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Twilight Zone tragedy
During the filming of Twilight Zone, actor Vic Morrow was decapitated and two child extras, Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen, were killed by a helicopter. Landis and several crew members were criminally charged with involuntary manslaughter. At trial, prosecutors attempted to show that Landis was reckless and had violated laws relating to child actors by not telling parents and others of the children's proximity to explosives and helicopters and of limitations on their working hours. He was also accused of negligence in directing the crew regarding use of the helicopter. After an extended Jury trial, Landis and other crew members were acquitted.
The parents of the children sued, but settled out of court for $2 million per family. Vic Morrow’s daughters, Carrie Morrow and actress Jennifer Jason Leigh, similarly pursued a lawsuit that settled for an undisclosed amount purportedly in the $800,000 range.
Career slump
Because Landis's list of credits in the late 1970s and 1980s include so many beloved classics and crowd pleasers, many peers and film buffs consider him a comedy giant. However, the 1990s saw a string of box office and critical failures from which Landis's career has yet to recover. Beverly Hills Cop III, directed by Landis in 1994, scored a mere 9% positive rating at the Rotten Tomatoes website.
His more recent "00" era work has taken him in a much different direction. His episode of Masters of Horror, "Deer Woman" (co-written by his son, Max Landis) is more in line with his earlier, more well-received films, and Slasher is a scathing documentary detailing the life of a shady used car salesman whose humanity and failings are revealed along with fascinating aspects of the auto business.
Trademarks
One of Landis' trademarks is to insert references to a fictional film called See You Next Wednesday in movies he directs. The line is from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey as the final goodbye from Frank Poole's parents on the video from them he is watching.
For the films he directed for Universal Pictures (Animal House, The Blues Brothers, An American Werewolf in London), there is the famous "Ask for Babs" promo (referring to the character, Babs, in Animal House) for Universal Studios Hollywood, shown at the end of the credits (while patrons who "asked for Babs," were once given a certain degree of reward, any promo has long since been discontinued, save a simple smile or acknowledgement from a park staffer). In one DVD release of Animal House there was a "Where are they Now" Mockumentary which featured, among others, Martha Smith (who played Babs) indeed working the rounds as a tour guide at Universal Studios in Hollywood.
Many of his films feature references to the Oldsmobile.
Landis casts famous film directors in cameo appearances in almost all of his movies (Spies Like Us has several in one memorable scene).
Several of Landis' films break the fourth wall. In Animal House, Bluto turns to the camera while peeking through the girls' window. In Trading Places, Billy Ray Valentine shares a glance with the audience while being patronized by the Duke brothers' explanation of commodities markets. In An American Werewolf in London, David stares for a moment into the camera during his first transformation.
Films directed by Landis
* "Scary Sherry" (episode of Psych, 2007)
* "Family" (2006)
* "Deer Woman" (2005)
* Slasher (2004)
* Susan's Plan (1998)
* Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)
* The Stupids (1996)
* Beverly Hills Cop III (1994)
* Innocent Blood (1992)
* "Black or White" (1991)
* Oscar (1991)
* Coming to America (1988)
* Amazon Women on the Moon (1987)
* ¡Three Amigos! (1986)
* Spies Like Us (1985)
* Disaster at Buzz Creek (1985)
* Into the Night (1985)
* "Thriller" (1983)
* Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
* Trading Places (1983)
* Coming Soon (1982)
* An American Werewolf in London (1981)
* The Blues Brothers (1980)
* National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
* The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)
* Schlock (1973)
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