With Women in Horror Month 2015 coming to a close in just three days, I’m really looking to find women who have been helped the horror and science fiction genre in a big way. One such woman is Krista Johnston, who has donated a considerable amount of time to our favorite genre in a department that is often overlooked by cinema viewers. I’m talking about the clearance and rights department. This is part of the legalities in making a feature film, one that protects you from possible lawsuits. Basically, clearance and rights make sure that you have permission to use a person’s likeness, property, or intellectual property. This is often done in the form of personal release forms and permits.
So, without Krista Johnston behind-the-scenes there may have been a few bumps in the road while making dozens of movies. Luckily her professionalism and her own Canadian based company – The Research House Clearance Services Inc. – has secured releases and protected a number of titles from lawsuit. She’s like a super hero for directors and producers! It appears she has retired from the job, as her last credits were in 2012, but during her 23 year career in this section of the legal department, she amassed a whopping 303 credits! Yeah, talk about a hard worker! Even better, Johnston worked behind-the-scenes in rights and clearances in 43 horror projects! The jaw dropping list can be found below:
Voyage of Terror (1998), The Darklings (1999), The House Next Door (2002), Killer Bees! (2002), Scary Godmother: Halloween Spooktakular (2003), The Thing Below (2004), Monster Island (2004), The Risen (2004), White Noise (2005), Fatal Reunion (2005), Killer Bash (2005), Thralls (2005), Devour (2005), Scary Godmother: The Revenge of Jimmy (2005), Final Days of Planet Earth (2006), Sam’s Lake (2006), Fido (2006), Freezer Burn (2007), “Masters of Horror” 2005-2007, The Cabinet (2007), Shadow Puppets (2007), Blood Brothers: Reign of Terror (2007), Cthulhu (2007), The Raven (2007), They Wait (2007), “Painkiller Jane” 2007, The Scourge (2008), Pontypool (2008), Alien Trespass (2009), The Butterfly Effect 3 (2009), Pure Evil (2009), The Devil’s Ground (2009), Fear Island (2009), Jennifer’s Body (2009), The Hole (2009), Dear Mr. Gacy (2010), Vampire (2011), Grave Encounters (2011), “R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour” 2010-2011, The Collapsed (2011), “Sanctuary” 2008-2011, Seattle Superstorm (2012), Barricade (2012)
Thanks for all your hard work, Krista Johnston! They couldn’t have done it without you!
