John Landis Biography

John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American film director, screenwriter, actor, and producer. Landis is known for his comedy films, his horror films, and his music videos with Michael Jackson.

Some of his best known works were National Lampoon's Animal House, the music video Thriller, The Blues Brothers, and Beverly Hills Cop III.

While director of a segment of the film Twilight Zone: The Movie in 1982, actor Vic Morrow and two illegally hired children were killed in helicopter accident on the set. Landis and other crew members were acquitted in the lengthy criminal trial that followed.

Early life and career

Landis was born to a Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Shirley Levine (née Magaziner) and Marshall Landis, an interior designer and decorator. His family relocated to Los Angeles when he was four months old. Though having mostly lived in the Los Angeles area, Landis still fondly refers to Chicago as his hometown and is a fan of the Chicago White Sox. Landis wryly inserted a line referring to the White Sox while re-writing the original screenplay for The Blues Brothers. Though the line was later cut in production, Landis jokes about it in the Directors Cut version of the movie. In the scene, Dan Aykroyd's character Elwood admits to John Belushi's Jake that he falsely used 1060 W. Addison (home address of Chicago's Wrigley Field) as their home address. Sensing the significance of 1060 W. Addison, Jake frustratingly questions Elwood, to which Elwood responds, "Because everyone knows we're White Sox fans".

He began working as a mailboy at 20th Century Fox. His first noteworthy job in Hollywood was working 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 suffered from a nervous breakdown and was sent home by the producers. While filming, he met actors Don Rickles and Donald Sutherland, both of whom he would later cast in his own films. Following this, Landis worked on many films made in Europe (especially in Italy and England), most notably, Once Upon a Time in the West, El Condor and A Town Called Bastard (a.k.a. A Town Called Hell). Landis also worked as a stunt double.

Landis recalled:

After his experience working as a stunt double, he moved to London and worked as an uncredited co-writer for the film The Spy Who Loved Me.

Career as a director

Beginnings

When Landis was a young boy, he watched The 7th Voyage of Sinbad which, as told to Robert K. Elder for The Film That Changed My Life, 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?"

In 1971, Landis made his feature debut as a director in the US with Schlock. He was 21 years old. The film, which he also wrote and appeared in, is a tribute to monster movies. The gorilla suit for the film was made by Rick Baker"?the beginning of a long-term collaboration between Landis and Baker. Schlock was a failure, and Landis was not offered another directing job for some time.

In his own words, he "parked a lot of cars" during this fallow period. In 1977, Landis directed Kentucky Fried Movie. 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.

Early success and Twilight Zone

In 1978, Landis directed his first film for Universal Studios, National Lampoon's Animal House, which was both critically and financially successful. This created new opportunities for Landis under Universal's umbrella.

In 1979, Landis co-wrote and directed The Blues Brothers, a comedy starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. It features 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 (cost: almost $30 million) (for comparison: the earlier Steven Spielberg's contemporary 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 movie. The rivalry might have been a friendly one, as Spielberg makes a cameo appearance in Blues Brothers (as the unnamed desk clerk near the very end) and Landis had made a cameo in 1941 as a messenger.

In 1981, Landis wrote and directed another cult-status movie, the comedy-horror An American Werewolf in London. American Werewolf was perhaps Landis' most personal project; he had been planning to make it since 1969, while in Yugoslavia.

Landis next directed the opening teaser and first segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie in 1983. His work on the film received generally poor reviews, and was overshadowed by the deaths of Vic Morrow and two children on the set, and the subsequent criminal trial, in which he was acquitted.

After Twilight Zone

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: then he was approached by Michael Jackson to make a video for his song, "Thriller". "Thriller" forever changed 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 claims to be owed at least four years' worth of royalties.

