49-656: 2011 book by Robert K. Elder The Film That Changed My Life: 30 Directors on Their Epiphanies in the Dark [REDACTED] Author Robert K. Elder Language English Genre Non-fiction Publisher Chicago Review Press Publication date 1 January 2011 Publication place United States Media type Print ( Paperback ) Pages 304 ISBN 978-1-55652-825-5 The Film That Changed My Life (also known as The Film That Changed My Life: 30 Directors on Their Epiphanies in
98-735: A 2008 Emmy Award for Mr. Warmth . In 2023, he appeared in the Spanish documentary The Man Who Saw Frankenstein Cry , which covered the career of Spanish movie director Paul Naschy . Landis' moving image collection is held at the Academy Film Archive . The film material at the Archive is complemented by photographs, artwork and posters found in Landis' papers at the Academy 's Margaret Herrick Library . Landis
147-985: A Cause and Mean Streets John Landis on The 7th Voyage of Sinbad Kevin Smith on Slacker Chris Miller on Sleeper Neil LaBute on The Soft Skin George A. Romero on The Tales of Hoffmann Frank Oz on Touch of Evil John Waters on The Wizard of Oz See also [ edit ] The Best Film You've Never Seen References [ edit ] ^ The Film That Changed My Life by Robert K. Elder , Filmchangedmylife.com, accessed January 16, 2011. ^ Google Books ^ USA Today ^ MSNBC External links [ edit ] The Film That Changed My Life Official website Time Out Chicago Excerpts from Author's Column Zimbio Interview with Robert K. Elder by Bob Andelman CT Atlanta Culture Surfing review Filmspotting Podcast interview with
196-413: A committee to create new safety standards for the film industry. During an interview with journalist Giulia D'Agnolo Vallan, Landis said, "When you read about the accident, they say we were blowing up huts—which we weren't—and that debris hit the tail rotor of the helicopter—which it didn't. The FBI Crime Lab , who was working for the prosecution, finally figured out that the tail rotor delaminated, which
245-403: A petition in support of director Roman Polanski , who had been detained while traveling to a film festival in relation to his 1977 sexual abuse charges , which the petition argued would undermine the tradition of film festivals as a place for works to be shown "freely and safely", and that arresting filmmakers traveling to neutral countries could open the door "for actions of which no-one can know
294-479: A podcast network at the Sun-Times , hosting "The Big Questions," one of four initial shows. In July 2018, Elder was featured on Billings Gazette . It recollects the moment that, "spurred a lifelong love of concert photography," and provoked Elder's journalism career. Elder has written, researched, edited and/or contributed to over 20 books including: John Landis John David Landis (born August 3, 1950)
343-415: A production assistant. Aged 21, Landis made his directorial debut with Schlock . The film, which he also wrote and appeared in, is a tribute to monster movies . The gorilla suit for the film was made by Rick Baker —the beginning of a long-term collaboration between Landis and Baker. Though completed in 1971, Schlock was not released until 1973 after it caught the attention of Johnny Carson . A fan of
392-670: A two-book deal. The book It Was Over When: Tales of Romantic Dead Ends was available two years later. In 2013, he was named the Lake County Editor for the Chicago Sun-Times . He went on to become editor-in-chief of Sun-Times Media Local, overseeing 36 of the company's suburban publications. The next year, he was named vice president of Digital Content, founding a guest editor program featuring people such as Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins , Presumed Innocent author Scott Turow , and astronaut Jim Lovell . Elder also started
441-482: Is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for directing comedy films such as The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977), National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), The Blues Brothers (1980), Trading Places (1983), Three Amigos (1986), Coming to America (1988) and Beverly Hills Cop III (1994), and horror films such as An American Werewolf in London (1981) and Innocent Blood (1992). He also directed
490-593: Is an American journalist, author, and film columnist. He is currently the President and CEO of the Outrider Foundation . He has written more than a dozen books on topics ranging from the death penalty and movies to Ernest Hemingway and Elvis Presley. During his academic career at the University of Oregon, Elder ran the campus publication The Oregon Voice . He annotated and archived Ken Kesey 's personal papers at
