John Landis

Born:August 3, 1950

Place of Birth:Chicago, Illinois, USA

Known For:Directing

Biography

John Landis, born on August 3, 1950, in Chicago, Illinois, is a versatile American filmmaker whose work spans across various genres. With a career that has seen him wear multiple hats in the industry, Landis has made a lasting impact on Hollywood as a director, screenwriter, actor, and producer. His unique blend of comedy, horror, and music videos has solidified his reputation as a creative force to be reckoned with.

Landis first made a name for himself in the film industry with his knack for blending humor and horror in a way that captivated audiences. His directorial debut came in 1973 with the film "Schlock," which set the stage for his future successes in the comedy and horror genres. Landis's sharp wit and storytelling abilities quickly garnered attention and praise from both critics and viewers alike.

One of Landis's most iconic collaborations was with the legendary singer Michael Jackson. The duo worked together on the groundbreaking music video for "Thriller," which became a cultural phenomenon and solidified Landis's reputation as a visionary director. His ability to seamlessly blend music and storytelling in a visually stunning way set a new standard for music videos.

In addition to his work with Michael Jackson, Landis has directed a number of hit films that have become beloved classics. From the uproarious comedy "Animal House" to the supernatural thriller "An American Werewolf in London," Landis has proven time and time again that he is a master of blending genres and creating memorable cinematic experiences.

Beyond his work as a director, Landis has also made a name for himself as a talented screenwriter and producer. His contributions to the industry have not gone unnoticed, with his films often praised for their sharp writing, innovative storytelling, and memorable characters. Landis's influence can be seen in the work of countless filmmakers who have been inspired by his creative vision.

Throughout his career, Landis has received numerous accolades for his work, including awards and nominations from prestigious organizations such as the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes. His impact on the film industry is undeniable, with his films continuing to entertain and inspire audiences around the world.

Despite facing challenges and controversies throughout his career, Landis has remained dedicated to his craft and passionate about storytelling. His ability to push boundaries and challenge conventions has cemented his status as a true maverick in the world of cinema.

As a filmmaker, Landis's legacy is one of innovation, creativity, and a fearless approach to storytelling. His body of work serves as a testament to his talent and vision, with each film offering a unique perspective and a fresh take on familiar genres. John Landis continues to be a revered figure in Hollywood, with his influence felt in every frame of film he touches.

Images

Filmography

Acting

RoboCop

Man in '6000 SUX' Commercial (uncredited)

1987

In a violent, near-apocalyptic Detroit, evil corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract from the city government to privatize the police force. To test their crime-eradicating cyborgs, the company leads street cop Alex Murphy into an armed confrontation with crime lord Boddicker so they can use his body to support their untested RoboCop prototype. But when RoboCop learns of the company's nefarious plans, he turns on his masters.

Spider-Man 2

Doctor

2004

Peter Parker is going through a major identity crisis. Burned out from being Spider-Man, he decides to shelve his superhero alter ego, which leaves the city suffering in the wake of carnage left by the evil Doc Ock. In the meantime, Parker still can't act on his feelings for Mary Jane Watson, a girl he's loved since childhood. A certain anger begins to brew in his best friend Harry Osborn as well...

Trading Places

Man with Briefcase (uncredited)

1983

A snobbish investor and a wily street con-artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.

The Blues Brothers

Trooper La Fong

1980

Jake Blues, just released from prison, puts his old band back together to save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood were raised.

Battle for the Planet of the Apes

Jake's Friend

1973

The fifth and final episode in the Planet of the Apes series. After the collapse of human civilization, a community of intelligent apes led by Caesar lives in harmony with a group of humans. Gorilla General Aldo tries to cause an ape civil war and a community of human mutants who live beneath a destroyed city try to conquer those whom they perceive as enemies. All leading to the finale.

Animal House

Cafeteria Dishwasher

1978

At a 1962 College, Dean Vernon Wormer is determined to expel the entire Delta Tau Chi Fraternity, but those troublemakers have other plans for him.

