John Landis Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

The current state and future of Hollywood, according to director John Landis? Not so great. IndieWire reports (via Deadline) that Landis had some choice about the “pathetic state” of the industry.

Former Venice Film Festival head Marco Müller has been named Artistic Director of Italy’s Taormina Film Fest. 

While filming “The Blues Brothers” in 1979, John Belushi was partying so hard that he was often unable to function.One night, after yet another Belushi delay, director John Landis knocked on the door of his trailer, fed up.“Inside, John sat disheveled, eyes vacant. Atop a desk sat a mound of cocaine,” writes Daniel de Visé in his new book, “The Blues Brothers: An Epic Friendship, the Rise of Improv, and the Making of an American Film Classic,” (Atlantic Monthly Press, March 19).“ ‘John, you’re killing yourself,’ Landis cried. ‘Do not do this to my movie.

Francine Jamison-Tanchuck has been working on movie and TV costumes for more than 45 years, and now she is being fitted for a lifetime honor.

EXCLUSIVE: Airplane! writer-directors David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker are teaming up with a cast of celebrities and industry figures to chronicle the making of the influential hit 1980 comedy.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Abacus Media Rights has pre-sold the feature documentary “The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee,” to Sky Arts, SBS Television Australia; to NonStop Entertainment for Scandinavia, Iceland and the Baltics and to Movistar for Spain. Lee is known as the Dracula character and for transitioning from 1960s Hammer horror films to a distinguished acting career that encompassed James Bond films, the “Star Wars” and “Lord of the Rings” franchises. Less well-known are his aristocratic Italian roots, a close family connection to James Bond novelist Ian Fleming, Lee’s wartime experiences in the British and Finnish military, post-war Nazi-hunting adventures and a side career as a heavy metal rock singer. As an actor, Lee achieved a Guinness world record for the highest number of screen appearances. Produced in association with the British Film Institute and Trigger Films by Canal Cat Films, “Life and Deaths” is an innovative documentary which uses fresh interviews, archive material and multiple forms of traditional and cutting-edge animation, including marionation, to bring one of the world’s leading actors back to life on screen.

Jaden Thompson Everyone remembers their first R-rated movie. Maybe you snuck into a theater trying to pass as 17, or maybe your parents didn’t care for censorship. Either way — whether it’s a movie with gore, expletives or nudity — that first experience leaves an impression.

EXCLUSIVE: North America’s largest genre festival, Fantasia, is currently in full flow, but amid two Hollywood strikes, its staff are speaking out about what they deem to be horror conditions.

Celebrated Hollywood costume designer Deborah Nadoolman Landis has said the time is ripe for an overhaul of the contracts covering pay and conditions as well as Intellectual Property rights for her profession.

Trading Places now.Speaking to The Daily Beast, Aykroyd recently reflected on the John Landis-directed film in which he starred in with Eddie Murphy back in 1983. In one scene, his character appears in Blackface and adopts a Caribbean accent.“I was in Blackface in that film, and I probably couldn’t get away with it now,” Aykroyd told the publication. “Eddie and I were improvising there.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Dan Akyroyd admitted in a recent interview with The Daily Beast that he probably would not put on Blackface for a movie role today like he did 40 years ago in the blockbuster comedy “Trading Places.” Akyroyd starred in the John Landis-directed film as a rich investment broker who switches lives with a broke con artist, played by Eddie Murphy. Akyroyd’s character appears in Blackface and sports dreadlocks and a Caribbean accent during one scene set on New Year’s Eve. “I was in Blackface in that film, and I probably couldn’t get away with it now,” Aykroyd said. “Eddie and I were improvising there. Eddie is a Black man and his entourage were all Black people, and I don’t think they batted an eye. There was no objection then; nobody said anything. It was just a good comic beat that was truthful to the story.”

Barrett Wissman is gearing up for his inaugural edition of the Taormina Film Festival as the newly appointed Executive and co-Artistic Director of the Sicily-set event, running from June 23 to July 1.

