazine: "And as the director of a TV-episode, you only have around 25 percent of input. There are two kinds of TV projects that I still agree to do, one is television series where each episode is a separate "entity", like Black Mirror, and the other is miniseries where you can do all the episodes, as I did with The Last Panthers. But of course I am very happy that Breaking Bad happened, it was very educational and exciting and fresh. Plus, it is hugely prestigious – people still call me because of it."[2]

In 2019, Renck directed the mini-series Chernobyl, a dramatization of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, for SKY and HBO, featuring among others Stellan Skarsgård, Jared Harris and Emily Watson. Renck won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special in 2019 for his work on Chernobyl.[13] In January 2020, Renck won the Directors Guild of America Award for Movies for Television and Limited Series.[14]

In the fall of 2019, it was announced that he was attached to the feature film Spaceman of Bohemia an adaptation to the book by U.S. based, Czech born writer Jaroslav Kalfař, with a screenplay written by Colby Day. The film is set up under Channing Tatum's company, Free Association.[15]

In May 2020, Variety reported he was in negotiations to direct and executive produce the limited series Girl A for producer Elizabeth Gabler (former president of Fox 2000) and Sony Pictures Entertainment. The series is adapted from the novel by debut author Abigail Dean.[16] in January 2021, he was forced to drop out of the project due to scheduling conflicts, replaced as the pilot's director by Kantemir Balagov.[18]

In September 2022 he and his producing partner Michael Parets founder their own production company, Sinestra, and signed a 2 year first look deal with Freemantle. Under this deal he will direct an adaptation of the novel Mouth to Mouth.[19]

In March 2023, he signed to direct a film adaptation of The Prisoner in His Palace, a novel based on the 12 soldiers who guarded Saddam Hussein in the months previous to his execution. He also signed to direct a TV adaptation of the novel The Day of the Triffids for Amazon Studios.[21] [22]

Personal life

He is married to Elin Renck and has four children.[23] [24]

Discography

Studio albums

TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positions
SWE
[25]
FIN
[26]
SWI
[27]
UK
[28]
Supermarket 9 35 29
The Great Blondino
  • Released: 1995
  • Label: Stockholm (#529336)
  • Formats: LP, CS, CD
19 192
Jr.
  • Released: 2001
  • Label: Stockholm (#014162)
  • Formats: CS, CD
23
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Singles

YearTitlePeak chart positionsAlbum
SWE
AUT
[29]
DEN
[30]
EUR
[31]
FIN
GER
[32]
NED
[33]
NOR
[34]
SWI
UK
1991"We Got the Atmosphere" (with E-Type)rowspan="2"
1992"Numania 1" (with E-Type)
1993"Here We Go"4 6 10 17 15 23 10 7 13Supermarket
"Down the Drain"24 27 83 10 22 64
"Living It Up"38
1994"On Your Knees"
"We"
1995"Great Blondino"15 The Great Blondino
1996"Softroom"54
"We Vie" (with Titiyo, Fleshquartet & Nåid) 10 Jr.
2001"Mute"20
"Killer"34
"Love of a Woman"
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleDirectorExecutive
Producer
2008Downloading Nancy
2024Spaceman

Television

TV series

YearTitleEpisode(s)
2009–2011Breaking Bad"Breakage"
"Más"
"Hermanos"
2010The Walking Dead"Vatos"
2013Vikings"Rites of Passage"
"Wrath of the Northmen"
"Dispossessed"
Bates Motel"Trust Me"
2014Halt and Catch Fire"Close to the Metal"
2015Bloodline"Part 1"
"Part 2"
2016Shut Eye"Death"

Miniseries

YearTitleDirectorExecutive
Producer
2014Ettor & nollor
2015The Last Panthers
2019Chernobyl

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryTitleResult
1999MTV Video Music AwardsBest Special Effects in a VideoNothing Really Matters
2008Stockholm International Film FestivalBronze Horse AwardDownloading Nancy
2008Sundance Film FestivalGrand Jury Prize: Dramatic
2011Online Film & Television AssociationBest Direction in a Drama SeriesThe Walking Dead
2016British Academy Television AwardsBest Drama SeriesThe Last Panthers
2016CamerimageBest Music VideoBlackstar
2016MTV Video Music AwardsBest DirectionLazarus
2019Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Directing for a Limited SeriesChernobyl
2020British Academy Television Craft AwardsBest Director: Fiction
2020CinEuphoria AwardsMerit - Honorary Award
2020Producers Guild of America AwardBest Limited Series Television
2020Directors Guild of America AwardOutstanding Directing – Miniseries or TV Film