An American Werewolf in London

Man Smashed into Window (uncredited)

1981

American tourists David and Jack are savaged by an unidentified vicious animal whilst hiking on the Yorkshire Moors. Retiring to the home of a beautiful nurse to recuperate, David soon experiences disturbing changes to his mind and body.

Death Race 2000

Mechanic

1975

In a boorish future, the government sponsors a popular, but bloody, cross-country race in which points are scored by mowing down pedestrians. Five teams, each comprised of a male and female, compete using cars equipped with deadly weapons. Frankenstein, the mysterious returning champion, has become America's hero, but this time he has a passenger from the underground resistance.

The Muppet Movie

Additional Muppet Performer

1979

A Hollywood agent persuades Kermit the Frog to leave the swamp to pursue a career in Hollywood. On his way there, he meets a bear, a pig, a whatever – his future muppet crew – while being chased by the desperate owner of a frog-leg restaurant!

Darkman

Physician

1990

Dr. Peyton Westlake is on the verge of realizing a major breakthrough in synthetic skin when his laboratory is destroyed by gangsters. Having been burned beyond recognition and forever altered by an experimental medical procedure, Westlake becomes known as Darkman, assuming alternate identities in his quest for revenge and a new life with a former love.

Kelly's Heroes

Sister Rosa Stigmata

1970

A misfit group of World War II American soldiers goes AWOL to rob a bank behind German lines.

Sleepwalkers

Lab Technician

1992

Charles Brady and his mother, Mary, are the last of a dying breed whose needs are not of this world. They are Sleepwalkers - able to stay alive only by feeding on the life-force of the innocent, but destined to roam the earth, avoiding discovery while searching for their next victim. That search takes them to the sleepy little town of Travis, Indiana, where beautiful teenager Tanya Robertson is about to become an unwilling pawn in their nightmarish fight for survival.

1941

Mizerany

1979

In the days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, panic grips California, where a military officer leads a mob chasing a Japanese sub.

Psycho IV: The Beginning

Mike Calveccio

1990

When he hears talk radio host Fran Ambrose discussing the topic of matricide, Norman calls in under a false name to tell his story.

Into the Night

SAVAK

1985

Ed Okin used to have a boring life. He used to have trouble getting to sleep. Then one night, he met Diana. Now, Ed's having trouble staying alive.

The Kentucky Fried Movie

TV Technician Thrown by Gorilla (segment "A.M. Today")

1977

A series of loosely connected skits that spoof news programs, commercials, porno films, kung-fu films, disaster films, blaxploitation films, spy films, mafia films, and the fear that somebody is watching you on the other side of the TV.

The Muppets Take Manhattan

Leonard Winesop

1984

When the Muppets graduate from Danhurst College, they take their song-filled senior revue to New York City, only to learn that it isn't easy to find a producer who's willing to back a show starring a frog and a pig. Of course, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy won't take no for an answer, launching a search for someone to take them to Broadway.

Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project

Self

2007

The documentary consists of tape of Don's show (never been filmed before), interviews with Don's contemporaries, (Steve Lawrence, Bob Newhart, Debbie Reynolds, etc.), established comedians (Billy Crystal, Rosanna Barr, Robin Williams, Chris Rock, etc.) and young comedians (Jeff Atoll, Jimmy Kimmel, Sarah Silverman, etc.).

Production

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Stunts

1966

While the Civil War rages on between the Union and the Confederacy, three men – a quiet loner, a ruthless hitman, and a Mexican bandit – comb the American Southwest in search of a strongbox containing $200,000 in stolen gold.

Once Upon a Time in the West

Stunts

1968

As the railroad builders advance unstoppably through the Arizona desert on their way to the sea, Jill arrives in the small town of Flagstone with the intention of starting a new life.

Coming to America

Director

1988

An African prince decides it’s time for him to find a princess... and his mission leads him and his most loyal friend to Queens, New York. In disguise as an impoverished immigrant, the pampered prince quickly finds himself a new job, new friends, new digs, new enemies and lots of trouble.

