Filmmaker Rian Johnson has become synonymous with the Knives Out franchise over the years. And while the third installment Wake Up Dead Man was the hardest to write, he was working with some longtime collaborators like cinematographer Steve Yedlin. And he spoke to CinemaBlend about his many years making movies with Johnson, dating back to when they were teenagers.
Yedlin has worked on a ton of Rian Johnson projects over the years, including his subversive masterpiece Star Wars: The Last Jedi, as well as the comedy mystery series Poker Face (which is streaming with a Peacock subscription). I had the chance to speak with him ahead of the release of Wake Up Dead Man, where Yedlin spoke about his years-long working relationship with Johnson. As he told me:
I mean, mostly ’cause I’m really lucky that he keeps bringing me back. We’ve been talking about movies and making movies together since we were, I don’t know, 17 and 18 years old or whatever it was. When we were kids. I mean, we both keep trying to push it to the next level and, never sort of just resting on laurels or doing the same old tricks. Luckily he keeps liking what I’m doing. We’re at a point where, he already did but he trusts me even more to do my part of it.
This sounds like a pretty ideal way to work in the film industry. Not only does Steve Yedlin know that Rian Johnson will likely hire him for any future projects, but they’ve found a way to collaborate that helps to make each other better. And their trust is part of the reason why projects like the Knives Out franchise look and feel so fresh.
While Rian Johnson can’t write the Knives Out movies in advance, it’s safe to say that he’s got his cinematographer on lock. Later in our conversation, Yedlin spoke about why their working relationship functions so well, saying:
He knows what he wants from the director’s story point of view, and then he’s also confident where that ends. You know, he wants that big ray of light but he’s not showing me references to specific movies saying, ‘It’s gotta be like this one in this way, and like that.’ He just leaves it up to me to figure out how to do it the best, dramatic and beautiful and evocative way that I know how to do it. That kind of trust also just allows me to actually the best I actually can. Because if you start getting too bogged down in ‘Why isn’t it like this thing that I’ve showed you?’ then you couldn’t copy something even if you wanted to.
This truly does sound like a winning combination. Because while Rian Johnson offers feedback and direction to Yedlin, it’s seemingly in an open-ended way that allows the accomplished cinematographer to use his own expertise and artistic vision. This alchemy of filmmaking is likely why their projects are so consistently captivating, spanning genres and both TV and film. Wake Up Dead Man definitely is a visual treat, one that looks and feels unique to the previous Knives Out films.
Wake Up Dead Man leans more into gothic imagery, and overall feels more spooky than the previous two Knives Out movies which lean more into camp. There are some visually striking moments, especially in the way light comes in and out of the church set, which is the primary location of the film.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is in theaters now as part of the 2025 movie release list, and will start streaming on December 12th for those with a Netflix subscription. Personally, I’ll be looking forward to whatever Rian Johnson and Steve Yedlin work on together next.