Jake Johnson on How a Japanese Reality Show Inspired His Directorial Debut 'Self Reliance' (Exclusive)

Jake Johnson's new Hulu comedy thriller Self Reliance has its roots in a disturbing Japanese game show that made international headlines for its outrageous premise when it first aired. As the New Girl and Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse actor makes his directorial debut as well as his solo writing debut with Self Reliance, he opened up to PopCulture.com about just how the 1988 reality show Susunu! Denpa Shōnen felt prescient more nearly 40 years later.

In Self Reliance, Johnson's disillusioned character Tommy receives a tempting offer from none other than Andy Samberg to win $1 million by taking part in a bizarre reality television game show on the dark web. For 30 days, Tommy has to dodge attempts on his life from in-game assassins, but when he realizes the hunters can't attack him unless he's alone, he embarks on a mission to surround himself with other people at all times.

Johnson told PopCulture that the idea for Self Reliance first developed when he learned about Susunu! Denpa Shōnen, which took aspiring comedian Tomoaki Hamatsu and put him in a largely empty room, stripped him of all his belongings, including clothing, and told him that he could only leave once he'd earned 1 million yen's worth of prizes from sweepstakes. "Part of the show was him, in real-time, reacting to the situation he was in," Johnson explained. "And the harder it got for him, the wilder he behaved, the funnier it was for the audience."

While the concept felt "so crazy" for Johnson at first, he admits, "Now I'm seeing more and more it's coming, I feel like that's where our entertainment's going to go. ...And when the pandemic hit, all the themes of the original idea I'd come up with really felt important to me. And so I decided this is the time I want to write this movie and try to make it."

Directing was another challenge Johnson wanted to take on with his script. "The main reason I wanted to direct was I really like heads of departments winning the debates. I really like actors. I like when an actor has an idea. I like experimentation. I like when a set is alive and we're trying to create something," he told PopCulture, explaining how he loves the "magic" of working through a production collaboratively with everyone involved, from the actors to the set designer and director of photography. 

Despite the love he had for directing Self Reliance, Johnson doesn't see another similar project in his immediate future. "I don't see directing happening for a while," he told PopCulture. "It was a really great experience, but I'm not eager to jump back into another marriage. I felt like I was married to Self Reliance - It was great."

Self Reliance is streaming now on Hulu.