Hoyts
International chief executive officer Paul Johnson first joined
the Austalia-based circuit in 1982 as an accountant and became its
director of corporate strategy two years later. He moved to the
circuit’s U.S. arm as chief financial officer in 1986, before
returning to Australia in 1990 to lead global expansion efforts.
Named CEO of Hoyts in 1999, Johnson was honored in March as ShoWest’s
International Exhibitor of the Year.
What
about you would most surprise the majority of your fellow exhibitors?
I joined the cinema industry as a financial accountant.
What
would you wish for if a djinn offered to grant one wish (assuming
you couldn’t wish for more wishes)?
To be a scratch handicap golfer.
What
would you be if you weren’t a cinema operator?
Sports coach/administration.
Who
is your favorite filmmaker and why?
Steven Spielberg; he is a great filmmaker and I have grown up in
the era of his filmmaking. Films such as “Jaws,” “Schindler’s
List,” “E.T.” “Jurassic Park,” “Saving
Private Ryan” – the list goes on.
Which
TV show do you hate to miss?
An Australian show called “Australian Story,” which gives
insights into the lives of ordinary and extraordinary Australians.
What’s
your favorite book?
“The Firm” by John Grisham.
What
kind of lunchbox did you have as a kid?
A brown paper bag (common in Australia).
What’s
your favorite movie theatre in which you and/or your partners have
absolutely no investment?
Bluewater in the United Kingdom, which was designed and built by
Hoyts but is now owned by National Amusements.
Which
sacred cow would you most like to barbeque?
First week film terms.
What’s
the best thing about running a cinema company?
The changing of film production on a weekly basis. The range of
films which attract audiences to our cinemas.
What’s
the worst?
When films do not perform and audiences fall away.
What’s
the best thing about living in Australia?
The climate, beaches and people; Australia is the eighth wonder
of the world.
What’s
your most admirable quality?
Loyalty and honesty; “my word is my bond.”
What’s
your least admirable quality?
Lack of patience.
Whom
do you most admire and why?
My family; my wife Kim and our three wonderful daughters.
What
drives you?
The people who work with me to reach our goals to be a great cinema/entertainment
company.
What
is your single greatest accomplishment?
Starting with Hoyts 20 years ago in middle management as a financial
accountant and becoming the company’s CEO in 1999.
What
do you wish someone had told you earlier?
To buy Microsoft stock in the 1980s.
What
was the single best piece of advice you ever got?
Ensure you enjoy the work you do.
How
do you define success?
By being able to make a difference.
How
would you like to be remembered?
People will hopefully remember me as someone who was an innovator
in the cinema industry.
If
your personal philosophy could be summed up on a bumper sticker,
what would it say?
Be true to yourself. 