539-531: Is married to Deborah Nadoolman , a costume designer. They have two children: Max and Rachel. In a BBC Radio interview, he stated that he is an atheist . The family lives in Beverly Hills, California . They had purchased Rock Hudson 's estate in Beverly Crest after the actor died there from complications of AIDS . The property was later sold to Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen . In 2009, Landis signed
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#1732858866823588-506: Is the father of filmmaker Max Landis . Landis was born into a Jewish American family in Chicago, Illinois , the son of Shirley Levine ( née Magaziner) and Marshall Landis, an interior designer and decorator. Landis and his parents relocated to Los Angeles when he was four months old. Though spending his childhood in California , Landis still refers to Chicago as his home town; he is a fan of
637-696: Is why the pilot lost control. The special effects man who made the mistake by setting off a fireball at the wrong time was never charged." Trading Places , a Prince and the Pauper –style comedy starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy , was filmed directly after the Twilight Zone accident. After filming ended, Landis and his family went to London. The film, a big hit at the box office (the 4th-most-popular movie of 1983) did well enough for Landis' image and career to improve, along with his involvement with Michael Jackson 's " Thriller ". Next, Landis directed Into
686-612: The Road to ... films of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby . It was the 10th-most-popular movie of 1985. Hope made a cameo in the Landis film, portraying himself. In 1986, Landis directed Three Amigos , which featured Chevy Chase, Martin Short and Steve Martin . He then co-directed and produced the 1987 satirical comedy film Amazon Women on the Moon , which parodies the experience of watching low-budget films on late-night television. Landis next directed
735-810: The Catholic Church . Landis was then hired to direct The Kentucky Fried Movie after David Zucker saw his Tonight Show appearance. The film was inspired by the satirical sketch comedy of shows like Monty Python , Free the Army , The National Lampoon Radio Hour and Saturday Night Live . It is notable for being the first film written by the Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker team, who would later have success with Airplane! and The Naked Gun trilogy. Sean Daniel, an assistant to Universal executive Thom Mount , saw The Kentucky Fried Movie and recommended Landis to direct Animal House based on that. Landis says of
784-703: The Chicago Film Critics Association , he has also taught film classes at Facets Film School . Elder has worked for DNAinfo Chicago as its managing editor, Stop Smiling magazine as a contributing editor, Crain Communications as the director of Digital Production Development and Strategy, 1871 Chicago as a business mentor, Blockchain News as a publisher and president, the Garage Fellows program at Northwestern University's Startup Incubator,
833-534: The Chicago White Sox baseball team. When Landis was a young boy, he watched The 7th Voyage of Sinbad , which inspired him to become a director: I had complete suspension of disbelief—really, I was eight years old and it transported me. I was on that beach running from that dragon, fighting that Cyclops . It just really dazzled me, and I bought it completely. And so, I actually sat through it twice and when I got home, I asked my mom, "Who does that? Who makes
882-588: The comedy horror film Some Guy Who Kills People . Landis has directed several music videos. He was approached by Michael Jackson to make a video for his song " Thriller ". The resulting video significantly impacted MTV and the concept of music videos; it has won numerous awards, including the Video Vanguard Award for The Greatest Video in the History of the World. In 2009 (months before Jackson died), Landis sued
931-484: The music videos for Michael Jackson 's "Thriller" (1983) and " Black or White " (1991). Landis later ventured into television work, including the series Dream On (1990), Weird Science (1994) and Sliders (1995). He also directed several episodes of the 2000s horror anthology series Masters of Horror and Fear Itself , as well as commercials for DirecTV , Taco Bell , Coca-Cola , Pepsi , Kellogg's and Disney . In 2008, Landis won an Emmy Award for
980-475: The "gross-out" film genre, which became one of Hollywood's staples. It also featured the screen debuts of John Belushi , Karen Allen and Kevin Bacon . In 1980, Landis co-wrote and directed The Blues Brothers , a comedy starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd . It featured musical numbers by R&B and soul legends James Brown , Cab Calloway , Aretha Franklin , Ray Charles and John Lee Hooker . It was, at
