J. Todd Anderson is a storyboard

Storyboard

Storyboards are graphic organizers in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence....

 artist who has worked primarily with the Coen brothers

Coen Brothers

Joel David Coen and Ethan Jesse Coen known together professionally as the Coen brothers, are American filmmakers...

, but also with an array of other filmmakers. He also, along with film archivist and friend George Willeman and WYSO D.J. Niki Dakota, produces Filmically Perfect. He made his directorial debut in 1998 with the film The Naked Man. A few years later, he served as Second Unit Director on the Coen brothers' Intolerable Cruelty

Intolerable Cruelty

Intolerable Cruelty is a 2003 romantic comedy film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and starring Academy Award winners George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Geoffrey Rush and Billy Bob Thornton with Cedric the Entertainer...

, which earned him membership in the Directors Guild of America

Directors Guild of America

Directors Guild of America is an entertainment labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry...

.

Anderson also received credit for appearing in Fargo as "Victim in Field." Instead of his 'name' being used, he was credited with the symbol for the artist formerly known as Prince

Love Symbol

is the fourteenth studio album by American recording artist Prince, released October 13, 1992 on Paisley Park and Warner Bros. Records. Due to its official title being an unpronounceable symbol, which Prince later adopted as his name, the album has been referred to as the Love Symbol Album, or...

, which was turned on its side and a smiley face drawn in the circle.

Storyboard

Anderson has stated that his role as storyboard artist is "less creative than interpretive." When working with Ethan and Joel Coen, the Coens go through the movie shot by shot, and Anderson works to "establish the scale, trap the angle, ID the character, get the action." Afterwords he sits and does a more polished drawing from the sketches drawn with the directors. After getting feedback from the filmmakers and adding several details, such as facial expressions, necessary props and arrows depicting actor and camera movement, the drawings are photocopied and given to everyone on the set. Thus, the storyboards Anderson creates are vital to the smooth process and good communication on the film set.

Anderson has contributed to and been credited for the storyboards of the following films:

