John Landis Interview Coming Soon

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AndyDursin
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John Landis Interview Coming Soon

#1 Post by AndyDursin »

One of the PR agencies I deal with has set me up with a John Landis interview for Tuesday afternoon. Any questions been hanging on anyone's mind for him?

This is to coincide with the new 25th Anniversary DVD of BLUES BROTHERS due out at the end of next month.

I just watched his recent IFC film SLASHER -- a fun, revealing documentary about a used car "mercenary" who flies from L.A. to Memphis to sell a local dealer's stock. Humorous, honest and very entertaining!

Carlson2005

#2 Post by Carlson2005 »

You could ask him about his time working on Kelly's Heroes - something other than the crossroad burial story he always tells would be nice - and his stuntwork on pictures like Battle for the Planet of the Apes (he actually has a bit part in that: you can briefly see him giving a young ape a 'horsey ride' when the humans are being rounded up to be put in the corrall).

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#3 Post by AndyDursin »

Sadly he didn't have much to say Trevor about either film...he sounded kind of tired, in fact, probably because he's sitting at home interviewing for hours on end. He relayed the John Huston story (kind of funny, but I think I've heard it before a few times) on BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES, talked about how Polygram dicked him out of money on AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON...

One thing I thought was funny was when he talked about the BLUES BROTHERS 2000. Sounded like he, quite frankly, knew that movie would turn out how it did -- he complained about the PG-13 rating and the child star Universal imposed on them, then he said he asked Aykroyd why they were doing it under those considerations. I told him there was even a BLUES 2000 video game -- which he didn't even know about!

After a slow start he DID open up near the end. It was nice to hear him say the EXACT same thing I did about WAR OF THE WORLDS -- specifically how that "probe" effect was ripped off from THE ABYSS (where's that guy from the FSM board now?) and how lousy the story was. (Granted I know he and Spielberg had a falling out decades ago, but I agree with him on that movie 100%).

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#4 Post by mkaroly »

AndyDursin wrote:After a slow start he DID open up near the end. It was nice to hear him say the EXACT same thing I did about WAR OF THE WORLDS -- specifically how that "probe" effect was ripped off from THE ABYSS (where's that guy from the FSM board now?) and how lousy the story was. (Granted I know he and Spielberg had a falling out decades ago, but I agree with him on that movie 100%).
Interesting- what was the falling out?

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#5 Post by AndyDursin »

Interesting- what was the falling out?
The whole TWILIGHT ZONE THE MOVIE deal (Vic Morrow and two children were killed on the set, Landis was tried and found innocent). Formed the basis of Steven Farber's OUTRAGEOUS CONDUCT book...I'm not sure they ever "made up," and it certainly hurt Landis' career and relationship with Spielberg.

mkaroly
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#6 Post by mkaroly »

AndyDursin wrote:
Interesting- what was the falling out?
The whole TWILIGHT ZONE THE MOVIE deal (Vic Morrow and two children were killed on the set, Landis was tried and found innocent). Formed the basis of Steven Farber's OUTRAGEOUS CONDUCT book...I'm not sure they ever "made up," and it certainly hurt Landis' career and relationship with Spielberg.
Ah...thanks. I saw WAR OF THE WORLDS in a theater in Belem, Brazil (my second viewing)- the sound was terrible and you could barely make out some of the dialogue (English with Portugese subtitles). Made me appreciate sound systems in America- we're awfully spoiled over here. Anyway, the point is this: the film was worse without being able to hear all those sound effects. Visually the graininess wasn't as clear- the film less like Kaminski shot it. It was interesting to see an American movie in a different country in a very different kind of theater. Just thought I'd share. :)

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#7 Post by AndyDursin »

I saw WAR OF THE WORLDS in a theater in Belem, Brazil (my second viewing)- the sound was terrible and you could barely make out some of the dialogue (English with Portugese subtitles). Made me appreciate sound systems in America- we're awfully spoiled over here.
Are/were you on vacation?

I'm not surprised, I still think there are many theaters in THIS country where the "theatrical experience" is less than stellar. As much as Landis told me this in an interview the other day, and Spielberg says it has nothing to do with the box-office decline we're seeing, I think an HDTV set (or at least progressive scan) with high quality DVD and sound is superior to a LOT of the "Average Joe" cineplexes out there.

When people have better set-ups in their homes than theaters, why pay $10 a ticket to see something not as good?

I used to call the huge chain here in RI just to find out if a certain movie was playing in the big theater with digital sound...this was only 10 years ago. Some of the other theaters in the same building were still mono!

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#8 Post by mkaroly »

[quote="AndyDursin Are/were you on vacation?

I'm not surprised, I still think there are many theaters in THIS country where the "theatrical experience" is less than stellar. As much as Landis told me this in an interview the other day, and Spielberg says it has nothing to do with the box-office decline we're seeing, I think an HDTV set (or at least progressive scan) with high quality DVD and sound is superior to a LOT of the "Average Joe" cineplexes out there.

When people have better set-ups in their homes than theaters, why pay $10 a ticket to see something not as good?
[/quote]

I was on a mission trip for 2 weeks, and we had a day off before the plane took off, so we saw WOTW.

All the theater had were speakers on the sides and they all blared out the same soundtrack- no separation existed. The seating was straight back (WAAAAAY back) with no elevation- the speakers were on the wall beside the seating rows maybe 5-10 feet higher than the tops of the chairs.

I am not a big fan of paying $8.50 for a movie ticket. It's too expensive. I'm not cheap, but I do have a surround system at home and I would rather spend $2.00 on a rental and eat whatever's in my refrigerator than spend the money at a theater. Still, for decent blockbusters (LOTR, for example), nothing beats a good, solid movie theater with surround sound.

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