The Italian premieres of Cannes Film Festival opener Jeanne du Barry starring Johnny Depp and Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny will be among the international highlights of the 69th Taormina Film Festival which gave a taster of its line-up at press conference in Rome on Tuesday.

Tom Joyner, who was First AD on such notable titles as Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, George Roy Hill’s Slapshot and Clint Eastwood’s Bronco Billy, died February 22 after a long battle with cancer and heart disease. He was 79.

didn’t hate each other,” Maher said. “The editor of ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ said Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy didn’t want to touch each other, they didn’t want to look at each other, they wouldn’t face each other if the camera wasn’t actively rolling.

The 1980s was a great decade for horror, with classics like “The Shining,” “The Fly,” and two “Evil Dead” movies. Effects were largely practical (not computer-generated) and genre giants Wes Craven, John Carpenter, Sam Raimi and David Cronenberg were making some of their most iconic movies ever.

Amazon Prime Video to get you in the mood for the season change. Whether it’s a horror classic, Oscar-winning thriller or genuinely great animated film, there’s a little something for everyone in our curated list of some of the best new movies streaming on Amazon Prime Video this month.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe Locarno Film Festival will pay tribute to Greek-French director Costa-Gavras with its Pardo alla carriera lifetime achievement award.The longtime Paris-based master of politically engaged cinema will be on hand at the prominent Swiss fest dedicated to indie filmmaking to receive the prize during a ceremony on its Piazza Grande square on Aug. 11 followed by an audience-led conversation the next day.Locarno will also host screenings of two of Costa Gravras’ lesser known films: “Un homme de trop” (“Shock Troops”) from 1967, and “Compartiment tueurs” (“The Sleeping Car Murders”), which is his 1965 debut feature.In a career spanning nearly 60 years, Costa-Gavras — which is short for Konstantinos Gavras — has become known for highly political works, such as 1969’s “Z,” about the military’s coup d’etat in Greece, which won the foreign film Oscar in 1969; and 1982’s “Missing,” which starred Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek in a story inspired by the military overthrow of Chilean President Salvador Allende.

Zack Sharf Jamie Lee Curtis recently told People magazine that she felt “embarrassed” going nude for “Trading Places” when she was 21 years old. Curtis starred as a call girl in the John Landis-directed 1983 comedy opposite Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy. Curtis appears topless in the film.“I was 21 years old and the part required Ophelia to take off her dress,” Curtis said.

For Ruben Fleischer, Uncharted, was two years in the making, however, the feature take of the Sony PlayStation game has been in the works since 2008 with several directors attached, i.e. David O. Russell, Neil Burger, Travis Knight and Shawn Levy to name a few.

who died Saturday at the age of 75, will probably be remembered for, it’s “Ghostbusters” — the blockbuster adventures of four misfits that blurred the lines between broad comedy, monstrous horror and working-class heroism. But while “Ghostbusters” may have been Reitman’s biggest financial success, it’s that particular blurring of the lines that was the filmmaker’s lifelong calling card.

Belly has shared a brand new single from his latest album ‘See You Next Wednesday’ – you can watch the video for ‘Flowers’ below.The Canadian rapper released his John Landis-inspired third LP back in August, featuring the singles ‘Die For It’ featuring Nas and The Weeknd, ‘IYKYK’, ‘Money On The Table’ featuring Benny The Butcher, ‘Zero Love’, ‘Requiem’, and ‘Better Believe’ featuring The Weeknd and Young Thug.On ‘Flowers’, Belly contemplates an early death and asks for his well-deserved

EXCLUSIVE: Horror legend Dario Argento (Suspiria) is joining Charlotte Colbert’s debut feature She Will as an executive producer.

Belly has some new music to share.

Belly has released his third studio album, ‘See You Next Wednesday’, and has spoken to NME about the John Landis-inspired project and what it’s like writing hits with The Weeknd.The Palestinian-born, Canadian-raised rapper’s latest effort follows the release of 2018’s ‘Immigrant’, which saw him collaborate with the likes of Meek Mill, Yo Gotti and French Montana.

