Christopher Landon (filmmaker)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the British novelist and screenwriter, see Christopher Landon (screenwriter).

Christopher Landon
BornChristopher Beau Landon
(1975-02-27) February 27, 1975 (age 46)
Los Angeles, California, United States
OccupationFilmmaker
Alma materLoyola Marymount University
Years active1996–present
ParentsMichael Landon
Relatives

Christopher Beau Landon (born February 27, 1975) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter best known for writing the thriller Disturbia (2007) and found-footage films Paranormal Activity 2 (2010), Paranormal Activity 3 (2011), and Paranormal Activity 4 (2012), directing the horror comedy Happy Death Day, and both writing and directing Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014), Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, the sequel Happy Death Day 2U, and Freaky, which were also horror films, most of them with comedic elements. Landon is the son of late actor Michael Landon. He wrote and made his directorial debut on the satirical thriller film Burning Palms (2010).

Early life[]

Landon was born in Los Angeles, and is the son of actor Michael Landon and Lynn Noe. He is the youngest of four children produced by their marriage. His parents divorced in 1980, when he was four years old, where upon he resided with his father until the age of sixteen, when his father died of pancreatic cancer.[1] One of his brothers is Michael Landon Jr., an actor, and one of his half-sisters is Jennifer Landon, an actress. His paternal grandfather was Jewish,[2] whereas his paternal grandmother was Catholic, although his father was raised Jewish.[3]

Career[]

Landon, following his father Michael Landon's footsteps in filmmaking, studied screenwriting at Loyola Marymount University, but dropped out three years into the course to pursue a career when film director Larry Clark offered him a writing job after reading one of his scripts.[1] He went on to co-write the script of Another Day in Paradise with Eddie Little and Stephen Chin. After writing Another Day in Paradise, he came out as gay, aware that homophobia may have harmed his potential in the industry. "I may fall off some list because of my sexuality. But if that happens, then I really don't want to be on that list anyway," he said, speaking of homophobia in Hollywood and the film industry.[1] "I was the flavor of the month, and then I was quickly dismissed. I reached a point in my career when I couldn't get a meeting anywhere."[4] He moved from Los Angeles to Austin, Texas, contemplating the future of his career, which he revived only a few years later.[5][4]

Most of Landon's films deal with gay themes and issues[citation needed], including $30, one of five components in Boys Life 3, a collection of short films dealing with issues faced by gays, and a spec script about the relationship between a straight man and a gay man.[1] More recently, he has written the screenplays of the 2007 films Blood and Chocolate, The Flock[6] and the acclaimed Disturbia. Disturbia was one of his spec scripts which was brought to Montecito Pictures and subsequently DreamWorks Pictures, and went on to become No. 1 in cinemas upon its release.[4][6] He next worked on The Lesson, a film for DreamWorks[citation needed] and the 2007 television series Dirty Sexy Money, his first television project, eager to expand his repertoire.[5][4] He is worked on a screenplay for a film adaption of Lisa McMann's young adult novel Wake.[citation needed] Landon made his directorial debut with Burning Palms, a comedic thriller that was poorly received.[7]

After writing Paranormal Activity 2, Paranormal Activity 3 and Paranormal Activity 4, Landon directed the franchise spinoff, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, and followed it up with Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse.[8] In February 2020, Landon was announced as writing and serving as executive producer for a seventh Paranormal Activity, which is planned to reboot the franchise.[9]

Personal life[]

Landon came out as gay in 1999, having only written the script of Another Day in Paradise, unafraid of his sexuality harming his career potential.[1] He says that growing up he was called a "faggot" by peers at his high school.[1] His mother, a Christian, initially hesitated to accept his sexuality, but he told her, "I don't even know if I believe in God, but if I do, he gave you a gay son so that you can start confronting some of these issues and get yourself out of the box you've placed yourself in for so long."[1] His stepmother, Cindy Clerico, his father's next wife, told him that both she and his father suspected he was gay.[1]

Filmography[]

Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes
1998 Another Day in Paradise No Yes No
2000 Boys Life 3 No Yes Yes Segment: "$30"
2007 Blood & Chocolate No Yes No
Disturbia No Yes No
2007–2009 Dirty Sexy Money No Yes Consultant Television series
Writer: 2 episodes
2010 Burning Palms Yes Yes Yes Directorial debut
Paranormal Activity 2 No Yes No
2011 Paranormal Activity 3 No Yes Co-producer
2012 Paranormal Activity 4 No Yes Executive
2014 Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones Yes Yes No
2015 Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse Yes Yes No
2016 Viral No Yes No
2017 Happy Death Day Yes Uncredited No
2019 Happy Death Day 2U Yes Yes No
2020 Freaky Yes Yes No
2022 Paranormal Activity 7 No Yes Executive
2022 We Have A Ghost Yes Yes Executive

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h John Griffiths (December 7, 1999). "Christopher's street – Christopher Landon comes out as gay". The Advocate. Archived from the original on December 25, 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
  2. ^ "His Early Days Were Fun". Philadelphia Daily News. July 2, 1991. In a 1985 interview, Landon claimed he ate lunch alone at Collingswood High School, that he never had a date as a teen-ager because no Christian father in the town would allow his daughter to go out with a Jew.
  3. ^ Landon Wilson, Cheryl (1992). I Promised My Dad: An Intimate Portrait of Michael Landon by His Eldest Daughter. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 28.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Anthony Kaufman (June 21, 2007). "10 Screenwriters to Watch: Christopher Landon". Variety. Retrieved January 7, 2008.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Josef Molnar (April 19, 2007). "Christopher Landon makes the boys scream". The Advocate. Retrieved January 7, 2008.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Pamela McClintock (May 7, 2007). "Landon to lead 'The Flock'". Variety. Retrieved January 7, 2008.
  7. ^ Jay A. Fernandez (June 17, 2010). "Miley Cyrus attending 'Wake' for Paramount?". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 17, 2010.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "Scout's Honor: 'Paranormal's Christopher Landon Helming 'Boy Scouts vs. Zombies'". Deadline. September 25, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  9. ^ White, James (February 14, 2021). "Paranormal Activity: Will Eubank And Christopher Landon Working On Reboot". Empire. Retrieved February 16, 2021.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""