1029-410: The 1988 Eddie Murphy film Coming to America , which was hugely successful, becoming the third-most-popular movie of 1988 at the U.S. box office. It was also the subject of Buchwald v. Paramount , a civil suit filed by Art Buchwald in 1990 against the film's producers. Buchwald claimed that the concept for the film had been stolen from a 1982 script that Paramount optioned from Buchwald, and won
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#17328588668231078-975: The Dark ) is a non-fiction collection of interviews compiled by American journalist, author and film columnist Robert K. Elder . The book presents interviews with thirty famous directors who share stories about the movies that affected their career paths and directing styles. Chapter list [ edit ] Edgar Wright on An American Werewolf in London Rian Johnson on Annie Hall Danny Boyle on Apocalypse Now Bill Condon on Bonnie and Clyde Richard Kelly on Brazil Peter Bogdanovich on Citizen Kane John Dahl on A Clockwork Orange Henry Jaglom on 8½ Brian Herzlinger on E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial Alex Gibney on The Exterminating Angel Kimberly Peirce on The Godfather Steve James on Harlan County, USA Austin Chick on Kings of
1127-726: The Garage , on the board of advisors, and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists as the Chief Digital Officer. As of May 2022, Elder is the president and CEO of the Outrider Foundation . In June 2006, Elder debunked the long-believed Chicago legend that Del Close had donated his skull for use as a stage prop to the Goodman Theatre . While Close had willed his skull to the theater to serve as Yorick in productions of Hamlet ,
1176-473: The Jackson estate in a dispute over royalties for the video; he claimed to be owed at least four years' worth of royalties. In 1991, Landis collaborated again with Michael Jackson on the music video for the song " Black or White ". Landis has been active in television as the executive producer (and often director) of the series Dream On (1990), Weird Science (1994), Sliders (1995), Honey, I Shrunk
1225-532: The Kids: The TV Show (1997), Campus Cops (1995), The Lost World (1998), Masters of Horror , and various episodes of Psych . He also made commercials for DirecTV , Taco Bell , Coca-Cola , Pepsi , Kellogg's , and Disney . In 2011 he made an appearance in Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton 's television series Psychoville . In June 2020, Landis signed on to direct and executive produce
1274-452: The Night , starring Jeff Goldblum , Michelle Pfeiffer and David Bowie , and appeared in the film, which was inspired by Hitchcock productions, as an Iranian hitman. To promote the film, Landis collaborated with Jeff Okun to direct a documentary film called B.B. King "Into the Night" . His next film, Spies Like Us (starring co-writer Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase ), was an homage to
1323-492: The Night" (1985) and in 2002 directed Where Are They Now?: A Delta Alumni Update , which can be seen as a part of the Animal House DVD extras. Initially, his documentaries were only made to promote his feature films. Later in his career he became more serious about the oeuvre and made Slasher (2004), Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007) and Starz Inside: Ladies or Gentlemen (2009) for television. Landis won
1372-568: The Road Guy Maddin on L'âge d'Or Michel Gondry on Le voyage en ballon Michael Polish on Once Upon a Time in America Arthur Hiller on Rome, Open City Pete Docter on Paper Moon Atom Egoyan on Persona Gurinder Chadha on Purab aur Pachhim and It's a Wonderful Life Richard Linklater on Raging Bull Jay Duplass on Raising Arizona John Woo on Rebel Without
1421-553: The United Kingdom), including Once Upon a Time in the West , El Condor and A Town Called Bastard (a.k.a. A Town Called Hell ). Landis also worked as a stunt double . I worked on some [pirate] movies, all kind of movies. French foreign movies. I worked on a movie called Red Sun where Toshiro Mifune kills me, puts a sword through me. ... I worked as a stunt guy. I worked as a dialogue coach. I worked as an actor. I worked as
1470-485: The accident, Spielberg ended his friendship with Landis. In October 1984, the National Transportation Safety Board reported: The probable cause of the accident was the detonation of debris-laden high temperature special effects explosions too near a low-flying helicopter leading to foreign object damage to one rotor blade and delamination due to heat to the other rotor blade, the separation of
