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Revision as of 14:16, 3 October 2004
John Landis (born August 3, 1950) is a movie director, writer and producer.
His career began as a teenager, working as a mailboy at 20th Century Fox. He starred in Schlock (1976), which he also wrote and directed, as well as The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977) and National Lampoon's Animal House (1978). With Dan Aykroyd he wrote and directed Blues Brothers (1980) and An American Werewolf in London (1981). He also directed Twilight Zone: The Movie.
Actor Vic Morrow was decapitated and two child extras, My-ca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Ye Chen were killed by a helicopter during the filming of that movie. The parents of the children sued, and there was a trial. Prosecutors attempted to show that Landis was reckless. First was his violation of laws relating to child actors, such as not telling their parents and others about their proximity to explosives and helicopters, and the hours they could work. Second were his directions to the crew regarding the helicopter. Landis was acquitted.
The Michael Jackson "Thriller" music video was also produced by Landis.
One of Landis' trademarks is to insert references to a fictional film called See You Next Wednesday in movies he directs.