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John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and occasional actor.

He's known for having directed some of the most beloved comedies of the late 1970s and early '80s, including Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Trading Places, Coming to Americanote  and ¡Three Amigos!, as well as the horror classic An American Werewolf in London and Michael Jackson's groundbreaking music video for "Thriller." He also developed and produced Clue, the All-Star Cast mystery/comedy based on the popular board game.

More controversially, Landis is known for his reckless direction when filming his segment for Twilight Zone: The Movie, which killed Vic Morrow and two (illegally employed) child actors. Filming late at night and violating child labor laws, he ignored the helicopter pilot's warning against flying low to the ground and close to pyrotechnics, resulting in the helicopter crashing and the three actors getting violently killed in the process. Landis plead guilty to the illegal child labor, but not manslaughter, of which he was acquitted despite all evidence against him; still, the controversy tarnished his name, and once he started a rotten streak with Oscar his film directing career would eventually grind to a screeching halt. Since then, he has mostly worked in television.

He is also the father of Max Landis, a screenwriter and also a director.


Works directed by John Landis:


His works provide examples of:


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