Jump to content

John Landis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 47.233.58.78 (talk) at 02:16, 2 November 2023. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

"John D. Landis" redirects here. For the urban planner, see John D. Landis (urban planner).

John Landis
Landis at the 2022 Cinema Ritrovato Festival in Italy
Born (1950-08-03) August 3, 1950 (age 74)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupations
  • Film director
  • producer
  • screenwriter
  • actor
Years active1969–present
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1980)​
Children2, including Max Landis
Signature

John David Landis (born August 3, 1950)[1] is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for the comedy films that he has directed – such as The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977), National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), The Blues Brothers (1980), An American Werewolf in London (1981), Trading Places (1983), Three Amigos (1986), Coming to America (1988) and Beverly Hills Cop III (1994), and for directing Michael Jackson's music videos for "Thriller" (1983) and "Black or White" (1991).

Early life

Landis was born into a Jewish-American family[2] in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Shirley Levine (née Magaziner) and Marshall Landis, an interior designer and decorator.[3] Landis and his parents relocated to Los Angeles when he was four months old. Though spending his childhood in California, Landis still refers to Chicago as his home town; he is a fan of the Chicago White Sox baseball team.

When Landis was a young boy, he watched The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, which inspired him to become a director:

I had complete suspension of disbelief—really, I was eight years old and it transported me. I was on that beach running from that dragon, fighting that Cyclops. It just really dazzled me, and I bought it completely. And so, I actually sat through it twice and when I got home, I asked my mom, "Who does that? Who makes the movie?"[4][5]

Career

Early

Landis began his film career working as a mailboy at 20th Century Fox. He worked as a "go-fer" and then as an assistant director during filming MGM's Kelly's Heroes in Yugoslavia in 1969; he replaced the film's original assistant director, who became ill and was sent home.[6] During that time Landis became acquainted with actors Don Rickles and Donald Sutherland, both of whom would later work in his films. Following Kelly's Heroes, Landis worked on several films that were shot in Europe (especially in Italy and the United Kingdom), including Once Upon a Time in the West, El Condor and A Town Called Bastard (a.k.a. A Town Called Hell).[6] Landis also worked as a stunt double.

I worked on some [pirate] movies, all kind of movies. French foreign movies. I worked on a movie called Red Sun where Toshiro Mifune kills me, puts a sword through me. ... I worked as a stunt guy. I worked as a dialogue coach. I worked as an actor. I worked as a production assistant.[6]

Aged 21, Landis made his directorial debut with Schlock. The film, which he also wrote and appeared in, is a tribute to monster movies.[6] The gorilla suit for the film was made by Rick Baker—the beginning of a long-term collaboration between Landis and Baker. Though completed in 1971, Schlock was not released until 1973 after it caught the attention of Johnny Carson. A fan of the film, Carson invited Landis on The Tonight Show and showed clips to help promote it. Schlock has since gained a cult following, but Landis has described the film as "terrible".[7]

Landis was hired by Eon Productions to write a screen treatment for The Spy Who Loved Me, but his screenplay of James Bond foiling a kidnapping of the Pope in Latin America was rejected by Albert R. Broccoli for satirizing the Catholic Church.[8] Landis was then hired to direct The Kentucky Fried Movie after David Zucker saw his Tonight Show appearance.[7] The film was inspired by the satirical sketch comedy of shows like Monty Python, Free the Army, The National Lampoon Radio Hour and Saturday Night Live.[6] It is notable for being the first film written by the Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker team, who would later have success with Airplane! and The Naked Gun trilogy.

1978–1981

Sean Daniel, an assistant to Universal executive Thom Mount, saw The Kentucky Fried Movie and recommended Landis to direct Animal House based on that. Landis says of the screenplay, "It was really literally one of the funniest things I ever read. It had a nasty edge like National Lampoon. I told him it was wonderful, extremely smart and funny, but everyone's a pig for one thing."[9] While Animal House received mixed reviews, it was a massive financial success, earning over $120 million at the domestic box office, making it the highest grossing comedy film of its time.[10][11] Its success started the "gross-out" film genre, which became one of Hollywood's staples. It also featured the screen debuts of John Belushi, Karen Allen and Kevin Bacon.

In 1980, Landis co-wrote and directed The Blues Brothers, a comedy starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. It featured musical numbers by R&B and soul legends James Brown, Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and John Lee Hooker. It was, at the time, one of the most expensive films ever made, costing almost $30 million (for comparison, Steven Spielberg's contemporary film 1941 cost $35 million). It is speculated that Spielberg and Landis engaged in a rivalry, the goal of which was to make the more expensive film.[6] The rivalry might have been a friendly one, as Spielberg makes a cameo appearance in Blues Brothers (as the unnamed desk clerk near the end) and Landis had made a cameo in 1941 as a messenger.