Ann-Marie Corvin The Locarno Film Festival will pay homage to genre-bending U.S. director John Landis with its Pardo d’onore Manor lifetime achievement award.The “Blues Brothers” and “American Werewolf in London” director will be presented with the award on the last day of the August festival’s 74th outing.

Belly has teamed up with Benny The Butcher on a new track called ‘Money On The Table’ – listen to it below.Also sharing ‘IYKYK’, both tracks have been released to announce Belly’s forthcoming album ‘See You Next Wednesday’, due out later this year via XO Records/Roc Nation.A nod to filmmaker John Landis, the new album from Belly – known for collaborating with the likes of The Weeknd, Drake and Jay-Z – will mark his “return to his craft – stronger, smarter, and more powerful than ever,” according

Natalie Oganesyan editor“Coming 2 America,” the long-awaited sequel to Eddie Murphy’s 1988 “Coming to America,” has released early on Amazon Prime. Originally, the pic was set to drop on the streaming service on Friday.The sequel to John Landis’ hit comedy follows Prince Akeem (Murphy), who is set to become the king of the fictional country of Zamunda, an African kingdom untouched by colonialism, and finds out he has a son he never knew about — a street-savvy Queens native, Lavelle.

Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticBefore Wakanda, there was Zamunda, the fictional African kingdom Eddie Murphy’s Prince Akeem stood to inherit in “Coming to America.” As depicted in John Landis’ hit 1988 comedy, Zamunda was a country untouched by colonialism, where Black culture was celebrated as never before on-screen.

Coming 2 America has just been released – check it out below.Craig Brewer’s sequel to the original 1988 film by John Landis will see Eddie Murphy reprise his role as King Akeem, alongside Arsenio Hall, Jermaine Fowler, James Earl Jones and more.The synopsis for the new film reads: “Set in the lush and royal country of Zamunda, newly-crowned King Akeem and his trusted confidante Semmi embark on an all-new hilarious adventure that has them traversing the globe from their great African nation to

Coming 2 America has just been released – check it out below.The film, which sees Eddie Murphy reprise his role as King Akeem from the much-loved 1988 movie directed by John Landis, will be released next year on Amazon Prime Video.Coming 2 America is also set to star Arsenio Hall, Jermaine Fowler, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, KiKi Layne, Shari Headley, Wesley Snipes and James Earl Jones.Check out the official trailer here:The synopsis for the new film reads: “Set in the lush and royal country of

Coming 2 America have just been released – take a look below.Eddie Murphy will be reprising his role as King Akeem from the 1988 film directed by John Landis, starring alongside Arsenio Hall, Jermaine Fowler, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, KiKi Layne, Shari Headley, Wesley Snipes and James Earl Jones.Coming 2 America will be directed by Craig Brewer (Dolemite is My Name) from a script by Kenya Barris, Barry W.

Naman Ramachandran Amazon Studios has confirmed that it has acquired worldwide rights to keenly anticipated sequel “Coming 2 America” from Paramount Pictures, and has set a March 5, 2021 date to launch on Amazon Prime Video.Variety reported that the deal was being hammered out last month.The film is a sequel to John Landis’ 1988 comedy “Coming to America,” which grossed more than $288 million worldwide.

Coming 2 America is coming 2 streaming!

A wickedly industrious joke-machine intellect attached to a pneumatic pair of eyebrows, John Belushi was the king of American comedy in the mid-to-late 1970s. At the peak of his career, he could boast a sinecure at “Saturday Night Live,” blockbuster movies, a hit band, and the best Toshiro Mifune imitation ever to hit American TV.

Occasionally, in this line of work, you end up watching a movie bad enough to make you regret taking the assignment. Roseanne Liang‘s “Shadow in the Cloud” is a movie so bad, it made me regret choosing the profession.