1519-471: The author Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Film_That_Changed_My_Life&oldid=1247956221 " Categories : 2011 non-fiction books Books about film Chicago Review Press books American non-fiction books Books of interviews Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Robert K. Elder Robert K. Elder (born January 20, 1976)
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1568-765: The breach of contract action. In 1991, Landis directed Sylvester Stallone in Oscar , based on a Claude Magnier [ fr ] stage play. Oscar recreates a 1930s-era film, including the gestures along with bit acts and with some slapstick, as an homage to old Hollywood films. In 1992, Landis directed Innocent Blood , a horror - crime film . In 1994, Landis directed Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop III , their third collaboration following Trading Places and Coming to America . In 1996, he directed The Stupids and then returned to Universal to direct Blues Brothers 2000 in 1998 with John Goodman and, for
1617-530: The deaths of Morrow, Le and Chen were the result of an accident. However, camera operators filming the scene testified to Landis being a very imperious director, and a "yeller and screamer" on set. During a take three hours before the incident, Wingo (a veteran of the Vietnam War ) told Landis that the fireballs were too large and too close to the helicopter, to which Landis responded, "You ain't seen nothing yet." With special effects explosions blasting around them,
1666-455: The delivery of the skull never happened, due to medical and legal issues, and it was cremated along with the rest of Close's body. In June 2009, he founded the Web 2.0 company Odd Hours Media LLC, which launched the user-generated sites ItWasOverWhen.com and ItWasLoveWhen.com. Both sites attracted more than one million hits within a few months. Later that same year, Sourcebooks signed the sites to
1715-431: The documentary Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007). In 1982, Landis became the subject of controversy when three actors, including two children, died on set while filming his segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983). Landis, as well as several other parties, were subsequently tried and acquitted for involuntary manslaughter , but the incident had long-lasting effects on film industry practices. Landis
1764-454: The employment of children by using the children after hours, and conceded that that was wrong, but still denied culpability. Numerous members of the film crew testified that the director was warned of the extreme hazard by technicians but ignored them. Metallurgist Gary Fowler testified that the heat from two explosions engulfed and delaminated the helicopter's tail rotor, causing it to fall off, and that there had been "no historical basis" for
1813-513: The end) and Landis had made a cameo in 1941 as a messenger. In 1981, Landis wrote and directed another cult-status film , the comedy-horror An American Werewolf in London . It was perhaps Landis' most personal project; he had been planning to make it since 1969, while in Yugoslavia working on Kelly's Heroes . It was another commercial success for Landis and inspired studios to put comedic elements in their horror films. On July 23, 1982, during
1862-406: The fifth time in a Landis film, Dan Aykroyd , who also appeared in Landis' film Susan's Plan , released that same year. None of the above six films scored well with critics or audiences. Burke and Hare was released in 2010, as Landis' first theatrical release in 12 years. In August 2011, Landis said he would return to horror and would be writing a new film. He was the executive producer on
1911-526: The film, Carson invited Landis on The Tonight Show and showed clips to help promote it. Schlock has since gained a cult following, but Landis has described the film as "terrible". Landis was hired by Eon Productions to write a screen treatment for The Spy Who Loved Me , but his screenplay of James Bond foiling a kidnapping of the Pope in Latin America was rejected by Albert R. Broccoli for satirizing
1960-844: The filming of Twilight Zone: The Movie , actor Vic Morrow and child actors Myca Dinh Le (age 7) and Renee Shin-Yi Chen (age 6) were killed in an accident involving an out-of-control helicopter . The three were caught under the aircraft when it crashed, and Morrow and one child were decapitated. In June 1983, Landis, associate producer George Folsey Jr. , production manager Dan Allingham, head of special effects Paul Stewart and helicopter pilot Dorcey Wingo were charged with involuntary manslaughter . In December, Morrow's daughters Jennifer Jason Leigh and Carrie Morrow also sued Landis, Wingo, Warner Bros. Studios and others for negligence and wrongful death, resulting in Warner Bros. settling their case out of court, awarding $ 850,000 to each party. Following
