John Landis

Early life

Landis was born into a Jewish American family in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Shirley Levine (née Magaziner) and Marshall Landis, an interior designer and decorator. 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?"

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 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Kelly's Heroes in Yugoslavia in 1969; he replaced the film's original assistant director, who became ill and was sent home. During that time, Landis became acquainted with actors Don Rickles and Donald Sutherland, both of whom later worked 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 (or A Town Called Hell). Landis also worked as a stunt double.

Aged 21, Landis made his directorial debut with Schlock. The film, which he also wrote and in which he appeared, is a tribute to monster movies.

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. Landis was then hired to direct The Kentucky Fried Movie after David Zucker saw his Tonight Show appearance. 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. It is notable for being the first film written by the Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker team, who later had 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." 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. 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 rhythm and blues 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). Spielberg and Landis reportedly engaged in a rivalry, the goal of which was to make the more expensive film. 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' 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 legal action against Landis

Main article: Twilight Zone accident

On July 23, 1982, during the filming of Twilight Zone: The Movie, 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.

In June 1983, Landis, associate producer George Folsey Jr., production manager Dan Allingham, head of special effects Paul Stewart, and helicopter pilot Dorcey Wingo were charged with involuntary manslaughter. In December, Morrow's daughters Jennifer Jason Leigh and Carrie Morrow also sued Landis, Wingo, Warner Bros. Studios, and others for negligence and wrongful death, resulting in Warner Bros. settling their case out of court, awarding $850,000 to each party. Following the accident, Spielberg ended his friendship with Landis.

In October 1984, the National Transportation Safety Board reported:

The lawsuit finally proceeded in 1985. Landis insisted that the deaths of Morrow, Le, and Chen were the result of an accident. However, camera operators filming the scene testified to Landis being a very imperious director, and a "yeller and screamer" on set. During a take three hours before the incident, Wingo (a veteran of the Vietnam War) told Landis that the fireballs were too large and too close to the helicopter, to which Landis responded, "You ain't seen nothing yet." With special effects explosions blasting around them, the helicopter descended over Morrow, Le, and Chen. Witnesses testified that Landis was still shouting for the helicopter to fly "Lower! Lower!" moments before it crashed.

The prosecutors demonstrated that Landis was reckless and had not warned the parents, cast, or crew of the children and Morrow's proximity to explosives, or of limitations on their working hours. 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. Metallurgist Gary Fowler testified that the heat from two explosions engulfed and delaminated the helicopter's tail rotor, causing it to fall off, and that there had been "no historical basis" for the phenomenon.

Deputy District Attorney Lea Purwin D'Agostino stated that Landis was acting "cool", "slippery", and "glib" during the trial, and that his testimony contained inconsistencies. After a 10-month jury trial that took place in 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.

Both Le's and Chen's parents later filed civil suits against Landis and other defendants and eventually settled out of court with the studio for $2 million per family. In 1988, Landis was reprimanded by the Directors Guild of America for unprofessional conduct on the set of the film and the California Labor Commission fined him $5,000 for violating child labor laws. Additionally, Cal/OSHA issued 36 citations and $62,375 in fines, although this amount was later reduced to $1,350. Warner Bros. vice president John Silvia also spearheaded a committee to create new safety standards for the film industry.

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."

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, a big hit at the box office (the fourth-most-popular movie of 1983) 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. It was the 10th-most-popular movie of 1985. Hope made a cameo in the Landis film, portraying himself.

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 hugely successful, becoming the third-most-popular movie of 1988 at the U.S. box office. 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.

In 1991, Landis directed Sylvester Stallone in Oscar, based on a 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. 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' film Susan's Plan, released that same year. None of the above six films scored well with either critics or audiences.

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

In August 2011, Landis said he would return to horror and would be writing a new film. 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".

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.

Documentaries

Landis made his first documentary, Coming Soon, in 1982; it was only released on VHS. In 1983, he worked on the 45-minute documentary Making Michael Jackson's Thriller, which aired on MTV and Showtime and was simultaneously released on home video, which became the biggest selling home video release of the time. 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) for television. Landis won a 2008 Emmy Award for Mr. Warmth. In 2023, he appeared in the Spanish documentary The Man Who Saw Frankenstein Cry, which covered the career of Spanish movie director Paul Naschy. Landis was friends with Christopher Lee and he appeared in the documentary The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee (2024).

Archives

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

Personal life

Landis is married to Deborah Nadoolman, a costume designer. They have two children, including Max. In a BBC Radio interview, he stated that he is an atheist. The family lives in Beverly Hills, California. They had purchased Rock Hudson's estate in Beverly Crest.

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. The petition argued that the detention 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."

Filmography

Film

Executive producer

• The Lost World (1998)
• Some Guy Who Kills People (2012)
• I Hate Kids (2019) Acting roles

Television

Acting roles

Music videos

Unrealized projects

Other unmade projects include a book he was working on as of 2015, a TV series adapted from an unproduced feature script that he was hoping to make as of 2016, and a Broadway show he was said to be planning as of 2023.

References

Bibliography

• Alberto Farina (1995). John Landis. Il Castoro.
• Giulia D'Agnolo Vallan (2008). John Landis. M Press.

References

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