Re: John McTiernan is in jail while John Landis is scott free
 

I've seen two angles. The head on one where the helicopter obscures everything. Then another really wide angle that is far enough away to not be able to make anything specific out.

Re: John McTiernan is in jail while John Landis is scott free
 

Do they have the commissary thing where you can buy prisoners Ramen noodles and stuff?

Re: John McTiernan is in jail while John Landis is scott free
 

I missed something ... And I'm too lazy to Google. Somebody entertain me and make some shit up. What did McTiernan do?

Re: John McTiernan is in jail while John Landis is scott free
 

Ramen noodles are kind of like an engagement ring in prison.

Re: John McTiernan is in jail while John Landis is scott free
 

perjury

Re: John McTiernan is in jail while John Landis is scott free
 

I always found it shocking they didn't scrap that whole segment from the movie. It always felt to me kind of in bad taste to have finished it up and released it. I've never seen the whole movie, and knowing the backstory of the Landis piece makes the idea of watching it too off-putting. if I ever do see it, it'll only be out of morbid curiosity.

Re: John McTiernan is in jail while John Landis is scott free
 

You suck at this game ...:)

What did he perjure himself over?

Re: John McTiernan is in jail while John Landis is scott free
 

He made the 2002 ROLLERBALL reboot. Just had to lock him up after that.

Re: John McTiernan is in jail while John Landis is scott free
 

The accident footage that is available is wide shots that show little of the actual impact and death. I've read there is a very explicit angle of the death that was shown at trial but never released for public viewing. There's an extensive book about the accident and trial. Can't recall the name. I do recal that the person who really comes off bad is frank marshal. Like the day after the accident he flew to Mexico with the intent that if he was indicted he would never come back.

Re: John McTiernan is in jail while John Landis is scott free
 

Good word. Had to look it up. :thumbsup:

Re: John McTiernan is in jail while John Landis is scott free
 

I agree. I don't remember any remorse or apology on his behalf.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Landis

On July 23, 1982, during the filming of Twilight Zone, actor Vic Morrow and child extras Myca Dinh Le (age 7) and Renee Shin-Yi Chen (age 6) were killed in an accident involving an out-of-control helicopter. The three were caught under the aircraft when it crashed. The National Transportation Safety Board reported in October 1984:

“ The probable cause of the accident was the detonation of debris-laden high temperature special effects explosions too near a low-flying helicopter leading to foreign object damage to one rotor blade and delamination due to heat to the other rotor blade, the separation of the helicopter's tail rotor assembly, and the uncontrolled descent of the helicopter. The proximity of the helicopter to the special effects explosions was due to the failure to establish direct communications and coordination between the pilot, who was in command of the helicopter operation, and the film director, who was in charge of the filming operation. ”

Landis and four other crew members were charged with involuntary manslaughter. The prosecutors attempted to show that Landis was reckless, and had not told the parents and others of the children's proximity to explosives and helicopters and of limitations on their working hours. He admitted that he had violated the California law regulating employment of children, by using the children after hours, and conceded that that was "wrong." But he denied culpability. Numerous members of the film crew testified that the director was warned, but ignored these dangers. After a nine-month jury trial during 1986 and 1987, Landis, represented by criminal defense attorney Harland Braun, and the other crew members were acquitted of the charges.

Landis was later reprimanded for circumventing the State of California's child labor laws in hiring the two children. This tragedy resulted in stricter safety measures and enforcement of child labor laws in California. The parents of the children sued, and eventually settled out of court with the studio for $2 million per family. Morrow's children, one of them being actress Jennifer Jason Leigh, who was 20 at the time, also settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.

Landis has never acknowledged culpability for the accident. During an interview with Giulia D'Agnolo Vallan, he said:

“ When you read about the accident, they say we were blowing up huts—which we weren't—and that debris hit the tail rotor of the helicopter—which it didn't. (...) The FBI Crime Lab, who was working for the prosecution, finally figured out that tail rotor delaminated, which is why the pilot lost control. The Special effects man who made the mistake, by setting off a fireball at the wrong time, was never charged.

Re: John McTiernan is in jail while John Landis is scott free
 

Frank Marshall disputes that...he was off making movies with Spielberg & Co....it's not like he was in hiding. I've interviewed Marshall, but at the time had no idea (or had forgotten) he was a producer on TWILIGHT ZONE, or I'd have asked him directly.

http://articles.latimes.com/1990-07-..._twilight-zone

Also, I think this may be the book you're thinking of:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...4,203,200_.jpg

Re: John McTiernan is in jail while John Landis is scott free
 

So did I.

Re: John McTiernan is in jail while John Landis is scott free
 

It's a good word. A $5 word.;)

Re: John McTiernan is in jail while John Landis is scott free
 

oh the is a new thread of an old topic - was wondering why we were bringing up these incidents.

Re: John McTiernan is in jail while John Landis is scott free
 

You know, the Miracle Mile was originally written as The Twilight Zone Movie, but the studio insisted DeJarnett change the ending so it was all a dream and he refused to do that. Just think -- if the studio hadn't been retarded, we would've gotten The Miracle Mile on a big budget, and Morrow and the kids would've lived.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/AuNtp3V2Kp8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Re: John McTiernan is in jail while John Landis is scott free
 

To hell with that! Miracle Mile is one of the greatest films ever made, in my view, and I love it exactly the way it is. I'm still scratching my head as to why Steve De Jarnatt never made another film, but maybe what you wrote about his tangle with the studio hints at the answer.

Re: John McTiernan is in jail while John Landis is scott free
 

Never heard of Miracle Mile, thanks for the recommendation. Totally capured the tone and feel of a Twilight Zone episode (weirdness, anxiety, humour, different types of people slung together).

Not a fan of a Twilight Zone movie being a single story, anthology is the way to go. Still, Miracle Mile was great to watch.

Re: John McTiernan is in jail while John Landis is scott free
 

Actually the incident destroyed their friendship.

Re: John McTiernan is in jail while John Landis is scott free
 

There was another book about the Twilight Zone trial: Special Effects: Disaster at Twilight Zone : The Tragedy and the Trial by Ron Labrecque.

http://www.amazon.com/Special-Effect...ht+zone+landis

Re: John McTiernan is in jail while John Landis is scott free
 

Steven King has directed only one movie-Maximum Overdrive-The cinematographer lost an eye in an accident.

Re: John McTiernan is in jail while John Landis is scott free
 

^ And that poor guy has been out of work since the 3D craze. :sad:

Re: John McTiernan is in jail while John Landis is scott free
 

Interesting. I wonder what the "unsafe working practices" were exactly, and if they were truely the fault of King.

Hmm, perhaps settling out of court was the wisest course of action.

Re: John McTiernan is in jail while John Landis is scott free
 

He's out.

Actually, Andre De Toth, who directed an early 3-D movie House of Wax, had one eye and couldn't see the film that way.