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Max Landis
Landis at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	(1985-08-03) August 3, 1985 (age 39) Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Writer, filmmaker
Years active	2001–present
Parent(s)	John Landis Deborah Nadoolman Landis

Max Landis (/ˈlændɪs/; born August 3, 1985) is an American screenwriter, filmmaker, and comic book writer. He wrote the films Chronicle (2012), American Ultra (2015), Victor Frankenstein (2015), and Bright (2017), and produced the Syfy series Channel Zero and Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency for BBC America. He is the son of director John Landis. He has been accused of emotional and sexual abuse by several women.

Early life

Landis was born in Beverly Hills, California, the son of director John Landis and costume designer and historian Deborah Nadoolman Landis. His family is Jewish. He left Beverly Hills High School for a therapeutic boarding school in Connecticut, but still graduated with a Beverly Hills High School diploma. Landis stated in an interview with Buzzfeed that he has cyclothymia and dysgraphia.

Career

Max Landis appeared briefly in some of his father's films, including The Stupids, Blues Brothers 2000, and Burke and Hare. He started writing at 16, and sold his first script at the age of 18, a collaboration with his father on the Masters of Horror episode "Deer Woman". In 2008 he independently wrote an unaired episode for the series' second incarnation as Fear Itself. The same year, he wrote Back to Mysterious Island, a mini-series for Bluewater Comics.

While attending the University of Miami, Landis wrote shorts which were produced by students in the school's film program. Upon leaving the university, he went on what one contemporary reporter called a "spec-selling streak", having three of his pitches optioned within six months. One of these was Good Time Gang, described as "a cross between The Bourne Identity and Jackass", which was not produced. He was announced in 2011 as screenwriter for Mr. Right, a violent romantic comedy released to mixed reviews in 2015.

He sold Chronicle, a script previously included on the Black List of promising unproduced screenplays, to 20th Century Fox's Davis Entertainment. Directed by Josh Trank, it was released in February 2012 to critical acclaim and commercial success. Landis wrote a draft for a sequel, but Fox was unhappy with it and the project was discontinued. Davis and Fox also bought Landis' script for a film based on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which became 2015's Victor Frankenstein.

On the day Chronicle was released, Landis released a comedic short film to YouTube entitled The Death and Return of Superman, which mockingly retells DC Comics' 1992-1993 story-line of Superman's death and revival, with scenes acted out by his friends and Hollywood actors.

In both 2011 and 2012, he was listed among Forbes magazine's "30 Under 30" young people to watch in the entertainment industry.

In September 2012, Landis sold a "superhero police drama" TV series titled Vigilant to Fox, and planned to executive produce it with Homeland producer Howard Gordon, but the project was cancelled. In 2012 Landis began work on his directorial debut, Me Him Her, which received a limited released in March 2016 to mixed reviews.

In February 2015, Landis directed Ariana Grande's music video "One Last Time". He was accused of plagiarizing the style and themes of the video from the music video for "You Are the One" by Australian band SAFIA.

In March 2015, Landis released the free short film Wrestling Isn't Wrestling on YouTube. The comedic film explained the nature of professional wrestling using the career of wrestler Triple H as an example, with several actors and wrestlers in cameos. Landis was later hired as a consultant for WWE Raw.

The 2015 film American Ultra, based on his screenplay, received mixed reviews and disappointing box office results.

In 2016, Netflix began production on Landis' script for Bright, then its most expensive self-produced film. Featuring magical fantasy characters such as orcs as an allegory for racism, the film was critically panned upon its release in December 2017, but Netflix reported that it was popular with its subscribers.

In September 2017, Landis published a website called "A Scar No One Else Can See", which contained a 150-page theory on the themes of Carly Rae Jepsen's songs, arguing that they present a dark, three-part narrative about heartbreak and rejection. Although Landis called the project a "celebration" of Jepsen, The Daily Dot and Pride.com described the document as a conspiracy theory, and Reid McCarter of The A.V. Club dismissed the findings as unremarkable.

Misognyny and abuse allegations

Landis has been criticized for statements he has made about women, and he has been accused of abuse and sexual misconduct by several women and industry figures:

