John Landis Tagged Articles at Cinematical

It looks like wolves won't be sharing the spotlight with vampires much longer. While our moon-led friends pop up in the likes of Underworld and the upcoming New Moon, a werewolf frenzy has taken over Hollywood, and there are no signs of it stopping, and no corner it won't touch. Less than two weeks after Teen Wolf was set to get the remake treatment, The Hollywood Reporter posts that Dimension Films is looking to remake John Landis' An American Werewolf in London. (Confirming a tip from Bloody Disgusting on Sunday.) Because apparently, no one is interested in making a new wolfy story.

This whole plan is still in the early stages, but per usual remake plans, Dimension wants "to make an elevated genre picture that will keep the fun comedy elements of the original as it seeks to be relevant to contemporary audiences." Relevant how? The wolf loves a girl in love with a vamp, and then finds an uber-creepy way to stay in her life?

Most remakes bring, at best, apprehension, but I really wish companies would stop with the cult classics. Or, at the very least, not all foam at the mouth to remake them. Dramas, action, horror -- these genres can often get remade well, because most of the success relies on quality and craft. But comedy and cult? It's as much about the time and place as it is about the talent involved.

Fine. Take our excellent Landis wolves and remake them. Make them "relevant." But whatever is done, I bet it won't be a cult classic, nor worthy of the name An American Werewolf in London.

There was a time, long ago, when a single, solitary television channel was dedicated to the world of music. On said channel, before the citizenswent wild for "reality" and killed all that was right in the world, short films showcased every song that was played. Some were simply grainy concert footage or quick studio performances, while others stretched the boundaries of moviemaking, showcasing whole narrative stories for a simple, short collection of notes.

Unsurprisingly, these same directors then set their sights on the big screen, itching to stretch their talents from short, three-minute intervals to hours of material. They've given us everything, from men who like to destroy pretty things, to the warped creativity of the mind, to a woman who finds her late husband inside a little boy. They've offered mainstream hits, critical successes, and cult films we all love, and they symbolize that time when music meant videos, and the two went hand in hand.

Things have changed so much that we probably won't see a continuing influx of this sort of talent, but we can savor what the '80s and '90s brought us, and how some small screen vision led to big screen success.

Jennifer Beals has started filling her schedule, now that The L Word is on its final leg -- and so far, so sweet. The Hollywood Reporter posts that she's signed on for a role in the post-apocalyptic film The Book of Eli. Even better -- she's picked up one heck of a part. Remember how Gary Oldman signed on to play Carnegie, the bad-guy despot of a makeshift town? The one who tries to stop Eli (Denzel Washington) on his quest across America's post-apocalyptic wasteland? Well, Beals has signed on to play Carnegie's "sexual prize" and Mila Kunis' mother. Oh, but there's more -- she's a "blind woman doing anything she can to protect her child." That's some choice casting (Mila-Jennifer), and I can only begin to imagine the magic that could brew up between Oldman and Beals. Only one whole year to wait and see! The film is set to hit theaters in January of 2010.

Meanwhile, I can't imagine what my life would be like without John Landis. He shaped my childhood with "Thriller," and my later years with films like Animal House. Now, while I wait for him to wipe away the disgust brewed by Blues Brothers 2000, Variety reports that he's suing the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Landis filed a suit claiming that Jackson hasn't been handing over the 50% of net proceeds lately, like their 1983 agreement outlines.This comes right after word hit that the zombie-filled video is getting turned into a musical, so that may have something to do with it. Whatever the case, it better not distract him from the projects he's got a-brewing. I need something to wipe out the taste of 2000.

NSFW: Foul language.

Recently, I mentioned my neverending plan to see The Goddess of 1967. There are others on the list as well, like Stalag 17, a laserdisc which still sits at the foot of my bed, waiting to be watched. But, luckily, I can be happy with my cinematic to-do list without much guilt. Maybe there's a shocked face here or there from a friend, but that's it.