2009-431: The helicopter descended over Morrow, Le, and Chen. Witnesses testified that Landis was still shouting for the helicopter to fly "Lower! Lower!" moments before it crashed. The prosecutors demonstrated that Landis was reckless and had not warned the parents, cast or crew of the children's and Morrow's proximity to explosives, or of limitations on their working hours. He admitted that he had violated California law regulating
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2058-423: The helicopter's tail rotor assembly, and the uncontrolled descent of the helicopter. The proximity of the helicopter to the special effects explosions was due to the failure to establish direct communications and coordination between the pilot, who was in command of the helicopter operation, and the film director, who was in charge of the filming operation. The lawsuit finally proceeded in 1985. Landis insisted that
2107-713: The movie?" Landis began his film career working as a mailboy at 20th Century-Fox . He worked as a " go-fer " and then as an assistant director during filming Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 's Kelly's Heroes in Yugoslavia in 1969; he replaced the film's original assistant director, who became ill and was sent home. During that time Landis became acquainted with actors Don Rickles and Donald Sutherland , both of whom would later work in his films. Following Kelly's Heroes , Landis worked on several films that were shot in Europe (especially in Italy and
2156-535: The phenomenon. Deputy District Attorney Lea Purwin D'Agostino stated that Landis was acting "cool", "slippery" and "glib" during the trial, and that his testimony contained inconsistencies. After a ten-month jury trial that took place in 1986 and 1987, Landis—represented by criminal defense attorneys Harland Braun and James F. Neal —and the other crew members were acquitted of the charges. Both Le's and Chen's parents later filed civil suits against Landis and other defendants and eventually settled out of court with
2205-434: The screenplay, "It was really literally one of the funniest things I ever read. It had a nasty edge like National Lampoon . I told him it was wonderful, extremely smart and funny, but everyone's a pig for one thing." While Animal House received mixed reviews, it was a massive financial success, earning over $ 120 million at the domestic box office, making it the highest grossing comedy film of its time. Its success started
2254-414: The streaming series Superhero Kindergarten . Landis made his first documentary, Coming Soon , in 1982; it was only released on VHS. In 1983, he worked on the 45-minute documentary Making Michael Jackson's Thriller , which aired on MTV and Showtime and was simultaneously released on home video, which became the biggest selling home video release of the time. Next, he co-directed B.B. King "Into
2303-546: The studio for $ 2 million per family. In 1988, Landis was reprimanded by the Directors Guild of America for unprofessional conduct on the set of the film and the California Labor Commission fined him $ 5,000 for violating child labor laws . Additionally, Cal/OSHA issued 36 citations and $ 62,375 in fines, although this amount was later reduced to $ 1,350. Warner Bros. vice president John Silvia also spearheaded
2352-474: The time, one of the most expensive films ever made, costing almost $ 30 million (for comparison, Steven Spielberg 's contemporary film 1941 cost $ 35 million). It is speculated that Spielberg and Landis engaged in a rivalry, the goal of which was to make the more expensive film. The rivalry might have been a friendly one, as Spielberg makes a cameo appearance in Blues Brothers (as the unnamed desk clerk near
2401-715: The university's Knight Library. Elder has published in The New York Times , Premiere , The Los Angeles Times , The Boston Globe , Salon.com , The Chicago Tribune and The Oregonian , among other publications. In the late 1990s, Elder worked for several publications and changed his byline to "Robert K. Elder" after working with another Rob Elder at the San Jose Mercury News . He has taught journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism , as well as feature writing and entertainment reporting at Columbia College Chicago . A former member of
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