Max Landis trivia: 80 facts about the American screenwriter and filmmaker!

Max Landis is a famous screenwriter and filmmaker. Recently, he is the center of accusations of sexual misconduct!

So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about his career and life thus far!

1. Max Landis was born on August 3, 1985
2. He is an American screenwriter and filmmaker
3. He is known for writing the films Chronicle (2012), American Ultra (2015), Victor Frankenstein (2015), and Bright (2017)
4. And for producing the Syfy series Channel Zero
5. And Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency for BBC America
6. He has been accused of emotional and sexual abuse by several women
7. He is the son of director John Landis
8. Max Landis was born in Beverly Hills, California
9. He is the son of director John Landis and costume designer and historian Deborah Nadoolman Landis
10. His family is Jewish
11. He left Beverly Hills High School for a therapeutic boarding school in Connecticut
12. But still graduated with a Beverly Hills High School diploma
13. Landis stated in an interview with Buzzfeed that he has cyclothymia and dysgraphia
14. Max Landis has been criticized for statements he has made about women
15. And he has been accused of abuse and sexual misconduct by several women
16. In a 2013 interview with self-styled sexologist Shelby Sells, Landis said, “the most fucked up thing was that i cheated on a girl who i also gave a crippling social anxiety, self-loathing, body dismorphia, eating disorder to”
17. The interview was sharply criticized
18. Such as in an essay on the website Jezebel which described his comments about women and relationships as “obnoxious”, “twisted”, and “gross”
19. Max Landis later claimed to have been drunk during the interview
20. In a post on Twitter in 2015, Landis described the lead character Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens as a “Mary Sue”
21. A term originating in critiques of fan fiction
22. Now often used derisively by critics of feminism to describe female protagonists who are “too competent”
23. He later stated in an interview that he stood by his criticism
24. But “I regret framing it that way. I didn’t understand that the term ‘Mary Sue’ had been co-opted”
25. In December 2017, Landis was accused of sexual assault by former co-worker Anna Akana
26. MAD Magazine editor Allie Goertz had commented several weeks earlier about “a famous director’s son” that she “couldn’t imagine someone more scared in a post-Harvey Weinstein world”
27. Referring to the series of allegations of sexual misconduct by the film producer
28. Other entertainment-industry figures commented in response about this person’s bad reputation without naming him
29. Following Akana’s statement, others confirmed Landis’ reputation by name
30. Anti-harassment activist Zoe Quinn posted about Landis
31. Alleging that his abuse of women was an “open secret” in Hollywood
32. And that she’d been withholding the story because “him & his dad are powerful figures”
33. In June 2019, Landis’ former girlfriend Whitney Moore posted on Twitter about Landis, referring to “horrific, inhumane things he did to me”
34. The Daily Beast published accusations from eight women about emotional and sexual abuse by Landis
35. Οne describing him as “a serial rapist, gaslighter, physical and psychological abuser”
36. Max Landis appeared briefly in some of his father’s films
37. Ιncluding The Stupids, Blues Brothers 2000, and Burke and Hare
38. He started writing at 16
39. He sold his first script at the age of 18
40. A collaboration with his father on the Masters of Horror episode “Deer Woman”
41. In 2008 he independently wrote an unaired episode for the series’ second incarnation as Fear Itself
42. The same year, he wrote Back to Mysterious Island
43. A mini-series for Bluewater Comics
44. While attending the University of Miami, Landis wrote shorts which were produced by students in the school’s film program
45. Upon leaving the university, he went on what one contemporary reporter called a “spec-selling streak”
46. Having three of his pitches optioned within six months
47. One of these was Good Time Gang, described as “a cross between The Bourne Identity and Jackass”, which was not produced
48. He was announced in 2011 as screenwriter for Mr. Right, a violent romantic comedy
49. This was released to mixed reviews in 2015
50. He sold Chronicle, a script previously included on the Black List of promising unproduced screenplays, to 20th Century Fox’s Davis Entertainment
51. It was directed by Josh Trank
52. It was released in February 2012 to critical acclaim and commercial success
53. Max Landis wrote a draft for a sequel
54. But Fox was unhappy with it and the project was discontinued
55. Davis and Fox also bought Landis’ script for a film based on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
56. Which became 2015’s Victor Frankenstein
57. On the day Chronicle was released, Landis released a comedic short film to YouTube entitled The Death and Return of Superman
58. Which mockingly retells DC Comics’ 1992-1993 story-line of Superman’s death and revival
59. With scenes acted out by his friends and Hollywood actors
60. In both 2011 and 2012, he was listed among Forbes magazine’s “30 Under 30” young people to watch in the entertainment industry
61. In September 2012, Landis sold a “superhero police drama” TV series titled Vigilant to Fox
62. And planned to executive produce it with Homeland producer Howard Gordon
63. But the project was cancelled
64. In 2012 Landis began work on his directorial debut, Me Him Her
65. It was received by a limited release in March 2016 to mixed reviews
66. In February 2015, Landis directed Ariana Grande’s music video “One Last Time”
67. 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
68. In March 2015, Landis released the free short film Wrestling Isn’t Wrestling on YouTube
69. The comedic film explained the nature of professional wrestling using the career of wrestler Triple H as an example
70. With several actors and wrestlers in cameos
71. Max Landis was later hired as a consultant for WWE Raw
72. The 2015 film American Ultra, based on his screenplay, received mixed reviews and disappointing box office results
73. In 2016, Netflix began production on Landis’ script for Bright
74. Then its most expensive self-produced film
75. Featuring magical fantasy characters such as orcs as an allegory for racism
76. The film was critically panned upon its release
77. It was released in December 2017
78. But Netflix reported that it was popular with its subscribers
79. A sequel is in the works
80. Though Landis will not be involved with the project