Next, Landis directed Into the Night, starring Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Pfeiffer and David Bowie (a film was inspired by Hitchcock productions; Landis played in this film a mute member of the quartet of Iranian hitmen). To promote this movie, he collaborated with Jeff Okun to direct a documentary film called B.B. King "Into the Night". Landis directed music videos for three of King's songs as part of the film: "Lucille", "Into the Night" (specially composed by Ira Newborn for movie Into the Night) and "In the Midnight Hour."

His next film, Spies Like Us, (starring co-writer Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase) was an homage to the Road to... films, starring Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. Hope made a cameo in the film as himself. The movie also pays homage to spy movies such as the James Bond series; the crew included special effects makers Ray Harryhausen and Derek Meddings, both of whom had worked on Bond movies. Landis also directed a video for Paul McCartney as part of the promotion for Spies Like Us, and co-wrote the comedy film Clue.

In 1986, Landis directed ¡Three Amigos! for HBO. The film starred Chevy Chase, Martin Short and Steve Martin. Landis was the second choice to direct; Steven Spielberg had refused. The film was a tribute to old Mexican style westerns and musical movies. Randy Newman wrote three original songs for the film, which was shot in Technicolor to make it look like older Westerns.

Landis next directed the Eddie Murphy film, Coming to America, which was a huge commercial success. 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. Buchwald won the breach of contract action.

In 1991, Landis collaborated again with Michael Jackson on the music video for the song "Black or White". In the same year, he directed Sylvester Stallone in Oscar, based on a Claude Magnier stage play. Oscar recreates a 1930 era film, including the gestures along with bit acts and with some slapstick, as a homage to old Hollywood films. In 1992, he directed Innocent Blood, a horror-crime film.

In 1994, Landis directed Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop III. They had previously worked together on Trading Places and Coming to America. In 1996, he directed The Stupids. Landis returned to Universal to direct Blues Brothers 2000 in 1998, the same year he directed Susan's Plan. The four movies did not score with critics and audiences.

Burke and Hare was released in 2010, Landis's first theatrical release for over a decade.

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

Television

Landis directed Kentucky Fried Movie, which is a tribute to television. Later, he co-directed and executive produced Amazon Women on the Moon in the same vein. 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), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 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.

Documentaries

His first documentary, Coming Soon from 1982, was released only 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. However, later in his career, he became more serious about the oeuvre and made Slasher (2004), Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007) and the upcoming Starz Inside: Ladies or Gentlemen (2009). All of these documentaries were filmed for television; Landis won a 2008 Emmy Award for Mr. Warmth. He worked currently on the Making of Thriller which will shot in 3-D. Landis stars in the Spanish documentary The Man Who Saw Frankenstein Cry, which centers the life and career of Paul Naschy.

Twilight Zone deaths and legal proceedings

On July 23, 1982, during the filming of Twilight Zone, actor Vic Morrow and child extras Myca Dinh Le (age 7) and Renee Shin-Yi Chen (age 6) were killed in an accident involving an out-of-control helicopter. Morrow and Myca were decapitated, and Renee was crushed by the helicopter. The National Transportation Safety Board reported in October 1984: Landis and four other crew members were subsequently charged with involuntary manslaughter. The prosecutors attempted to show that Landis was reckless, and had not told the parents and others of the children's proximity to explosives and helicopters and of limitations on their working hours. He admitted that he had violated the California law regulating employment of children, by using the children after hours, and conceded that that was "wrong." But he denied culpability. Numerous members of the film crew testified that the director was warned, but ignored these dangers. After an nine-month jury trial during 1986 and 1987, Landis, represented by criminal defense attorney Harland Braun, and the other crew members were acquitted of the charges.

Landis was later reprimanded for circumventing the State of California's child labor laws in hiring the two children killed in the accident. This tragedy resulted in stricter safety measures and enforcement of child labor laws, in the State of California. The parents of the children sued, and would later settle 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.

