Summary

Known for directing films such asThe Blues Brothers , An American Werewolf in London , and many more , John Landis ’ success can not be overstated . That say , there were still several movies he ’d intended to make that never quite took off . From undo Bond pic to scrap original story to moving picture that would finally be made by other directors , Landis reckons that for every film he ’s made , another 12 never got produced . Some of them vocalise somewhat effective .

It ’s a real ignominy that interview never got to experience what could have been . Whilemany of his unmade movies ended up being film over by another managing director , envisage what Landis ’s style and tone would have done for something likeLittle Shop of Horrorscasts such a double-dyed picture . It ’s unmanageable not to feel a small disappointed that these projects never made it off the basis , but gratefully there ’s enough data out there to facilitate paint an image of what theJohn Landis movieswould have been like .

The two motion-picture show in the running for 2024 ’s best horror flick powerful now are Abigail and Longlegs . I have n’t had particularly strong feelings about either . I feel like Abigail transcend my expectations but still was n’t phenomenal , while I ’d hope for a fleck more out of Longlegs . I think , in the end , Alien : Romulus or Nosferatu will take the patty , but those are my top two right now .

Nosferatu, From Dusk Till Dawn, and What We Do In The Shadows

10Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Steven Spielberg Ended Up In Charge Of The Film

to begin with titledProject Bluebook , Steven Spielberg ’s 1977 groundbreaking sci - fiClose Encounters of the Third Kindnearly run down a very different path . Producers Julia and Michael Phillips reached out to Landis to request rewriteson Paul Schrader ’s original script .

After being pilot out to encounter the producers – and Spielberg himself – Landis was let down by the chaotic nature of everything .

Schrader ( along with several other writers ) would end up uncredited for their work , the sole writer identify on - screen being Spielberg himself . However , Landis never actually got round to take in his rewrites . After being take flight out to take on the producers – and Spielberg himself – Landis was disappointed by the chaotic nature of everything .

A werewolf roaring in An American Werewolf in London.

Spielberg was in the middle of makingJaws , Landis felt up thatClose Encountersshould have been a small - budgetaffair and that things were becoming overcomplicated , and at long last he swiftly provide the task . Sadly , not much is known about what counseling Landis would have take the movie in , but give his other music genre work it probably would have been smashing .

9A Parisian Horror Movie

He Stepped Down From The Project

Back in 2011 , Landis was a fair room down the route to do a monster repulsion film pose in Paris , and co - pen with French producer Alexandre Gavras . The film had been cast with histrion who were bilingual , as the film was – unambiguously – set to be produced both in French and in English , to appeal to both markets of moviegoer .

No title was ever given to the project , but Landis had confirmed that it was croak to be a proper issue to the freak horror genre for him . Unfortunately , thing were not to be . After showing the script to the French production team , Landis was fill with criticism , and request for modification that he felt would n’t fit the film .

In the end , he gracefully pass the fee he ’d been paid to pen the screenplay and step down from the project . small else is get laid about this quirkiness , but it would have been interesting to see Landis ’s own take on a Parisian horror film .

Collage of the group of friends in It, Scream and The Cabin in the Woods

8Red Sleep

The Basic Premise Was Vampires In Vegas

Having successfully set the benchmark for the werewolf film , it only made sense that Landis wanted to have a crack at a classical lamia runaway as well . Thus , Mick Garris and Richard Matheson ’s book forRed Sleepwas born . Warner Bros. had signed Landis onto the film to direct , and he and Harry Shearer had rewrite the hand before the deal fell apartand the pic never get into production . The introductory assumption was : Vampires in Vegas .

Vampires would have been run Las Vegas , with no windows in any of the casinos and the primary headliner of the strip was to be the Duke of the Dark – an amalgamation of Frank Sinatra , Elvis Presley , and the many other kings of Vegas who have survive throughout the city ’s rich history . He was the king of the lamia as well as the city , and the vampire would have feed off the many tourist who jaunt through the desert to visit the casinos and live the night life . Oh , what could have been .

lamia movies about Dracula are a dime a dozen , so here are the 10 good lamia motion-picture show that do n’t have Bram Stoker ’s classical character .

An American Werewolf in London

7Dick Tracy

Landis' Idea Was For Clint Eastwood To Star In The Movie

The production of 1990 amusing - book adaptationDick Tracywas a disruptive one , having begun life as a delivery in the early ‘ LXXX . The project had an outstandingly gamey upset of directors , burning through Steven Spielberg , Walter Hill , Richard Benjamin , and – of course – John Landis , before settling on producer and asterisk Warren Beatty ( whom Landis has claimed he hired himself ) .

What ’s bad is thatLandis ’s purpose was for Clint Eastwood to asterisk as the detective . Yes , really . PolyGram Pictures ( the troupe which producedAmerican Werewolf ) had become bind toDick Tracyat one point , with Landis determine to drop a line the feature as well as direct .

It ’s unclear whether Eastwood declined the role or whether events became complicated by Landis ’s indictment in 1983 , but at some full point , Eastwood dropped out , and Landis was forced to pull back – but not before secure Beatty was on row to play the titular role .

(Melissa-Barrera-as-Joey)-from-Abigail

6Missionary Impossible

The Story Of A Criminal Disguised As A Christian Missionary

In the mid-2000s , Landis was signalize on for a labor called – reckon on who was asked at the time – eitherMissionary ImpossibleorThe Missionary Position . The script had been indite by Glen Brackenridge and Curtis Brien ( although Landis was hoping to make some changes in a director ’s rewrite ) .

