Christopher Landon (filmmaker)

Christopher Beau Landon (born February 27, 1975) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter best known for writing Disturbia (2007), Paranormal Activity 2 (2010), Paranormal Activity 3 (2011), Paranormal Activity 4 (2012), and Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014), as well as for directing Happy Death Day and its sequel Happy Death Day 2U. Landon is the son of late actor Michael Landon. Landon wrote and made his first directorial debut on the satirical thriller film Burning Palms (2010). He wrote and directed the found footage horror film Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014), and directed and co-wrote the horror comedy film Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015).

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

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.

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."[2] He moved from Los Angeles to Austin, Texas, contemplating the future of his career, which he revived only a few years later.[3][2]

Most of Landon's films deal with gay themes and issues, 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[4] 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.[2][4] He next worked on The Lesson, a film for DreamWorks and the 2007 television series Dirty Sexy Money, his first television project, eager to expand his repertoire.[3][2] He is worked on a screenplay for a film adaption of Lisa McMann's young adult novel Wake. Landon made his directorial debut with Burning Palms, a comedic thriller that was poorly received.[5]

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.[6]

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
YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerNotes
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 Yes Television series
Writer: 2 episodes
Consulting producer: 10 episodes
2010 Burning Palms Yes Yes No Directorial debut
Paranormal Activity 2 No Yes No
2011 Paranormal Activity 3 No Yes Yes Co-producer
2012 Paranormal Activity 4 No Yes Yes Executive producer
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
TBA Untitled Christopher Landon project Yes Yes No Post-production
gollark: You can summon one with one, it's just hard.
gollark: Xenowyrms: 11/10 coolest.
gollark: I like magmas lots. They are cool.
gollark: A hi of the hellos.
gollark: Alas, they have not been active for a while.

References
  1. 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. Anthony Kaufman (June 21, 2007). "10 Screenwriters to Watch: Christopher Landon". Variety. Retrieved January 7, 2008.
  3. Josef Molnar (April 19, 2007). "Christopher Landon makes the boys scream". The Advocate. Retrieved January 7, 2008.
  4. Pamela McClintock (May 7, 2007). "Landon to lead 'The Flock'". Variety. Retrieved January 7, 2008.
  5. Jay A. Fernandez (June 17, 2010). "Miley Cyrus attending 'Wake' for Paramount?". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
  6. "Scout's Honor: 'Paranormal's Christopher Landon Helming 'Boy Scouts vs. Zombies'". Deadline. September 25, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
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