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…