In 1981, Landis wrote and directed another cult-status film, the comedy-horror An American Werewolf in London. It was perhaps Landis's most personal project; he had been planning to make it since 1969, while in Yugoslavia working on Kelly's Heroes. It was another commercial success for Landis and inspired studios to put comedic elements in their horror films.

Twilight Zone deaths and civil and criminal action against Landis

Main article: Twilight Zone accident

On July 23, 1982, during the filming of Twilight Zone, actor Vic Morrow and child actors Myca Dinh Le (age 7) and Renee Shin-Yi Chen (age 6) were killed in an accident involving an out-of-control helicopter. The three were caught under the aircraft when it crashed, and Morrow and one child were decapitated.[12] The National Transportation Safety Board reported in October 1984:

The probable cause of the accident was the detonation of debris-laden high temperature special effects explosions too near a low-flying helicopter leading to foreign object damage to one rotor blade and delamination due to heat to the other rotor blade, the separation of the helicopter's tail rotor assembly, and the uncontrolled descent of the helicopter. The proximity of the helicopter to the special effects explosions was due to the failure to establish direct communications and coordination between the pilot, who was in command of the helicopter operation, and the film director, who was in charge of the filming operation.[13]

Despite insisting that the deaths were the result of an accident,[14] Landis' aggressive and cavalier behavior on set likely contributed to the crash. Camera operators filming the scene testified to Landis being a very imperious director, a "yeller and screamer" on set.[15] He was also glib about the dangerous set environment created by shooting at night with a helicopter and many large explosions. During a take three hours before the incident, helicopter pilot Dorcey Wingo (a veteran of the Vietnam War) told Landis that the fireballs were too large and too close to the helicopter. To this, Landis responded "You ain't seen nothing yet."[16] With special effects explosions blasting around them, the helicopter descended over Morrow, Le, and Chen. Witnesses testified Landis was still shouting for the helicopter to fly "Lower! Lower!" moments before it crashed.[17]

Landis and four other crew members were charged with involuntary manslaughter. The prosecutors demonstrated that Landis was reckless and had not warned the parents, cast or crew of the children's and Morrow's proximity to explosives, or of limitations on their working hours.[12] He admitted that he had violated California law regulating the employment of children by using the children after hours, and conceded that that was wrong, but still denied culpability.[12] Numerous members of the film crew testified that the director was warned of the extreme hazard by technicians but ignored them. After a nine-month jury trial during 1986 and 1987, Landis, represented by criminal defense attorneys Harland Braun and James F. Neal, and the other crew members were acquitted of the charges.[18][19]

Landis was later reprimanded for circumventing California's child labor laws in hiring the two children. The incident resulted in stricter safety measures and enforcement of child labor laws in California.[18] The parents of the children sued, and eventually settled out of court with the studio for $2 million per family. Morrow's children, one of them being actress Jennifer Jason Leigh, who was 20 at the time, also settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.

During an interview with journalist Giulia D'Agnolo Vallan, Landis said, "When you read about the accident, they say we were blowing up huts—which we weren't—and that debris hit the tail rotor of the helicopter—which it didn't. The FBI Crime Lab, who was working for the prosecution, finally figured out that the tail rotor delaminated, which is why the pilot lost control. The special effects man who made the mistake by setting off a fireball at the wrong time was never charged."[6]

Following the accident, Steven Spielberg ended his friendship with Landis.[20][21]

Subsequent film career

Trading Places, a Prince and the Pauper-style comedy starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy, was filmed directly after the Twilight Zone accident. After filming ended, Landis and his family went to London. The film did well enough for Landis' image and career to improve, along with his involvement with Michael Jackson's "Thriller".

Next, Landis directed Into the Night, starring Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Pfeiffer and David Bowie, and appeared in the film, which was inspired by Hitchcock productions, as an Iranian hitman. To promote the film, Landis collaborated with Jeff Okun to direct a documentary film called B.B. King "Into the Night".

His next film, Spies Like Us, (starring co-writer Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase) was an homage to the Road to ... films of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. Hope made a cameo in the Landis film, portraying himself.[22]

In 1986, Landis directed Three Amigos, which featured Chevy Chase, Martin Short and Steve Martin. He then co-directed and produced the 1987 satirical comedy film Amazon Women on the Moon, which parodies the experience of watching low-budget films on late-night television.

