I had the opportunity to chat with “The Blues Brothers” director John Landis about the hoopla surrounding the film’s 25th anniversary. Landis, whose credits include “The Blues Brothers,” “Animal House,” “Trading Places,” “Three Amigos,” and my personal favorite Landis film – “An American Werewolf in London” - was enthusiastic, if not a little overwhelmed, by the upcoming 25th anniversary event to celebrate the movie that helped deliver the blues to the masses.
ONE ON ONE WITH JOHN LANDIS:
When I received the press release announcing the 25th Anniversary Edition DVD of “The Blues Brothers,” my first reaction was disbelief. It doesn’t seem like it’s been 25 years since “The Blues Brothers” hit theaters. Does it seem that long ago to you?
“Scary, huh? No, not really.”
What was your reaction when Universal approached you about doing this 25th Anniversary DVD event?
“Well I said, ‘I’m surprised if anyone shows up.’ I mean, the movie plays on TV all the time! (Laughing) But Danny [Aykroyd] is going to be in Toronto and I will be in LA with James Brown and Henry Gibson and a bunch of people, so it ought to be interesting. It’s also technologically interesting because it’s digital. They’re doing this live broadcast to 88 theaters.”
Are the questions you’re being asked now about “The Blues Brothers” much different from what you were asked when you directed the film all those years ago?
“Not really. The questions remain the same. How did you get these people to be in the movie and stuff. What has changed, and really largely due to the movie, is the appreciation of rhythm and blues and blues music. I mean, when we made the picture, this stuff was in eclipse. It was sort of a unique situation where John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd exploited their own celebrity at that moment to focus attention on these great performers and great acts. And that was very successful.
Now it’s hard to think [that the] Universal Studios company – the company that made the picture – they wouldn’t even put out the album for ‘The Blues Brothers.’ They thought, ‘Who would buy this music? This stuff’s dead.’ And Atlantic who did put out the album – a so-called black label – they wouldn’t put John Lee Hooker on the album.”
That’s unbelievable. Did you campaign for him to be included on the soundtrack?
“Sure we did! You know, that’s John recorded live and they just didn’t appreciate it. They just said… I mean, they literally said, ‘He’s too black and too old. Nobody listens to this blues stuff.’ So the movie, that whole ‘mission from God’ thing was me making fun of Danny because he was so evangelistic about his passion.
You know, John and Danny’s passion for this music really shows and 25 years later it’s certainly appreciated and applauded for what it is, which is this great American gift to world culture.”
Even with the popularity of “Saturday Night Live” and Aykroyd & Belushi back then, you couldn’t have possibly envisioned the type of reception this film received, right?
“Well, actually, at the time I was taken aback by some of the reviews. The initial reaction was quite hostile from the critics although thank God the public showed up. It was a big hit.”’
Why did the critics attack it?
“Oh, I don’t know. I have to tell you that I – critically in this country my films have always been pretty much beat up, so it’s okay.”
Do you pay any attention to the critics?
“I pay attention if they have something to say. But it’s fashion, is what it is. It’s just fashion. When ‘Animal House’ had its 25th anniversary a couple of years ago, I was very amused to see that so many of the same people who s**t on the movie when it came out, were now calling it a great American classic film. It makes you take all this stuff with a grain of salt.”
Is it true Dan Aykroyd gave you a phone book-sized "Blues Brothers" script? That sounds crazy.
“It was crazy! He gave me this… You know, each [member] of the band had their own epic story. It was sort of unshootable. I said to Dan, ‘What the hell are we going to do with this?’ He said, ‘You fix it,’ so that’s how I became a co-writer. I had to like scale it down and make it kind of comprehensible. But look, the Blues Brothers were created by Dan and Johnny.”
Page 2: Landis on "The Blues Brothers" Script, the Budget, and Today's Comedy Movies
