Name:
Date of Birth:
John Landis
3 August 1950
John Landis played in 2 and created 15 movies in the Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Music, Short, Comedy, Romance, Action, Music, Adventure, Western, Crime, Musical genres.
John Landis got succeed with average imdb rating 6.8.
The trademark trivia often mentioned in Landis-directed films, the inclusion in some form of the phrase "See you next Wednesday", is a reference to a line in the Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), where astronaut Frank Poole watches a video sent to him by his wife and father on the occasion of his birthday. At the end of the video his wife says, "See you next Wednesday!", an obvious reference to their next available time to transmit a message to the distant spacecraft bound for J... upiter, though since Frank is killed within the next day or two by HAL, it is perhaps meant as an ironic trademark since it seems to occur in Landis films when characters are in great danger. It appears during the werewolf rampage as the title on the marquee of a porno theater in An American Werewolf in London (1981). It is spoken in German when Vic Morrow is being shot at on the building in the sequence he directed for Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983). In The Blues Brothers (1980) it's on a billboard where the the cops are lying in wait. Then again, it mostly appears as the name on movie posters, so that it probably became merely something to watch for like Alfred Hitchcock's cameos. It first appeared in his first film Schlock (1973) as the name of a movie and as a movie poster in a theater lobby. It appeared again in his second film. The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977), as the title of the "Feel-O-Rama" movie. It surfaces in an apartment in Trading Places (1983) on a movie poster. In Coming to America (1988) it appears in a subway station (the movie claims to star Jamie Lee Curtis, who appeared in "Trading Places"). Another poster is visible in Ophelia's apartment. In Spies Like Us (1985) it appears on the recruitment poster behind the desk of the commander of the army training post. In Into the Night (1985/I) it appears on two posters in the office where Ed and Diana make the phone call. In Innocent Blood (1992) it is once again advertised on a movie marquee across the street from the Melody Lounge exotic dance bar near where a car crash takes place. It also appears in the Michael Jackson video Thriller (1983) (TV), which was directed by Landis. One of the men chasing the werewolf finds a note and reads this out while the shot shows MJ in the theater eating popcorn.
In his early career he worked as a stunt-man specialising in horse-falls.
He directed the music videos Thriller (1983) (TV) and Black or White (1991) (V), both by Michael Jackson. He has a small cameo as the director in "Black Or White".
Father of Max Landis and Rachel Landis.
After he dropped out of school at age 17 he worked as mailman at the Fox studios.
Went to school with Eliza Roberts.
Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945-1985". Pages 555-559. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988.
Has never shot a film in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio.
Once worked as an attendant in a parking lot.
One of his favorite movies is Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie (1972). He admits that this film inspired the use of the dream within a dream gag in An American Werewolf in London (1981).
Member of the jury at the Venice Film Festival in 1989.
Close friend, George Lucas, offered John Landis the role of director on Howard the Duck (1986). After reading the script Landis turned down the opportunity due to the police car crashes in the finale. He felt this was too similar to that of his previous film The Blues Brothers (1980).
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