The movie was to severalise the chronicle ofa harden criminal whose method acting of evading the fuzz was to disguise as a Christian missionary . Landis has said that the film would have been very funny ( and rude ) . The comedy would have arisen from the criminal ’s skirmish with Christianity leave him to have a full re - rating of his life after falling into the faith more than he ’d originally expected .

Landis wanted the picture show to have been contemporary , relevant , and well-timed , and give his previous clowning works , it seems like that probably would have been the case .

An American Werewolf in London and Paris

Landis wanted the movie to have been modern-day , relevant , and timely , and consecrate his previous comedy works , it seems like that probably would have been the caseful . With a great idea at its core , this production was set to be something special – it ’s a real ignominy that it was never produced .

5The Bone Orchard

A Western Mixed With A Vampire Flick

Just asAn American Werewolf in Londonis a mash - up of comedy and horror , The Bone Orchardwas set up to be another genre blend – this fourth dimension , a western mixed with a lamia film . With a hand from M. D. Presley , this movie was going to have a bizarre focus on a pair of sibling gunslingers from the Texas of the Old West as Taiwanese railroad track doer muster up an ancient vampire to take revenge on the Americans for abuse the immigrant workers .

While on the surface this fathom like it could have been a controversial production , Presley was keen to accommodate the lamia mythology from the being center on the Mae West to showcase a different side to the mythologic murderers .

The script was quick to go , and there were apparently some big - name sensation attached ( including Mila Kunis ) – butfor some grounds , this projection never made it to filming . By all accounts , the script for the movie was assure , and hopefully it will be published one day for fan to savour .

John Landis Eddie Murphy Coming to America

4A Legendary Team-Up Horror Anthology

Four Of The Biggest Names In Hollywood Horror

John Landis . Guillermo del Toro . Sam Raimi . Joe Dante . Four of the crowing names in Hollywood repulsion – and there was very nearly a collaborationism between them . Landis had the estimate for an anthology horror film with each of the four legendary movie maker produce their own story , which would have been weaved together into a single feature . There ’s very little information available about this quislingism , but it surely would have been a big one .

The creator ofGremlins , The Evil Dead , and the man who broughtHellboyto the silver screen teaming up with Landis to get four new stories to the screen ( presumably in the same style as the Landis - producedTwilight zona : The Movie)would have been something incredible to lay eyes on for repugnance fans , and it ’s a tangible shame that the estimation appears to have fizzled out evenhandedly too soon on in the outgrowth . Fans can only trust that more information on this project will eventually turn up .

3An American Werewolf In London 2

The Producer Didn’t Like The Script

Landis ’s 1981 classicAn American Werewolf in Londonis one of the most famous horror films of all fourth dimension , with its glorious effects , cool down atmosphere , and unsettling tone throughout . It ’s frightening , funny , gory , and clever , and so a sequel would have seemed like an obvious no - brainer , worth it for anotherAmerican Werewolf in Londontransformation scenealone .

Unfortunately , 1997’sAn American Werewolf in Parisfeatured none of the same roll or gang and completely failed to capture the thrill of the original . Frustratingly , things nearly did n’t go that way of life – Landis had been asked to make anAmerican Werewolf in Londonsequelback in 1991 whichwould have include all the characters from the first movie ( even the bushed ones!)and followed Debbie Klein , who David and Jack verbalise about at the start of the original film .

With more blood and gore mixed in with a healthy dose of wacky drollery , this continuation would undoubtedly have been a success – unfortunately , though , the producer did n’t care the playscript and so it travel nowhere .

The Bone Orchard Mythos the Passageway

1981 ’s An American Werewolf in London is one of the greatest ( and funniest ) loup-garou moving-picture show ever made . But how does its werewolf traditional knowledge work ?

2Barnum

The Story Of The Creator Of The American Circus Industry

Decades beforeThe Greatest Showman , Landis was set to direct a project starring John Belushi as P. T. Barnum , the originator of the American genus Circus industry . Landis ’s pic would have focus on the disparity between Barnum having been a genius at merchandising and showmanship while also being a sleazy charlatan .

The script was written by Bill Lancaster and recount a fate of true stories about Barnum ’s gift for advertising that was almost akin to that of a conman . One such account was when Barnum ran out of water to make the lemonade sold outside his display , so instructed his people to use the pink water they ’d been using to dye dress .

Barnum promote this at a high price as pinkish lemonade from Paris . fit in to Landis , Belushi had been screen screen and seemed like a good burst for the character . Keen to depict both side of Barnum ’s legacy ( the man who pretended to buy the farm too soon so that he could take his obituaries in advance ) , this would undoubtedly have been a more true - to - world portrayal of Barnum ’s aliveness .

1The Spy Who Loved Me

007 Would Go On A Mission To Save The Pope

John Landis plus James Bond . It seems like a match made in heaven , peculiarly given that this was Roger Moore ’s take on 007 – a attachment so concerned with exaggerating and accentuating the portrayal that he often came across as cartoonish and border parodic . These are the precise reasons why Landis ’s script – in which007 was to go on a mission to save up the Pope himself from being kidnappedin some unspecified Latin American body politic – would have been sheer ne plus ultra .

It ’s all so well-off to visualize – Bond , affable , ever - winking to camera , a spring in his step , wearing a half - unbuttoned shirt , jacket slung over his shoulder , as he practically waltz around through the Brazilian - Mexican landscape painting tailing the Pope ’s parade , all of a sudden snap a brief coup d’oeil of a reflectivity from a nearby mount . peril . Landis ’s elan for clowning combined with Moore ’s full inability to act it straight even when he tries makesthe fact that the John Landis rendering of the film never come to fruition truly disappointing .

Many repulsion films feature chemical group of friends defend a killer or supernatural force play , and Redditors share their faves , like Scream and The Descent .