Landis has never acknowledged culpability for the accident. During an interview with Giulia D'Agnolo Vallan, Landis said:

Personal life

Landis is married to Deborah Nadoolman Landis, an Oscar-nominated costume designer, two-term president of the Costume Designers Guild, and chair of The David C. Copley Center for the Study of Costume Design at UCLA. They have two children: Max, writer of Chronicle, and Rachel, a school teacher with a Master's Degree in Human Development. In a BBC Radio interview, he stated that he is an atheist.

Awards

Nominations

• Schlock for Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films
• Twilight Zone: The Movie for Best Film at Fantasporto
• "Dream On" was nominated four times in the Comedy Series category at the CableACE Awards

Awards won

• Schlock won the Best Film award during Fantafestival
• Into the Night won the Special Jury Prize at the Cognac Festival du Film Policier
• "Dream On" won a CableACE Award in the Comedy Series in 1992
• Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project won in the "Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special" category at the Emmy Awards

• French government in 1985 (Chevalier dans l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres)
• Rimini Cinema Festival in Italy (Federico Fellini Prize)
• George Eastman Scholar, The Eastman House
• Sitges Film Festival in Spain (Time Machine Career Achievement Award)

Filmography

Feature films

Directed by Landis:

• Schlock (1973) (also writer)
• The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)
• National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
• The Blues Brothers (1980) (co-written with Dan Aykroyd)
• An American Werewolf in London (1981) (also writer)
• Trading Places (1983)
• Into the Night (1985)
• Spies Like Us (1985)
• Three Amigos (1986)
• Coming to America (1988)
• Oscar (1991)
• Innocent Blood (1992)
• Beverly Hills Cop III (1994)
• The Stupids (1996)
• Blues Brothers 2000 (1998) (co-written with Dan Aykroyd)
• Susan's Plan (1998) (also writer)
• Burke and Hare (2010)

Co-directed by Landis:

• Twilight Zone: The Movie (with Steven Spielberg, George Miller and Joe Dante, also producer of the film with Steven Spielberg) (1983)
• Amazon Women on the Moon (with Joe Dante, Carl Gottlieb, Peter Horton & Robert K. Weiss) (1987)

Written by Landis:

• Clue (1985) (with Jonathan Lynn)

As an actor:

• Kelly's Heroes (1970) as Sister Rosa Stigmata
• Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) as Jake's Friend
• Death Race 2000 (1975) as Mechanic
• The Muppet Movie (1979) as Grover
• 1941 (1979) as Mizerany
• The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) as Leonard Winesop
• Darkman (1990) as Physician
• Sleepwalkers (1992) as Lab Technician
• Spider-Man 2 (2004) as Doctor

Documentary films

For Video/DVD:

• Coming Soon (1982)
• Where Are They Now?: A Delta Alumni Update (2002)

For Television:

• Slasher (2004)
• Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2006)

Co-directed by Landis:

• B.B. King "Into the Night" (video segments, 1985)

Music videos

Short films for Michael Jackson:

• Thriller (1983)
• Black or White (1991)

For B.B. King (from film B.B. King "Into the Night"):

• My Lucille
• Into the Night
• In the Midnight Hour

For Paul McCartney:

• Spies Like Us (1986)

Television episodes

• Disneyland's 30th Anniversary Celebration (1 episode, 1985)
• George Burns Comedy Week (1 episode, "Disaster at Buzz Creek", 1985)
• Disneyland's 35th Anniversary Celebration (1 episode, 1990)
• Dream On (9 episodes, 1990"1995)
• Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show (1 episode, 1999)
• Masters of Horror

"Deer Woman" (2005)

"Family" (2006)

• The Great Sketch Experiment (segments, 2006)
• Psych (3 episodes, 2007, 2008)
• Fear Itself

"In Sickness and in Health" (2008)

• Psychoville (1 episode, 2011)

Other works

• Universal 360: A Cinesphere Spectacular (2006)

Books about John Landis

• Alberto Farina (1995). "John Landis". Il Castoro. ISBN 978-88-8033-030-1
• Giulia D'Agnolo Vallan (2008). "John Landis". M Press. ISBN 1-59582-041-8