Film	Year
Raising Arizona Raising Arizona Raising Arizona is a 1987 comedy film directed by the Coen Brothers and starring Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, William Forsythe, John Goodman, Frances McDormand and Randall "Tex" Cobb. Not a blockbuster at the time of its release, it has since achieved cult status...	1987
Twister Twister (1989 film) Twister is a 1989 comedy film starring Suzy Amis, Crispin Glover, Harry Dean Stanton, and Dylan McDermott.-Plot:Based on Mary Robison's 1981 novel Oh, the film relates the story of the eccentric Cleveland family during the event of a tornado's hitting their rural Kansas home...	1989
Miller's Crossing Miller's Crossing Miller's Crossing is a 1990 American gangster film by the Coen brothers and starring Gabriel Byrne, Albert Finney, Marcia Gay Harden, Jon Polito and John Turturro...	1990
Barton Fink Barton Fink Barton Fink is a 1991 American film, written, directed, and produced by the Coen brothers. Set in 1941, it stars John Turturro in the title role as a young New York City playwright who is hired to write scripts for a movie studio in Hollywood, and John Goodman as Charlie, the insurance salesman who...	1991
The Addams Family The Addams Family (film) The Addams Family is a 1991 American black comedy film based on the characters from the cartoon of the same name created by cartoonist Charles Addams....	1991
The Hudsucker Proxy The Hudsucker Proxy The Hudsucker Proxy is a 1994 screwball comedy film written, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Sam Raimi co-wrote the script and served as second unit director....	1994
Nadja Nadja (film) Nadja is a 1994 film by Michael Almereyda starring Elina Löwensohn as the creature Nadja and Peter Fonda as Van Helsing. As the character's names suggest, Nadja is a vampire film, but treating elements of the genre in an understated arthouse style....	1994
Search and Destroy Search and Destroy (film) Search and Destroy is a 1995 drama film based on a stage play by Howard Korder and directed by David Salle. The film stars Griffin Dunne, repeating his role from the stage production, Rosanna Arquette, Illeana Douglas, Ethan Hawke, Dennis Hopper, John Turturro and Christopher Walken, and features...	1995
Something to Talk About Something to Talk About (film) Something to Talk About is a 1995 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Lasse Hallström, from a screenplay written by Callie Khouri. It stars Julia Roberts and Dennis Quaid as an estranged couple, Kyra Sedgwick as Roberts's sister, and Robert Duvall and Gena Rowlands as their parents. The...	1995
Fargo Fargo (film) Fargo is a 1996 American dark comedy-crime film produced, directed and written by brothers Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars Frances McDormand as a pregnant police chief who investigates a series of homicides, William H...	1996
The Big Lebowski The Big Lebowski The Big Lebowski is a 1998 comedy film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Jeff Bridges stars as Jeff Lebowski, an unemployed Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler, who is referred to as "The Dude". After a case of mistaken identity, The Dude is introduced to a millionaire also named...	1998
Weeping Shriner	1999
O Brother, Where Art Thou? O Brother, Where Art Thou? O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a 2000 comedy film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and starring George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, and Charles Durning. Set in 1937 rural Mississippi during the Great Depression, the film's story is a modern satire loosely...	2000
The Mothman Prophecies The Mothman Prophecies (film) The Mothman Prophecies is a 2002 psychological horror film directed by Mark Pellington, based on the 1975 book of the same name by parapsychologist and Fortean author John Keel. The screenplay was written by Richard Hatem...	2002
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is a 2002 biographical spy film depicting the life of popular game show host and producer Chuck Barris, who claimed to have also been an assassin for the Central Intelligence Agency...	2002
Shooting Miller's Crossing: A Conversation with Barry Sonnenfeld	2003
The Stepford Wives The Stepford Wives (2004 film) The Stepford Wives is a 2004 American science fiction film. The film is a remake of the 1975 film of the same name; both films are based on the Ira Levin novel The Stepford Wives...	2004
No Country for Old Men (credited as Visual Supervisor) No Country for Old Men (film) No Country for Old Men is a 2007 American crime thriller directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, and starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin. The film was adapted from the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name...	2007
Have Dreams, Will Travel Have Dreams, Will Travel Have Dreams, Will Travel is a drama film set in the 1960s written and directed by Brad Isaacs, starring Cayden Boyd, AnnaSophia Robb, Lara Flynn Boyle, Dylan McDermott, Heather Graham, Val Kilmer, and Matthew Modine.-Plot:Narrator Benjamin Reynolds lives with neglectful parents in 1960s west...	2007
Nosebleed	2008
Burn After Reading Burn After Reading Burn After Reading is a 2008 black comedy film written, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. The film stars George Clooney, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, and Brad Pitt. It was released in the United States on September 12, 2008, and it was released on October 17, 2008...	2008
Norman Norman (film) Norman is a 2011 drama film directed by Jonathan Segal. It stars Dan Byrd, Emily VanCamp, and Richard Jenkins. It airs at limited locations on October 21, 2011.-Plot:...	2009
True Grit True Grit (2010 film) True Grit is a 2010 American Western film written and directed by the Coen brothers. It is the second adaptation of Charles Portis' 1968 novel of the same name, which was previously filmed in 1969 starring John Wayne. This version stars Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross and Jeff Bridges as U.S....	2010

Pop opera

Anderson has written the words and music for a pop opera entitled Nativity. It tells the story of the birth of Jesus through the eyes of angels. First performed in Dayton, Ohio in 1995, the show was not performed again until 2008. Anderson cites his influences on the piece being rock operas such as Tommy

Tommy (film)

Tommy is a 1975 British musical film based upon The Who's 1969 rock opera album musical Tommy. It was directed by Ken Russell and featured a star-studded cast, including the band members themselves...

and Jesus Christ Superstar

Jesus Christ Superstar

Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...

as well as gospel

Gospel

A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...

musicals.