Beverly Hills Cop III

Director

1994

When his boss is killed, Detroit cop Axel Foley finds evidence that the murderer had ties to a California amusement park called Wonder World. Returning to sunny Beverly Hills once more, Foley reunites with Detective Billy Rosewood to solve the case. Along with Billy's new partner, Detective Jon Flint, they discover that Wonder World is being used as a front for a massive counterfeiting ring.

Trading Places

Director

1983

A snobbish investor and a wily street con-artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.

The Blues Brothers

Writer

1980

Jake Blues, just released from prison, puts his old band back together to save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood were raised.

Clue

Executive Producer

1985

Clue finds six colorful dinner guests gathered at the mansion of their host, Mr. Boddy -- who turns up dead after his secret is exposed: He was blackmailing all of them. With the killer among them, the guests and Boddy's chatty butler must suss out the culprit before the body count rises.

Animal House

Director

1978

At a 1962 College, Dean Vernon Wormer is determined to expel the entire Delta Tau Chi Fraternity, but those troublemakers have other plans for him.

An American Werewolf in London

Screenplay

1981

¡Three Amigos!

Director

1986

A trio of unemployed silent film actors are mistaken for real heroes by a small Mexican village in search of someone to stop a malevolent bandit.

Twilight Zone: The Movie

Producer

1983

An anthology film presenting remakes of three episodes from the "Twilight Zone" TV series—"Kick the Can", "It's a Good Life" and "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"—and one original story, "Time Out."

Blues Brothers 2000

Screenplay

1998

Finally released from prison, Elwood Blues is once again enlisted by Sister Mary Stigmata in her latest crusade to raise funds for a children's hospital. Hitting the road to re-unite the band and win the big prize at the New Orleans Battle of the Bands, Elwood is pursued cross-country by the cops.

Spies Like Us

Director

1985

Two bumbling government employees think they are U.S. spies, only to discover that they are actually decoys for nuclear war.

An American Werewolf in Paris

Characters

1997

An American man unwittingly gets involved with werewolves who have developed a serum allowing them to transform at will.

Oscar

Director

1991

Angelo "Snaps" Provolone made his dying father a promise on his deathbed: he would leave the world of crime and become an honest businessman. Despite having no experience in making money in a legal fashion, Snaps sets about to keep his promise.

My Name Is Nobody

Stunts

1973

Jack Beauregard, an ageing gunman of the Old West, only wants to retire in peace and move to Europe. But a young gunfighter, known as "Nobody", who idolizes Beauregard, wants him to go out in a blaze of glory. So he arranges for Jack to face the 150-man gang known as The Wild Bunch and earn his place in history.

Innocent Blood

Director

1992

Marie is a vampire with a thirst for bad guys. When she fails to properly dispose of one of her victims, a violent mob boss, she bites off more than she can chew and faces a new, immortal danger.

Into the Night

Director

1985

Ed Okin used to have a boring life. He used to have trouble getting to sleep. Then one night, he met Diana. Now, Ed's having trouble staying alive.

The Kentucky Fried Movie

Director

1977

Amazon Women on the Moon

Executive Producer

1987

Centered around a television station which features a 1950s-style sci-fi movie interspersed with a series of wild commercials, wacky shorts and weird specials, this lampoon of contemporary life and pop culture skewers some of the silliest spectacles ever created in the name of entertainment.

Burke & Hare

Director

2010

Two 19th-century opportunists become serial killers so that they can maintain their profitable business supplying cadavers to an anatomist.

Grabbers

Thanks

2012

Something sinister has come to the shores of Erin Island, unbeknownst to the quaint population of this sleepy fishing village resting somewhere off Ireland’s coast. First, some fishermen go missing. Then there is the rash of whale carcasses suddenly washing up on the beach. When the murders start, it’s up to two mismatched cops – an irresponsible alcoholic and his new partner, a by-the-book woman from the mainland – to protect the townsfolk from the giant, bloodsucking, tentacled aliens that prey upon them. Their only weapon, they discover, is booze. If they want to survive the creatures’ onslaught, everyone will have to get very, very drunk!