Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with a little chat I had with John Landis regarding the impending release of the 25th Anniversary edition of THE BLUES BROTHERS on DVD. Landis is a character and has directed some of my favorite films AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON is in my top 10 of all time, ANIMAL HOUSE is classic, BLUES BROTHERS is classic, KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE has been a favorite of mine since childhood and COMING TO AMERICA is the funniest Eddie Murphy has been off the stand-up circuit... Hell, I even have a soft spot for THREE AMIGOS! "It's a sweater!"
Before I start I want to mention an event that Universal is doing to tie-in with this DVD release. Tonight, Monday the 29th, they are showing the movie in HD in theaters across the country. Before the screening there will be a live Q&A beamed into each theater with John Landis, Dan Aykroyd and even the hardest working man in show business, Mr. James Brown himself. CLICK HERE for the trailer to that event! And CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT IF ITS PLAYING IN YOUR AREA AND TO BUY TICKETS!
Below you'll find some general BLUES BROTHERS info and an update on BAT BOY, his upcoming horror-comedy musical. Enjoy!
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QUINT: I was actually in the middle of watching the DVD when you called.
JOHN LANDIS: Oh, get off the phone and go finish, for Chrissakes!
QUINT: Oh, I've seen the film many, many times, don't worry... But just looking at this thing... is it weirding you out at all that all your earlier films are hitting these benchmarks, like 25th Anniversary?
JOHN LANDIS: Ah only in that... you know, it's very strange to me. It doesn't seem like 25 years ago, you know. (Laughs) The funny thing on this one if you watch the added materials they have all these documentaries and shit, so there's interviews with Danny (Aykroyd)... You know, with everybody, but with me in particular, in 1979, in 1980, in 1990, in 1995 to 2000 and 2005. So, it's like... for me it's like this weird Dorian Gray thing... He's fat! He's thin! He's got black hair! He's got grey hair! He's got long hair! He's got short hair! It's fuckin' weird, you know? (laughs)
QUINT: It did weird me out to see the onset behind the scenes stuff where you didn't have a beard...
JOHN LANDIS: Well, I had to shave to be that trooper, so...
QUINT: When you look back at the movie today, right now what's the predominant feeling that hits you?
JOHN LANDIS: BLUES BROTHERS? Ah, well... It was a gigantic endeavor and I'm amazed they let us make it at all. (laughs) It's got some amazing performances by great performers. I have nostalgia for it and I'm proud of it. You know, it makes me miss Johnny (Belushi). You know, when you make movies it's such a compromise all the time, but I have to tell ya' I'm fond of it and I'm delighted it's out there.
QUINT: Do you know if any of your other films are getting the Special Edition DVD treatment?
JOHN LANDIS: I have no idea. I have no idea.
QUINT: What memory from filming BLUES BROTHERS is the strongest for you?
JOHN LANDIS: Oh, gee... I don't know. There's so many... gosh. There's just so many good memories. I loved... I mean, to actually work with Cab Calloway, John Lee Hooker and Ray Charles. In some ways it was like a fan boy's dream come true. And doing that car stuff... That was before CG. All that is real. So, that car stuff is so gigantic, the logistics involved in staging it were so elaborate. I don't know... it was fun!
QUINT: My favorite movie is JAWS and I've heard you visited the set.
JOHN LANDIS: Yeah, I was on the set of JAWS. I was there the day they put the shark in the water and it sank! It was one of the great Laurel and Hardy moments 120 people standing around, you know, watching it... bubble-bubble-bubble.
I was actually hired by Michael and Julia Phillips to rewrite a script by Paul Schrader called PROJECT BLUEBOOK, which was eventually made as CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND. I was flown to the Vineyard, I went with Michael Phillips, to meet Spielberg who was in the middle of JAWS. What I didn't realize... you know, we got there and he was so buried. That's a $4 million movie that cost $12 million. It was a production nightmare.
We got there just after Lou Wasserman and Sid Sheinberg had been there, so it was pretty grim. So, I literally waited around almost 3 weeks before I finally got to talk to him. I hung out with Carl Gottlieb. Are you a JAWS freak... have you ever read Carl's book?
