Yesterday, a truly brutal report from The Daily Beast outlined multiple instances of sexual assault, emotional abuse, verbal abuse, and misconduct against screenwriter Max Landis. If you haven’t taken the time to read it, it’s well worth your time. Be warned, however, the report goes into great detail and is filled with horrible first-hand accounts of assault. Well, in the hours since that article landed, people are beginning to come out against Landis, with the fallout proving to be pretty massive.
Long story short, Landis is accused of numerous vile, horrible instances of sexual assault from at least 8 women, with more terrible stories coming out every hour. And while the sexual assault allegations are damning enough, it appears that the screenwriter’s professional miscues were plenty to earn Landis a reputation among filmmakers.
On Twitter, perhaps the most damning first-hand, professional account comes from director Josh Trank. The filmmaker worked with Landis on their first feature film, “Chronicle,” which was enough to launch the careers of both men. However, as Trank tweeted, there were problems with Landis dating back to the production of the 2012 film.
“I 100% believe every word of this article about Max,” wrote Trank. “I banned him from visiting principal photography of ‘Chronicle,’ and I haven’t spoken to him since 2012. To read about the terror he’s inflicted on so many women since then makes me sick to my stomach. Heartbroken beyond measure.”
Another filmmaker with a negative professional experience with Landis is Lexi Alexander. The filmmaker responsible for “Punisher: War Zone” is very vocal on social media and has had her fair share of Twitter scraps with Landis over the years. She tweeted about an instance where those altercations led to the filmmaker having to turn down a job.
Alexander wrote, “Couple of years ago a company asked if I was interested in directing a TV show that was partially shot in Berlin…I said yes, but I noticed the male creator of the show had blocked me on Twitter. The female showrunner explained to me it was because he‘s friends with Max Landis.”
And for something a bit more recent, one of the projects that Landis scripted that was seemingly in the process of coming to the big screen is “Deeper.” Starring Idris Elba and directed by Baltasar Kormákur, this film seemed to be the film that might bring Landis back into the land of credibility, after negative reception to his most recent work. A “comeback” of sorts.
However, according to the Icelandic outlet, Visir, that’s likely not going to be the case. Apparently, unbeknownst to many common folk, “Deeper” has been in trouble for months, with Kormákur leaving the project a while ago, claiming that Landis’ extracurricular issues were a factor in his decision.
READ MORE: Max Landis Makes His Comeback With New Feminist Film
The article says, “When Visir spoke to Baltasar Kormákur he says that he left the project almost 6 months ago, the allegations towards Landis was one of the reasons why. This was a personal decision taken by him, and a short while after the studio decided to leave the project”
So, with that, it seems like “Deeper” is now dead in the water.
We are a mere day removed from the Daily Beast article. As we’ve seen with allegations like this in the past with other prominent filmmakers, the full fallout of these accusations will likely be felt for months to come. Landis, himself, has yet to comment.
https://twitter.com/joshuatrank/status/1141043649456877568
https://twitter.com/Lexialex/status/1140982702620856321
