 |
John LandisAmerican director, screenwriter, actor
Date of Birth: 03.08.1950
Country:  USA |
Content:
Biography of John Landis
John Landis is an American director, screenwriter, and actor. He began his career in the film industry as a teenager working in the mailroom of 20th Century Fox. Later, he worked as a stuntman on spaghetti Westerns while in Europe. Upon returning to Hollywood, Landis used $60,000 borrowed from his parents and friends to make his first parody horror film, "Schlock" (1971, released in 1973).
Early Career
John Landis started his career in the film industry as a teenager, working in the mailroom of 20th Century Fox. After that, he worked as a stuntman on the sets of spaghetti Westerns while he was in Europe. When he returned to Hollywood, he used $60,000 borrowed from his parents and friends to finance his first parody horror film, "Schlock" (1971, released in 1973).
Success as a Director
Landis achieved his first financial success with the film "Kentucky Fried Movie" (1977), which was an adaptation of a popular theatrical sketch show. This success was further solidified with the release of "National Lampoon's Animal House" a year later. Landis became a prominent comedy filmmaker of the post-war "baby boom" generation in Hollywood, known for his enthusiastic deconstruction of well-known film genres. He directed films such as "The Blues Brothers" (1980), a musical adventure, "An American Werewolf in London" (1981), a horror film, and the music video "Thriller" (1983), among others.
Postmodernist Filmmaker
John Landis is considered a spontaneous Hollywood postmodernist who avidly deconstructs well-known film narratives. His works include a variety of genres such as the musical adventure film "The Blues Brothers" (1980), the horror film "An American Werewolf in London" (1981), the comedy of manners "Trading Places" (1983), the spy comedy "Spies Like Us" (1985), and the western comedy "Three Amigos!" (1986). The postmodernist style of his work is evident in the film "Into the Night" (1985), where Landis reinterprets and expands the subgenre of "diamond heist thriller", while following the familiar formula of the "yuppie in peril".
Later Career
With the commercial success of "Coming to America" (1988), a comedy film starring Eddie Murphy, Landis gradually shifted away from experimental filmmaking. Subsequently, he was frequently involved in directing sequels to both his own films, such as "Blues Brothers 2000" (1998), and other franchise films, like "Beverly Hills Cop III" (1994). Although these projects brought him commercial success, they signaled a departure from his earlier experimental and genre-bending work.