QUINT: Yeah, THE JAWS LOG.
JOHN LANDIS: Well, I'm in in there! He talks all about it! Do you have the new edition?
QUINT: I have it, but haven't read through it yet. The one I read is my old ratty paperback copy.
JOHN LANDIS: He talks all about it!
QUINT: That's cool. Did you get to know Robert Shaw?
JOHN LANDIS: Oh, sure. I worked in Spain on a pictured called A TOWN CALLED BASTARD (aka A TOWN CALLED HELL), I think. He was a funny guy. Liked to drink.
QUINT: (laughs) Yeah, I think damn near anybody who ever met the man could attest to that.
JOHN LANDIS: You know, people forget that he was a fine writer. He wrote a number of plays, including THE MAN IN THE GLASS BOOTH.
QUINT: Yeah. He also wrote a really great novel called THE HIDING PLACE. Well, what do you have coming up? I know you did your MASTERS OF HORROR episode...
JOHN LANDIS: I finished that. That airs in October. I did something called DEER WOMAN which is written by my son, Max. It's pretty whacky and out there. That's actually exciting because that whole show is director driven. The directors got to basically do whatever they want and they had to shoot it in 10 days. I know Dario Argento has finished his, John Carpenter has finished his, Joe Dante's shooting now, Tobe Hooper did his, Stuart Gordon did his, Don Coscarelli did one... It's really an impressive group of guys.
QUINT: Yeah, for a genre nut like me it's one of my most anticipated projects out there. To see these guys just throw off their coats, roll up their sleeves and do what they do best.
JOHN LANDIS: I've seen a couple that are so gruesome!
QUINT: Are you still doing anything with BAT BOY?
JOHN LANDIS: I actually have a meeting on Thursday about BAT BOY.
QUINT: What's goin' on?
JOHN LANDIS: Well, the budgets are being done now. The screenplay was written by the original writer and I'm really looking forward to it. I would love... You know, we're fighting about the rating now. It really should be R-rated and they don't want it to be. I don't see how to do it unless it's R-rated. I want to really bring out some of the horror elements a little more. It really is like a greek tragedy. Have you seen the show?
QUINT: No, I haven't. All I know is it's a musical.
JOHN LANDIS: Yeah, it's a musical. It has great music.
QUINT: What else do you have in the works?
JOHN LANDIS: There's a number of scripts I'm attached to that they're trying to get the money for. One is called EPIC PROPORTIONS and one that I quite liked that I'm meeting with the writers next week to do a rewrite... It's called right now MISSIONARY IMPOSSIBLE. I want them to change it to THE MISSIONARY POSITION. It's about Christian missionaries and it's pretty... rude.
QUINT: Is that an indie production?
JOHN LANDIS: Oh, no that's financed. It's just the script has to be rewritten.
QUINT: What's your favorite dirty joke?
JOHN LANDIS: I don't know if I have a favorite dirty joke... (to someone in the room with him) Deborah (Nadoolman, his wife), what's my favorite dirty joke? (Pause) Oh, you want to hear my favorite dirty joke?
Two old Jews on a bench in Miami. One turns to the other, he says, "Do you like pussy cats?" The guy says, "... Yes... and how do you know my name?" How's that?
QUINT: Nice. That's a good one. Well, thanks for chatting with me...
JOHN LANDIS: Have you seen THE ARISTOCRATS yet?
QUINT: Yeah, I saw it at South By Southwest. I loved it.
JOHN LANDIS: I haven't seen it. I'm seeing it on Thursday. I'm really looking forward to it. I'm dying to see it. I'm very good friends with the guy, I won't tell you his real name, but the guy who plays Billy the Mime.
QUINT: Oh, he's great in it. He's one of the stand outs!
JOHN LANDIS: Great! Well, thank you very much!
There you have it, squirts! My very short interview with John Landis where we seemed to have somehow talked more about JAWS, a movie he had no part of, than BLUES BROTHERS, but that's how they go sometime. Hope you enjoyed it!
-Quint
