John David Landis is an American comedy and fantasy filmmaker and actor. He is best known for the comedy films that he has directed – such as The Kentucky Fried Movie National Lampoon's Animal House, The Blues Brothers An American Werewolf in London, Trading Places , Three Amigos, Coming to America and Beverly Hills Cop III , for directing Michael Jackson's music videos for "Thriller" and "Black or White".
Career[]
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. During that time Landis became acquainted with actors Don Rickles and Donald Sutherland, both of whom would later work in his films.
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.
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 1980, 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). Some believe 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.
Thriller[]
In 1982, 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 many awards, including the Video Vanguard Award for The Greatest Video in the History of the World. In 2009 (months before Jackson died), Landis sued Jackson in a dispute over royalties for the video; he claims to be owed four years' worth of royalties.
In 1991, Landis collaborated again with Michael Jackson on the music video for the song "Black or White".
Twilight Zone Accident and trial[]
On July 23, 1982, during the filming of Twilight Zone, actor Vic Morrow and child extras Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen were killed in an accident involving an out-of-control helicopter. The National Transportation Safety Board reported in October 1984:
Landis and several crew members were subsequently charged with involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment. The prosecutors attempted to show that Landis was reckless and had violated laws relating to child actors by not telling parents and others of the children's proximity to explosives and helicopters and of limitations on their working hours. Numerous members of the film crew testified that the director was warned, but ignored these dangers. After an extended jury trial, Landis, represented by a Nashville attorney, James F. Neal, 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 for $2 million per family. Vic Morrow's daughters, Carrie Morrow and actress Jennifer Jason Leigh, similarly pursued a lawsuit that settled for an undisclosed amount purportedly in the $800,000 range.
Despite these settlements, Landis (during interviews with Giulia D'Agnolo Vallan) has never publicly accepted responsibility for the accident. He has stated: "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 tail rotor delaminated, which is why the pilot lost control. The Special FX man who made the mistake, by setting off a fireball at the wrong time, he was never charged."
Steven Spielberg reportedly ended his friendship with Landis over the accident and the fact that Landis had live ammunition on the set.
Later 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.
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.
In 1991, Landis directed Sylvester Stallone in Oscar, based on a Claude Magnier 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'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. He was the executive producer on the comedy horror film Some Guy Who Kills People.