John Landis and Greg Nicotero on Modern Horror
Photos by Jim Vorel and Getty Images, Alberto E. Rodriguez
Few genres really elevate and idolize their iconic figures the way horror does. You don’t see giant western film conventions where people discuss John Ford, or martial arts gatherings in honor of Sammo Hung or John Woo. But horror? Devotees of horror movies and the macabre in general venerate the great creators with a passion that is, no pun intended, kind of scary. I should know—I’m one of them.
And so, when I was invited by Universal Studios Orlando to trek down to Orlando for 24 hours to witness the first day of the 25th anniversary of Halloween Horror Nights, the biggest draw for me was the opportunity to sit in on some Q&A sessions with horror luminaries. For about an hour, the assembled journalists got to ask questions of two icons who represent different aspects of the filmmaker’s art. There was:
- John Landis, director of both classic comedies such as Animal House and The Blues Brothers and horror-inflected fare such as An American Werewolf in London, Burke and Hare and Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
- Greg Nicotero, perhaps the best practical FX/makeup guy in the business today, executive producer and director on AMC’s The Walking Dead.
- In a surprise addition, 16-year-old Chandler Riggs (Carl of The Walking Dead), who joined Nicotero for the Q&A.
The three presenters touched on many topics raised by the journalists in attendance, but here are some of the horror and filmmaking-related highlights.
Our venue for the Q&A
John Landis on the legacy of American Werewolf in London and seeing it as a haunted house
Landis: Honestly, the first time they did the film as a maze two years ago, I was very happy, but I said: “the wolves should be better.” So when they called me and said they wanted to do it again, I said, “You must step up with the wolves.” And I’m very happy to say that they did.
Now the film, no one would make the movie. They’d read it, and they’d say two things. Either, “It’s much too funny to be scary,” OR, “It’s much too scary to be funny.” And when you say “It’s both,” they just said “get out of my office.” But the only difference with the movie, because I wrote it in 1969 and made it in 1981, is, in London there used to be what were called “cartoon cinemas.” They were movie theaters that showed really good prints of classic Warner Brothers cartoons. I used to go to cartoon cinemas because it was the only place you could see those good prints. So when I wrote it, I put it in a cartoon cinema—it’s the exact same scene, except in 1981 the Eros Cinema is a porn theater. So I said “alright.”
Landis on the rise of Greg Nicotero as an industry-leading FX wizard
Landis: Greg Nicotero, who I’ve known for many years, was this nerdy little kid in Pittsburgh who was fascinated by makeup and horror effects. And he came to LA and started this makeup company called K&B. First of all, they were the guys who were the cheapest, so they got a lot of work. And then they actually got better and better; they do all the work on Tarantino’s movies and work all the time.
Greg is now—he’s still a creepy little nerd—but what’s cool for me is knowing him for so long, he goes from being a gifted makeup artist, and now he’s the executive producer of The Walking Dead. He’s directed 14 hours of that show? I’m very proud.