John Landis
John Landis
John David Landisis an American film director, screenwriter, actor, and producer. He is known for his comedy films, his horror films, and his music videos with Michael Jackson. He directed National Lampoon's Animal House, An American Werewolf in London, Trading Places, Michael Jackson's music video Thriller, The Blues Brothers, and Beverly Hills Cop III...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionActor
Date of Birth3 August 1950
CountryUnited States of America
gifted gone guy michael worked
The guy that I worked on 'Thriller ' was a genius and he was 20 years old, but it was like working with a gifted 10-year-old. The guy who I worked on with 'Black Or White' was crazy. Michael had gone mad.
together
And that's when they put together that extraordinary band.
business great
It's strange how extras have become such a big part of the business. I don't know what I think of it. I mean, some of them are great, most of them are filler.
amazing dressed kyoto mickey munich people
I've been in Kyoto and Munich and Tel Aviv and Buenos Aires, and you see people dressed as Jake and Elwood, ... That's amazing they're like Mickey Mouse. They've just become part of the culture.
celebrity danny exploiting focus great guys john moment music passionate situation spotlight unique
I think you can see in the movie how passionate, really passionate John and Danny were about the music. It's a unique situation where you have two guys who are exploiting their own celebrity of the moment to focus a spotlight on these great acts.
album blues briefcase danny full great john night opening recorded steve tour tv
John and Danny were opening for Steve Martin's stand-up tour, which was the No. 1 tour in the world, ... The album they recorded - Briefcase Full of Blues, a great album - was the No. 1 blues album in the world. They were starring on the No. 1 TV show (Saturday Night Live), and John had just starred in the No. 1 movie (Animal House) - which I'd directed.
based chinatown economic half major model movies plot studio watched
It's a whole new economic model . . . It's corporate, it's based on fear. They try to do what they think is safe. I would say half the movies I've made I could not make now with a major studio. They would not let me . . . I watched Chinatown the other day. What studio do you think would make that movie now with that plot and that ending?
careers critics
In my career, my movies tend to polarize critics.
video demand different
I'm very lucky to have worked in the '70s. It's a different industry and distribution is in a state of flux. It's all different platforms, they're doing this video-on-demand thing and also playing the film theatrically. It's funny to me: In the States it's an arthouse movie.
sexy thinking people
The field (of filmmaking) is suddenly sexy, ... so it's deluged with these wannabes who say 'I don't want to be a secret agent, I'll be a filmmaker.' I think a lot of people are really kind of naive.
scripts shooting universal
Universal rushed us. We started shooting without a script that was totally completed.
leadership always-loved-you
I have always loved you.
stars appreciate actors
I am very direct and I tend to treat everyone exactly the same, which sometimes gets me in trouble because some movie stars feel like they should be treated differently. But, when you're dealing with good actors, they really appreciate it.
directors actors typecasting
Directors, like actors, get typecast.