Directors everywhere
What's with all the directors making cameos in this movie? How'd it come about? Anyone know?
"Be wary of Wenk -- I want to warn you!"
i'd like to know as well
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MovieChat Forums > Into the Night (1985) Discussion > Directors everywhere
I guess Landis just decided to cast all these directors as a joke. He also used people who weren't actors in roles too.
shareIt's one of Landis' trademarks to cast directors in cameo roles. See also Spies Like Us, Innocent Blood, Beverly Hills Cop III and The Stupids - directors eveywhere. Also, Frank Oz is in almost every Landis movie.
Martin Scorsese IS the best
What kills me is that he gave cameos to all these people yet he didn't give one to my cousin, who composed the music to this film. Didn't cross his mind?
shareI thought it was the most enjoyable part of the movie -- trying to guess what director would pop up next. Mazursky is hysterical, playing a director stereotype.
shareRecall that, in 1982, John Landis was directing a segment of the movie "The Twilight Zone" in which a helicopter killed actor Vic Morrow("Combat") and two Vietnamese children.
Landis faced a criminal manslaughter trial(acquitted) and civil actions for the deaths...with the prosecutors/plaintiffs painting the deaths as Landis "fault" -- he directed the helicopter to fly through fake explosions that still had force, etc.
Landis was a bit of a pariah for awhile -- Spielberg as producer of "The Twilight Zone" wanted the whole thing to "go away." Landis actor Dan Ackroyd called the deaths "A tragic industrial accident, nothing more" or something like that.
And, evidently, all those directors agreed to be in "Into the Night" to show solidarity for their "banished comrade." I guess they felt "it could have been me" up for manslaughter.
I think the largest number of directors did "Into the Night" but they were in Landis movies before and after that one.
I'm of two minds. Some of my favorite movies are by John Landis(Animal House, Werewolf in London, Into the Night)...but the reportage on the "Twilight Zone" deaths suggest that Landis was "morally guilty" of at least some directorial arrogance in directing that dangerous scene with real little kids in it(in the wee hours of morning). Still, the actual accident was the "fault" of many people...the pilot(who survived) the explosive experts who set the charges, etc.
In any event, most directors supported Landis. And Landis never really got his "A" career back. Not with Spielberg around -- ironic: Spielberg himself is a guest director-actor in "The Blues Brothers."