The same cannot be said for Diablo Cody, who just blogged about one of her to-watch movies, and how she got one of the most embarrassing, yet truly cool reasons to stop putting it off. She's never seen An American Werewolf in London, and Edgar Wright gave her a copy for her birthday with this written on the front: "Diablo, please watch my movie. John Landis." It was written by the man himself, and not Edgar pretending. That's the ultimate motivation.

So, in honor of embarrassment in the face of classic filmmakers, here's a Stars in Rewind for Landis' classic.

Last weekend brought the tragic news that the Aston Martin featured in the upcoming 007 movie Quantun of Solace was wrecked beyond repair. It turns out that's not the only danger on the set of the film, currently shooting in Italy: On Wednesday, a James Bond stuntman crashed while performing a chase scene in the area, and is currently in critical condition. suffering minor injuries It's probably better that this stuff is happening now, considering how many people were ready to pounce on the last film in order to prevent Daniel Craig from taking the reins from Pierce Brosnan. Now that the franchise appears to have a newfound groove, Quantum has a lot of positive buzz. So why does it seem like the set is suddenly cursed?

Accidents of varying degrees are commonplace on large scale film shoots, but the sense of peril can impact the final result in different ways. In the Twilight Zone movie, the helicopter accident during the John Landis-directed sequence killed three actors, causing Hollywood to avoid similar stunts for many years to come. The stuntman who suffered burns on 60% of his body on the Mission: Impossible III set, however, couldn't affect that movie, even when he decided to sue Tom Cruise. In the case of Quantum of Solace, subversively, the accidents might be a positive indicator of the sheer intensity that director Marc Forster hopes to bring to the film.

Since I devoured MTV on a daily basis, John Landis was the first director that I became familiar with. I'd seen The Making of Thriller about 300 times, so his face was permanently etched into my brain. Unfortunately, like a number of directors, Landis was huge in the late 70s and 80s, and then his work hit a sharp decline. It's been 10 years since he put out a movie (Don Rickles docs aside), and the last two were Susan's Plan and the movie I still haven't forgiven him for -- Blues Brothers 2000. But now he's not only getting into Epic Proportions -- Variety reports that he will direct Ghoulishly Yours, William M. Gaines.

Landis will develop the feature with scribe Joel Eisenberg, which details the publishing life of the man behind Mad Magazine. The film will focus on "an anti-establishment group of artists and writers, led by a reluctant Gaines and cohort Al Feldstein, as they produce their comicbooks. At the peak of his success, Gaines became a First Amendment figurehead due to his unapologetic testimony before a Senate subcommittee investigating juvenile delinquency."

Will this bring Landis back to respectable feature fare? Or, will Gaines' story fall in the once-great hands of the Thriller director?

Multiple sources are reporting today that Universal has invited John Landis into the office for a couple of meetings about potentially directing The Wolf Man, probably at the behest of the film's creature effects maestro Rick Baker, who Landis worked with on the seminal modern werewolf picture, An American Werewolf in London, many full moons ago. There are reports that the studio was taken aback by the hissy fit that the usually compliant Harry Knowles went into over the studio's almost-sealed deal with Brett Ratner to take over the project that Mark Romanek has inconveniently exited, and so now they're keeping their options open by meeting with a whole host of potential candidates. I don't really buy that -- there's no way the Universal brass actually takes fanboy reaction that seriously, but nevertheless, here we are, and I'm left with one question: John Landis -- really?

Landis has been persona non grata in Hollywood for a long, long time -- being negligent enough to allow Jennifer Jason Leigh's dad to be decapitated on your movie set is a great way to have your phone calls go unreturned -- but he did get at least a couple of comeback opportunities in the 90s, most notably the chance to helm a third Beverly Hills Cop film, and he bungled that opportunity fabulously. BHCIII is one of the worst big-budget action-comedy films I've ever seen in my life, so lifeless and listless and such a franchise-killer that even Jerry Bruckheimer will tell you, if you ask, that he wouldn't be involved in a fourth one if they begged him. Landis's 1992 vampire film, Innocent Blood, was also a hokey disappointment. Still, some swear by the man who brought us Trading Places, Three Amigos and American Werewolf, and would be giddy at the thought of his return to the brass ring. Are you one of those people?

