David Leslie Johnson was born about as far from Hollywood as one can be. Raised in Mansfield, Ohio by schoolteacher parents, he developed an early interest in storytelling and began writing plays in the second grade. He later became interested in film and, at age nineteen, wrote his first screenplay. He attended The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Photography and Cinema.Not long after, he found himself back in his hometown working as a production assistant on The Shawshank Redemption, which was filmed on location at the historic Mansfield Reformatory, where Johnson�s great-grandfather had been a prison guard. Determined to make… an impression on the visiting film crew, he worked during the day in the editing room and at night began writing a sample screenplay, which he finished on the last day of shooting. The script garnered the attention of Frank Darabont, the film�s Academy Award�-nominated director and writer. Johnson spent the next five years as Darabont�s assistant, using the opportunity to learn the trade of screenwriting from one of the industry�s most respected talents.Johnson currently has several projects in development. David Johnson lives in Burbank, CA with his wife, screenwriter Kimberly Lofstrom Johnson and son, Samuel.