Landis next directed the 1988 Eddie Murphy film Coming to America, which was commercially successful. It was also the subject of Buchwald v. Paramount, a civil suit filed by Art Buchwald in 1990 against the film's producers. Buchwald claimed that the concept for the film had been stolen from a 1982 script that Paramount optioned from Buchwald, and won the breach of contract action.[23]

In 1991, Landis directed Sylvester Stallone in Oscar, based on a Claude Magnier [fr] stage play. Oscar recreates a 1930s-era film, including the gestures along with bit acts and with some slapstick, as an homage to old Hollywood films.[24] In 1992, Landis directed Innocent Blood, a horror-crime film. In 1994, Landis directed Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop III, their third collaboration following Trading Places and Coming to America. In 1996, he directed The Stupids and then returned to Universal to direct Blues Brothers 2000 in 1998 with John Goodman and, for the fifth time in a Landis film, Dan Aykroyd, who also appeared in Landis's film Susan's Plan, released that same year. None of the above six films scored well with critics or audiences.

Burke and Hare was released in 2010, as Landis's first theatrical release in 12 years.

In August 2011, Landis said he would return to horror and would be writing a new film.[25] He was the executive producer on the comedy horror film Some Guy Who Kills People.

Music videos

Landis has directed several music videos. He was approached by Michael Jackson to make a video for his song "Thriller".[6] The resulting video significantly impacted MTV and the concept of music videos; it has won numerous awards, including the Video Vanguard Award for The Greatest Video in the History of the World. In 2009 (months before Jackson died), Landis sued the Jackson estate in a dispute over royalties for the video; he claimed to be owed at least four years' worth of royalties.[26][27]

In 1991, Landis collaborated again with Michael Jackson on the music video for the song "Black or White".

Television

Landis has been active in television as the executive producer (and often director) of the series Dream On (1990), Weird Science (1994), Sliders (1995), Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show (1997), Campus Cops (1995), The Lost World (1998), Masters of Horror, and various episodes of Psych. He also made commercials for DirecTV, Taco Bell, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Kellogg's, and Disney. In 2011 he made an appearance in Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton's television series Psychoville. In June 2020, Landis signed on to direct and executive produce the streaming series Superhero Kindergarten.[28]

Documentaries

Landis made his first documentary, Coming Soon in 1982; it was only released on VHS. Next, he co-directed B.B. King "Into the Night" (1985) and in 2002 directed Where Are They Now?: A Delta Alumni Update, which can be seen as a part of the Animal House DVD extras. Initially, his documentaries were only made to promote his feature films. Later in his career he became more serious about the oeuvre and made Slasher (2004), Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007) and Starz Inside: Ladies or Gentlemen (2009). These documentaries were filmed for television; Landis won a 2008 Emmy Award for Mr. Warmth. He worked on the Making of Thriller, which was filmed in 3-D.[29] Landis appeared in the Spanish documentary The Man Who Saw Frankenstein Cry, which covered the career of Spanish movie director Paul Naschy.[30]

Personal life

Landis is married to Deborah Nadoolman, a costume designer. They have two children: Max and Rachel. In a BBC Radio interview, he stated that he is an atheist.[31] The family lives in Beverly Hills, California.[32] They had purchased Rock Hudson's estate in Beverly Crest after the actor died there from complications of AIDS. The property was later sold to Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.[33]

In 2009, Landis signed a petition in support of director Roman Polanski, who had been detained while traveling to a film festival in relation to his 1977 sexual abuse charges, which the petition argued would undermine the tradition of film festivals as a place for works to be shown "freely and safely", and that arresting filmmakers traveling to neutral countries could open the door "for actions of which no-one can know the effects."[34][35]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes
1973 Schlock Yes Yes No
1977 The Kentucky Fried Movie Yes No No
1978 Animal House Yes No No aka National Lampoon's Animal House
1980 The Blues Brothers Yes Yes No
1981 An American Werewolf in London Yes Yes No
1982 Coming Soon Yes Yes Yes Documentary
1983 Trading Places Yes No No
Twilight Zone: The Movie Yes Yes Yes Segments "Prologue" and "Time Out"
1985 Into the Night Yes No No plus actor, as one of the Iranian henchmen
Spies Like Us Yes No No
Clue No Story Executive Co-story with Jonathan Lynn
1986 Three Amigos Yes No No
1987 Amazon Women on the Moon Yes No Executive Segments "Mondo Condo", "Hospital", "Blacks Without Soul" and "Video Date"
1988 Coming to America Yes No No
1991 Oscar Yes No No
1992 Innocent Blood Yes No No
1994 Beverly Hills Cop III Yes No No
1996 The Stupids Yes No No
1998 Blues Brothers 2000 Yes Yes Yes
Susan's Plan Yes Yes Yes
The Lost World No No Executive
2010 Burke and Hare Yes No No
2012 Some Guy Who Kills People No No Executive
2019 I Hate Kids No No Executive