One of the true underdog stories of the year, "art house musical" Once arrives on DVD today from Fox Searchlight. Written and directed by John Carney, the film won the Audience Award at Sundance back in January and ended up earning more than nine million dollars in the US. James Berardinelli at Reel Views wrote: "This isn't a perfect motion picture but, in the midst of summer's vapid pursuit of spectacle, a movie that provides real heart and emotion is a rare find." The DVD includes music and film commentaries by Carney and actors/musicians Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, two featurettes and an animated "webisode."

I don't understand why John Landis' Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project was selected to screen at the New York Film Festival. It's a fine celebrity documentary with plenty of well-known faces praising the acerbic, long-lived insult comic, Landis keeps the pace snappy, and it's quite entertaining, but it fits in quite well on HBO (where I saw it) and if there were any transcendent angles, I missed them entirely. Cinematical's Jette Kernion had a similar reaction. The DVD from Vivendi is a two-disk "collector's edition," but I haven't been able to find specific details on what's included.

Deep Water sounds intriguing: the "stunning true story of the first solo, non-stop, round-the-world boat race." Richard von Busack felt that the documentary by Louise Osmond and Jerry Rothwell "seems like a last word; the film gives a full and aesthetically satisfying overview" of the events that occurred, effectively meshing interviews with dramatizations. (His review is well worth clicking through to read in its entirety.) The DVD includes additional interviews with sailors, family members and journalists involved with the race.

Starting tonight and running through December 17th, Edgar Wright is taking control of the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles. Wright, director of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, is programming a festival of his favorite movies, and it's a wonderful and eclectic bunch. He's calling the fest "The Wright Stuff," (also the name of a universally beloved screenwriting column on this very site), and he will be on hand to introduce several screenings with special guests. As always at the New Beverly, one of Los Angeles' absolute treasures, every screening is a double feature.

I'll just tell you about the screenings with special guests, all of which start at 7:30. But don't forget to check the website for all show dates and times. Tonight, Edgar and songwriter Paul Williams will kick off the event with two musicals -- Bugsy Malone and Brian DePalma's Phantom of the Paradise. December 5th, the first feature is Flash Gordon, with special guest (and ex-Bond) Timothy Dalton. The second feature is Mario Bava's Danger Diabolik, introduced by Edgar and the great Joe Dante. On December 7th, Edgar will introduce The Last Boy Scout and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang with one of the finest action screenplay writers of our time -- Shane Black. December 10 is John Landis' An American Werewolf in London and Tremors (which I spouted my love for here). Landis will help Wright introduce his film. December 12th is Top Secret! (almost as funny as Airplane and The Naked Gun, in my opinion) and Woody Allen's Bananas, with David Zucker on hand. December 14th is the Roger Ebert - penned Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, and Head, hosted by Wright and Micky Dolenz of The Monkees. And on December 16th, Wright will introduce Evil Dead 2 and an all time favorite of mine -- the Coen Brothers' Raising Arizona.

Here is a press release from Edgar with his thoughts on the included films. If you live in the Los Angeles area, there's really no excuse to miss this. See you there!

Oh, what times we live in, that we can enjoy foul-mouthed documentaries like The Aristocrats and F**k. I grew up equating "documentary" with "National Geographic," so any nonfiction film that uses four-letter words or would shock my mom, automatically makes me smile a little. As a result, I was slightly biased toward Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project from the moment the film's subject uttered his first profanities during a stand-up routine.

Rickles reportedly has been reluctant to have his live performances recorded until now, but let director John Landis shoot part of his Vegas show. The documentary uses the footage from Rickles' stand-up act as a springboard for a biography and filmography of Rickles, a superficial discussion about intentionally offensive comedy, and a general reflection upon Las Vegas and how it's changed in the past 40 years or so.