Director lampoons stereotypes
By KEVIN HARDEN
Of the Emerald
There are about a dozen
cliches that could be used to
describe John Landis. He’s
young, successful, rich and
nearly famous. He’s everything
People magazine could ever
say about him; if they ever say
anything about him.
But, no matter what the
catch phrases and banality
used to describe him, John
Landis tried not to be
stereotyped. Especially as a
stereotypical comedy director.
Although that may seem im
possible for a 28-year-old who
spent the last two weeks jetting
from coast to coast promoting
“National Lampoon’s Animal
House,” Landis is planning a
coup against the comedy direc
tor image.
Landis, who was in Eugene
for a two-day “Animal House”
promotion during the weekend,
told the reporters that though
his directing days are certainly
not over, they may be num
bered.
Landis, John Belushi of
NBC’s “Saturday Night Live”
fame and three National Lam
poon writers made their home
in Eugene last Fall for six
weeks as they, and nearly
1,000 extras pieced together
the “Animal House” plot.
For most of the actors por
traying rowdy fraternity
brothers in the movie, it was
their first screen appearance.
But for Landis, it was the third
feature film he has directed in
eight years.
Landis began his directing
career with “Schlock,” a movie
about a lethal but lovable ape
man who spent most of his time
alternately terrorizing and en
chanting residents of a small
California town. Working with a
$60,000 budget, Landis both
directed and starred as the
apeman.
Next Landis directed “The
Kentucky Fried Movie,” a
mildly successful anthology
film based on live theater mat
erial written and performed by
the Kentucky Fried Theater
group from Los Angeles.
Plans to enter drama
Two years and a large bank
account later, Landis w^s
picked by National Lampoon
publishers to direct “Animal
House.”
Although the majority of
movies Landis has worked in
have been comedies, it may be
time for him to break out of the
comedy director mold. After a
stint as director for an upcom
ing Lily Tomlin comedy, Landis
will attempt to bury his
stereotype and make a drama;
maybe two dramas.
Landis and Tomlin will begin
in January to film “The Incredi
ble Shrinking Woman,” a full
fledged kitchen comedy re
make of the classic science
fiction male version of the
movie.
That movie, Landis says, will
include not only more women
cast and crew members than
ever before, but will also have a
budget that is estimated to be
more than four times the $2.8
million used to produce “Ani
mal House.”
After “Shrinking Woman,”
Landis plans to take his own
nine-year-old script to England
and film what he hopes will be
one of the scariest horror
movies ever made.
“I’m going to make a very
serious horror film that I hope
will scare the shit out of
everyone,” Landis explains.
That film, “An American
Werewolf in London," will have
the same effect on movie
goers’ hearts that “Animal
House” had on their funny
bones.
The only way to describe
“Werewolf," which isn’t set for
production until 1980, is to im
agine the horror of being at
tacked by some extraordinary
monster and trying to laugh in
spite of it, Landis says.
After “Werewolf,” Landis
plans to make his life-long pro
ject a reality. With the help of
Courtesy photo
Mark Twain, he will remake “A
Connecticut Yankee in King
Arthur’s Court.”
His movie, Landis predicts,
will be truer to Twain’s novel
than the 1950s version which
starred Bing Crosby. That pro
duction was “light-hearted and
cute,” Landis says, while the
novel is actually a biting in
dictment of organized religion,
the monarchy and government
of every kind.
Until then, Landis and Univ
ersal Studios will continue to
plug “Animal House” from New
York to Los Angeles.
Is it a success? That is hard
to answer, Landis says. “The
reviews we’re getting right now
are real interesting. Some of
them are schizophrenic. Yet I
read what I think is a good re
view of the film.”
Several Hollywood directors,
themselves successful, have
told Landis that ‘‘Animal
House” is either the greatest
film since "Patton” or is “so
cially irresponsible.” Whatever
that may mean, Landis says,
"Animal House” is a good
movie.
“I like the movie very much.
I’ve seen it work and it works
well on different levels.”
Those levels, he explains,
include political statements
about America’s history, rowdy
and raunchy humor and tradi
tional comic techniques.
“The movie has a strong
political slant to it. It has a lot to
say about a pivotal year in
American history.”
The 1962 setting for "Animal
House” was important, Landis
explains, because it was
chronologically the last year of
the 1950s. After that year, the
nation began to change and
evolve into what today could be
called a political and social lull.
“Back then it was like today,”
Landis says. “The whole na
tion was sinking into an ooze
and started making heros out
of real villains like Anita Bryant
and whomever."
Because of that setting,
“Animal House” will be a time
less movie, Landis predicts.
“Fifty years from now, 100
years from now, people will see
it and laugh because it's a
movie and it can be preserved
to make people laugh.”
No matter how timeless it will
be in the next century, ABC
Television thinks “Animal
House” is worth something
more than just a two-hour
movie. The network which
made ‘American Graffiti” into a
series (“Happy Days”) has
purchased the rights to a simi
lar series based on the “Animal
House” movie.
Although the movie actors
will probably not work in the
television series, Landis says
he would like to direct the
series. National Lampoon writ
ers Harold Ramis, Doug Ken
ney and Chris Miller, who wrote
the “Animal House” movie
script, will probably also be
hired to write for the TV series,
he says.
review
Fun but no morals
in Animal House
Courtesy photo
By KEVIN HARDEN
Of the Emerald
This really isn’t a review. I mean, to review
“National Lampoon’s Animal House" after all the
time that was spent filming in and around Eugene,
would be like kissing your sister: you never know
how good it will be and when you finally do it you
are disappointed.
Of course, that isn’t to say that “Animal House"
is a disappointment; quite the opposite. It’s just
that if someone were to give “Animal House” a
bad review in a Eugene newspaper, that person’s
sanity (as well as physical health) would no doubt
be in question.
In all honesty, speaking as a writer who
watched about one-fourth of the filming in and
around the campus, “Animal House" is hilarious.
It’s not the funniest movie ever made, but it will
probably be the funniest movie ever made in
Eugene.
There are very few problems with “Animal
House” that won't be addressed by some other
reviewer in some other city. One thing that may be
the film's minor drawback is the speed of the plot.
National Lampoon writers Harold Ramis, Doug
Kenney and Chris Miller whipped the plot through
so many twists and turns that it thickens enough to
make six dozen pancakes.
The poor actors, who spent 30 out of 32 rainy
days filming nearly 30 set-up shots a day, looked
as if they were running an obstacle course trying
to make it to the next plot change and story climax
(among other things).
But the speed of the plot, with its twists and
shouts, didn’t seem to detract director John
Landis from putting together a very entertaining
film. No, entertaining isn’t the right word. It’s more
like rabid comedy with a zealous message.
One more problem, but it kind of goes along
with the rest of this sort-of review, so don’t worry:
the names on the credits need to be reversed.
John Belushi, for all his Neanderthal glory, is not
the star of this movie. That spot belongs to either
Thomas Hulce (Pinto) or Stephen Furst (Floun
der). They made the movie more delightful than
Belushi’s grunts, groans and minimal dialogue.
Now that we re finished with all that, let’s get to
the good part. Nearly everyone who was in
Eugene during October or November knows, or
thinks they know, the “Animal House” plot. But
what they don’t know is how it all fits together.
There are some overtly political statements
woven into the patchwork plot Most of all, there is
one simple lesson to be learned from that woven
garment: the characters that the National Lam
poon writers created eventually do something
‘worthwhile” with their beerish lives.
Is there a moral? I certainly hope not. There is
no room for morals in this movie.
"Animal House” opens in Eugene Aug. 18,
nearly a month after it has been showing in Port
land, New York and Los Angeles.