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.johanrenck.com Official website
  2. Web site: Hemma hos seriesnillet Johan Renck i Brooklyn. 25 April 2017. Cafe.se.
  3. Web site: Johan Renck – Sommar & Vinter i P1. Sverigesradio.se. 28 July 2016 .
  4. Web site: Johan Renck hyllad av världsstjärnan för "Chernobyl". Expressen.se. 6 June 2019 .
  5. Book: Roberts , David . 2006. British Hit Singles & Albums. 19th. Guinness World Records Limited . London. 1-904994-10-5. 523.
  6. http://www.mvdbase.com/tech.php?last=Renck&first=Johan Videography
  7. Web site: EURO 2004 Soundtrack. FIFASoundtrack.com. 26 May 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20180220095515/http://www.fifasoundtrack.com/euro2004.htm. 20 February 2018. dead.
  8. Web site: CNN.com – Johan Renck: Q & A – Feb 27, 2006. edition.cnn.com.
  9. Web site: Renck. Johan. Blackstar. Johanrenck.com. 8 June 2016.
  10. Web site: Renck. Johan. Lazarus. Johanrenck.com. 8 June 2016.
  11. Web site: Coming at Sundance: Personal Explorations and Stories of Survival. David M.. Halbfinger. 29 November 2007. The New York Times.
  12. Web site: Another Director Named – Johan Renck Will Tackle The Walking Dead. Dreadcentral.com. 17 October 2012.
  13. Web site: Emmys: 'Chernobyl's' Johan Renck Wins Best Directing for a Limited Series . The Hollywood Reporter . 22 September 2019 . 23 September 2019 . en.
  14. Web site: '1917' Director Takes Home Top Prize At DGA Awards . 26 January 2020. Patch.com. 4 February 2020.
  15. Web site: 'Chernobyl' Emmy Winner Johan Renck To Direct 'Spaceman of Bohemia' Adaptation For Channing Tatum's Free Association. Amanda. N'Duka. Deadline.com. 4 October 2019. 28 June 2021.
  16. Web site: 'Chernobyl' Director Johan Renck to Helm 'The Last of Us' HBO Pilot . Galuppo . Mia . . . June 8, 2020 . June 9, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200609010422/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/chernobyl-director-johan-renck-helm-last-us-pilot-hbo-1297489 . June 9, 2020 . live .
  17. Web site: 'Chernobyl's' Johan Renck to Direct 'Girl A' Limited Series for 3000 Pictures (EXCLUSIVE). Justin. Kroll. Variety.com. 13 May 2020. 28 June 2021.

    In June 2020, Renck was revealed as executive producer and director of the pilot episode of HBO's television adaptation of The Last of Us with Chernobyl collaborator Craig Mazin;[16]

  18. Web site: 'Last of Us' HBO Series Finds Its Director With 'Beanpole' Filmmaker (Exclusive) . Kit . Borys . . . January 15, 2021 . January 16, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210116000659/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/last-of-us-hbo-series-finds-its-director-with-beanpole-filmmaker-exclusive . January 16, 2021 . live .
  19. News: Cordero . Rosy . Andreeva . Nellie . 'Dune: The Sisterhood': Director Johan Renck & Star Shirley Henderson Exit HBO Max Series Amid Creative Overhaul & Production Hiatus . 1 March 2023 . Deadline . 28 February 2023.
  20. Web site: Chernobyl' Director Johan Renck and Producer Michael Parets Ink TV Deal With Fremantle, Set First Show 'Mouth to Mouth. Nick. Vivarelli. Variety.com. September 22, 2022. 19 November 2023.

    Renck was set to direct the pilot episode to . But on 28 February 2023, it was announced that he left the project due to a creative overhaul.[19]

  21. Web site: Saddam Hussein Film From 'Chernobyl' Director Johan Renck Set at Fremantle, Sinestra. Nellie. Andreeva. Deadline.com. March 1, 2023. 19 November 2023.
  22. Web site: 'The Day Of The Triffids' TV Series In Works At Amazon With Johan Renck Directing & Angry Films Producing. Nellie. Andreeva. Deadline.com. March 1, 2023. 19 November 2023 .
  23. Web site: Johan Renck har gift sig. TT. gp.se. 15 December 2013.
  24. Web site: Johan Renck har blivit pappa igen. Aftonbladet. 3 October 2016 .
  25. Web site: Swedish chart peaks . Swedishcharts.com (Hung Medien) . 29 November 2020.
  26. Book: Pennanen, Timo. 2006. Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972. 1st. Tammi. 978-951-1-21053-5. Helsinki. fi.
  27. Web site: Swiss chart peaks . Hitparade.ch (Hung Medien) . 29 November 2020.
  28. UK chart peaks:
    • Web site: UK chart peaks . . 29 November 2020.
    • Book: Roberts, David. British Hit Singles & Albums. 2006. 19th. Guinness World Records Limited. London. 9781904994107.
    • Web site: Chart Log UK 1994–2010 . Zobbel.de. 29 November 2020.
  29. Web site: Austrian chart peaks . Austriancharts.at (Hung Medien) . 29 November 2020.
  30. Danish singles chart peaks:
    • Web site: Here We Go . Worldradiohistory.com . 29 November 2020.
  31. European singles chart peaks:
  32. German singles chart peaks:
    • Web site: Here We Go . Offiziellecharts.de . 29 November 2020.
  33. Web site: Dutch chart peaks . Dutchcharts.nl (Hung Medien) . 29 November 2020.
  34. Web site: Norwegian chart peaks . Norwegiancharts.com (Hung Medien) . 29 November 2020.