Filmography

Film

Television

Short film

Web series

Music videos

Acting credits

Bibliography

References

1. Cite error: The named reference The Daily Beast was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. Bloom, Nate (February 2, 2012). "Celebrity Jews". JWeekly. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
3. "Forbes Features Members of the Tribe In 30 Under 30". JSpace. December 29, 2011. Archived from the original on January 30, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
4. ^ Zakarin, Jordan (November 5, 2013). "The Amazing Origin Story Of A Hollywood Wonder Boy Learning To Use His Powers For Good, Not Evil". BuzzFeed. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
5. Gutin, Zack (June 2011). "Mad Max". Script. Archived from the original on May 4, 2011.
6. Max Landis at IMDb
7. dxbcomiccon (April 22, 2012). "Max Landis talking about screen-writing and Hollywood at Dubai Comic Con". YouTube. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
8. "Deer Woman". IMDb.com.
9. "Something with Bite". IMDb.com.
10. "Back To Mysterious Island #1 – TPB (Issue)". Comic Vine. February 2, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
11. Thompson, Tanya (October 5, 2008). "Spotted On Site: Max Landis". The Miami Hurricane. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
12. Sneider, Jeff (February 8, 2011). "Max Landis on a spec-selling streak". Variety. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
13. Mayorga, Emilio (October 8, 2011). "Cabezas to helm 'Mr. Right'". Variety. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
14. "Mr. Right Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
15. Sauriol, Patrick (December 15, 2010). "The Black List of 2010 – Part 2". Corona Coming Attractions.com. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
16. McClintock, Pamela (August 11, 2010). "Fox picks up Max Landis' 'Chronicle' script". Variety.
17. Brooks, Brian (March 8, 2012). "Max Landis Set To Write 'Chronicle 2' For Fox". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
18. Wigler, Josh (October 11, 2012). "Fox Isn't Happy With 'Chronicle' Sequel Script, John Landis Says". MTV. Archived from the original on March 14, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
19. McClintock, Pamela (June 22, 2011). "Frankenstein Coming To Life for Fox". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
20. "VOTD: Max Landis' 'The Death and Return of Superman'". Slashfilm.com. February 4, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
21. Pomerantz, Dorothy (December 19, 2011). "Max Landis, Screenwriter, 26". Forbes. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
22. Goldberg, Lesley (September 17, 2012). "'Homeland's' Howard Gordon, 'Chronicle' Scribe Sell 'Superhero' Police Drama to Fox (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
23. Armitage, Hugh (November 6, 2012). "'Chronicle's Max Landis to direct sexual identity film 'Me Him Her'". Digital Spy. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
24. "Max Landis Sets His Directorial Debut in Indie Comedy 'Me Him Her'". FirstShowing.net. November 5, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
25. "Max Landis Directing Me Him Her". Empire. November 5, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
26. "Max Landis' directing debut: 'Me Him Her'". Variety. November 5, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
27. Williams, Owen (January 20, 2016). "Max Landis' directing debut Me Him Her finally gets a release date". Empire. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
28. "Me Him Her (2016)". RottenTomatoes.com. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
29. "Ariana Grande's 'One Last Time' Video Could Bring About The End Of The WORLD". Capital FM. January 9, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
30. Brandle, Lars (February 18, 2015). "Ariana Grande's 'One Last Time' Video Called Out For Plagiarism: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
31. Johnson, Mike (March 17, 2015). "Wrestling Isn't Wrestling – Screenwriter Max Landis produces ode to professional wrestling". PWInsider.com. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
32. Harris, Jeffrey (February 21, 2016). "Max Landis Reveals He's a Consultant for WWE". 411MANIA. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
33. "American Ultra". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
34. "American Ultra (2015) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
35. Goldberg, Matt (March 18, 2016). "Netflix Makes Mammoth Deal for David Ayer's 'Bright' Starring Will Smith". Collider. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
36. Beck, Kellen (December 22, 2017). "Poor Will Smith! Critics tore apart Netflix's first hopeful blockbuster, 'Bright'". Mashable. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
37. Rodriguez, Ashley (January 24, 2018). "Netflix explains why a movie like "Bright" can bomb with critics and kill with audiences". Quartz. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
38. Romano, Nick (September 13, 2017). "Max Landis Wrote a 150-Page 'Living Document' About Carly Rae Jepsen". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
39. Martinelli, Marissa (September 14, 2017). "Max Landis Wrote a 150-Page Examination of Carly Rae Jepsen Songs". Slate. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
40. Stone, Brianna (September 13, 2017). "Max Landis releases 150-page conspiracy theory about pop singer Carly Rae Jepsen". The Daily Dot. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
41. Henderson, Taylor (September 13, 2017). "This Screenwriter Wrote a 150 Page Carly Rae Jepsen Conspiracy Theory". Pride. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
42. McCarter, Reid (September 14, 2017). "Max Landis discovers music criticism, writes hundreds of pages about Carly Rae Jepsen". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
43. Welk, Brian (June 18, 2019). "'Bright' Screenwriter Max Landis Accused of Sexual Assault by Multiple Women". TheWrap. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
44. Menta, Anna (October 6, 2017). "Screenwriter Max Landis Says He's 'Sick' Of Feminist Media Calling Him Sexist". Newsweek. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
45. Cite error: The named reference dailybeast was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
46. Hipes, Patrick (November 18, 2015). "'Channel Zero' Anthology Series Gets Greenlight From Syfy For 2-Season Run". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
47. Littleton, Cynthia (January 8, 2016). "BBC America Gives Series Order to 'Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency'". Variety. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
48. Pulliam-Moore, Charles (May 2, 2017). "Here Are Your 2017 Eisner Award Nominees". io9.

External links

• Max Landis at IMDb 

• 1985 births
• American male screenwriters
• Beverly Hills High School alumni
• Jewish American writers
• Living people
• People from Beverly Hills, California
• People with bipolar disorder
• Sexual harassment in the United States
• University of Miami alumni
• Film directors from Los Angeles
• Screenwriters from California