DIRECTOR BLASTS STUDIOS FOR BECOMING PAWNS OF MULTINATIONALS

Director John Landis, whose first feature was the 1973 monster spoof Schlock, has accused Hollywood of turning out a plethora of it (schlock, that is). As reported by he Hollywood Reporter, the director of such classics as Trading Places, Animal House, The Blues Brothers and An American Werewolf in London told the Mar del Plat film festival in Argentina that movie studios have become “subdivisions of huge multinational corporations” that are “no longer interested in making good movies — they’re interested in movies that will bring you in.” When he first entered the business, Landis recalled, “many of my movies made more money the second, third or fourth week, because we used to have what we call word of mouth. Now, if a movie doesn’t make money [in] its first two days, you’re f***ed!” Cable TV is now the place to go for directors who want to make quality films, he suggested. “There are a lot of interesting things being made in cable TV now because they can afford to take the risk,” Landis said.