Acting roles

Year Title Role Notes
1970 Kelly's Heroes Sister Rosa Stigmata Uncredited;
Also production assistant
1973 Schlock Schlock
Battle for the Planet of the Apes Jake's Friend
1975 Death Race 2000 Mechanic
1977 The Kentucky Fried Movie TV Technician Uncredited
1979 1941 Mizerany
The Muppet Movie Grover Uncredited, puppetry only in Rainbow Connection Finale scene.
1980 The Blues Brothers Trooper La Fong
1981 An American Werewolf in London Man Being Smashed Into Window Uncredited
1982 Eating Raoul Man who bumps into Mary
1983 Trading Places Man with briefcase
1984 The Muppets Take Manhattan Leonard Winesop
1985 Into the Night SAVAK plus director
1990 Spontaneous Combustion Radio Technician
Darkman Physician
1992 Sleepwalkers Lab Technician
Body Chemistry II: Voice of a Stranger Dr. Edwards
Venice/Venice Himself
1994 The Silence of the Hams FBI Agent
1996 Vampirella Astronaut #1
1997 Laws of Deception Judge Trevino
Mad City Doctor
1999 Diamonds Gambler
Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby Judge
2004 Surviving Eden Doctor Levine
Spider-Man 2 Doctor
2005 The Axe Père copain Maxime
Torrente 3: El protector Embajador árabe
2007 Look Aggravated Director
2012 Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader Professor
2015 Wrestling Isn't Wrestling Therapist Short film

Television

Year Title Director Producer Writer Notes
1976 Holmes & Yo-Yo No No Story Episode "Key Witness"
1985 Disneyland's 30th Anniversary Celebration Yes No No TV documentary
George Burns Comedy Week Yes No No Episode "Disaster at Buzz Creek"
1990–1996 Dream On Yes Executive No Directed 17 episodes
1990 Disneyland's 35th Anniversary Celebration Yes No No TV documentary
1994 Weird Science No Executive No
1995 Sliders No Executive No
1997–1999 Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show Yes Executive No Directed episode "Honey, Name That Tune"
1999–2002 The Lost World No Executive No
2002 The Kronenberg Chronicles Yes Executive No Unaired pilot
2004 Slasher Yes No No Television documentary
2005–2006 Masters of Horror Yes No Yes Directed and co-wrote episode "Deer Woman"
Directed episode "Family"
2007 Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project Yes Yes No TV documentary
2007–2008 Psych Yes No No 3 episodes
2008 Fear Itself Yes No No Episode "In Sickness and in Health"
Starz Inside: Ladies or Gentlemen No Executive No TV documentary
2011 Wendy Liebman: Taller on TV No Yes No Stand-up special
2012 Franklin & Bash Yes No No Episode "Voir Dire"
2021–present Superhero Kindergarten Yes Executive No 26 episodes[28]

Acting roles

Year Title Role Notes
1974 The Six Million Dollar Man Michael Episode "The Pal-Mir Escort"
1990 Psycho IV: The Beginning Mike Calveccio TV movie
1991–1994 Dream On Herb Episodes "Futile Attraction" and "Where There's Smoke, You're Fired"
1994 The Stand Russ Dorr Episode "The Stand"
2011 Psychoville Director Episode "Dinner Party"

Music videos

Year Title Artist
1983 Thriller Michael Jackson
1985 My Lucille B.B. King
Into the Night
In the Midnight Hour
1986 Spies Like Us Paul McCartney
1991 Black or White Michael Jackson

Other works

Archives

The moving image collection of John Landis is held at the Academy Film Archive.[36] The film material at the Academy Film Archive is complemented by photographs, artwork, and posters found in the John Landis papers at the academy's Margaret Herrick Library.[37]

