John wrote and directed the 1981 horror comedy 'An American Werewolf in London' and the 1982 documentary 'Coming Soon' (which he also produced), then he directed Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy in 1983's 'Trading Places.' Landis and Aykroyd wrote the script together, and the film was preserved by the Library of Congress in 2020. John directed 1977's 'The Kentucky Fried Movie,' and he had a hit with 1978's 'Animal House,' which was preserved in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry in 2001 for being 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.' Landis reunited with 'Animal House' star John Belushi for 1980's 'The Blues Brothers,' which also starred Dan Aykroyd. Landis then worked on numerous films in Europe before making his directorial debut with the 1973 horror comedy film 'Schlock' (which he also wrote) at the age of 21.

John's film career began with a job as a mailboy at 20th Century Fox, and in 1969, he became the assistant director on the film 'Kelly's Heroes,' which was filmed in Yugoslavia, after the original assistant director fell ill and had to be sent home. Shirley appeared in John's films 'Schlock,' 'The Kentucky Fried Movie,' 'The Blues Brothers,' and 'Trading Places.' When Landis was 4 months old, the family moved to Los Angeles, and watching 'The 7th Voyage of Sinbad' as a child inspired him to pursue a directing career. He is the son of Marshall Landis (an interior designer) and Shirley Levine. John Landis was born John David Landis on August 3, 1950, in Chicago, Illinois.

Monsters in the movies by john landis