References

  1. ^ "John Landis - Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos - AllMovie". Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  2. ^ Bloom, Nate (February 2, 2012). "Jewish stars: Whales, ghosts and 'Smash'". Cleveland Jewish News.
  3. ^ "John Landis". yahoo.com. Yahoo! Movies.
  4. ^ As told to Robert K. Elder for The Film That Changed My Life
  5. ^ Landis, John. Interview by Robert K. Elder. The Film That Changed My Life. By Robert K. Elder. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2011. N. p. 223. Print.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Giulia D'Agnolo Vallan (2008). John Landis. M Press. ISBN 978-1-59582-041-9.
  7. ^ a b filmSCHOOLarchive (May 6, 2018), John Landis on "Schlock" & "Kentucky Fried Movie", archived from the original on December 21, 2021, retrieved February 23, 2019
  8. ^ Field, Matthew (2015). Some kind of hero : 007 : the remarkable story of the James Bond films. Ajay Chowdhury. Stroud, Gloucestershire. ISBN 978-0-7509-6421-0. OCLC 930556527.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ^ Cheney, Alexandra (February 25, 2014). "John Landis on Harold Ramis: He Was Very Angry Not to Be Cast in 'Animal House'". Variety. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  10. ^ "National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) - Box Office Mojo". Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  11. ^ "Animal House: The Movie that Changed Comedy | Stumped Magazine". Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  12. ^ a b c Farber, Stephen; Green, Marc (1988). Outrageous Conduct: Art, Ego and the Twilight Zone Case. Arbor House (Morrow). ISBN 978-0877959489.
  13. ^ Airplane disaster report[usurped]
  14. ^ Doyle, James J. (June 24, 1983). "Director John Landis and four assistants pleaded innocent Friday". United Press International. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  15. ^ UPI (November 2, 1986). "FILM DEATHS WITNESS TESTIFIES SAFETY WAS IGNORED". The New York Times. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  16. ^ Deutsch, Lina (February 23, 1987). "Prosecution Tries to Shake Landis' 'Twilight Zone' Testimony". AP News. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  17. ^ Harris, Michael D. (October 2, 1986). "The parents of two children killed on the 'Twilight..." United Press International. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  18. ^ a b Noe, Denise. "The Twilight Zone Tragedy". trutv.com. Turner Broadcasting System. Retrieved December 26, 2008.
  19. ^ Weber, Bruce (October 22, 2010). "James F. Neal, Litigated Historic Cases, Dies at 81". The New York Times.
  20. ^ Farber, Stephen; Green, Marc (August 28, 1988). "TRAPPED IN THE TWILIGHT ZONE: A Year After the Trial, Six Years After the Tragedy, the Participants Have Been Touched in Surprisingly Different Ways". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
  21. ^ Kirchner, Lisa (January 19, 2012). "An Interview with Director John Landis". cineAWESOME!. Archived from the original on November 2, 2013. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
  22. ^ Spies Like Us (1985) - IMDb, retrieved December 2, 2020
  23. ^ Buchwald v. Paramount, C 706083 Tentative Decision (Second Phase), III.B.5 Unconscionability—The Doctrine Applied (Los Angeles County Superior Court December 21, 1990).
  24. ^ Landis, John (April 26, 1991), Oscar (Comedy, Crime), Sylvester Stallone, Ornella Muti, Peter Riegert, Chazz Palminteri, Joseph S. Vecchio Entertainment, Silver Screen Partners IV, Touchstone Pictures, retrieved December 2, 2020
  25. ^ Chitwood, Adam (August 11, 2011). "John Landis Co-Writing New Horror Movie". Collider.
  26. ^ Legal Thriller: Michael Jackson Sued by John Landis Yahoo News, January 27, 2009
  27. ^ "Michael Jackson sued by 'Thriller' director". NME. January 27, 2009.
  28. ^ a b Jennings, Collier (June 20, 2020). "John Landis to Direct Stan Lee's Superhero Kindergarten Starring Schwarzenegger". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  29. ^ "Michael Jackson's Thriller to Get 3D Treatment?". DreadCentral. March 18, 2010.
  30. ^ "Naschy Documentary to Debut This Fall". May 18, 2023.
  31. ^ "Interview: John Landis, conducted by Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode". Kermode and Mayo's Film Review, BBC Five Live. London. November 11, 2011. Archived from the original on December 24, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  32. ^ "John Landis' House in Beverly Hills, CA - Virtual Globetrotting". January 29, 2009.
  33. ^ Paynter, Sarah (July 13, 2021). "Rock Hudson estate listed for the first time in decades for $55.5M". New York Post. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  34. ^ "Le cinéma soutient Roman Polanski / Petition for Roman Polanski - SACD". archive.ph. June 4, 2012. Archived from the original on June 4, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  35. ^ Shoard, Catherine; Agencies (September 29, 2009). "Release Polanski, demands petition by film industry luminaries". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 28, 2019. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  36. ^ "John Landis Collection". Academy Film Archive. August 20, 2015.
  37. ^ John Landis Papers. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Landis.
Interviews
About Twilight Zone accident
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Landis&oldid=1183083301"