John Belushi

ANIMAL HOUSE and THE BLUES BROTHERS Blu-ray Reviews

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: August 8th, 2011 at 3:00 pm

Let’s call it: Nation Lampoon’s Animal House and The Blues Brothers are the most influential comedies of their era, and two of the most influential comedies of all time. It’s doubtful anyone who makes comedies these days doesn’t revere these films, from Judd Apatow (considering Freaks and Geeks) to Todd Phillips (whose Road Trip is inarguably indebted).

The Blues Brothers was the first Saturday Night Live spin-off film, and Animal House launched John Belushi, which came out within weeks of Chevy Chase’s Foul Play, both of which showed that SNL could launch comedy stars, so everyone who came after owes to Animal House (which was a much bigger hit than Foul Play). And this is all due to one man: John Landis. Our reviews of the Blu-rays of Animal House and Blues Brothers follow after the jump.

Director Todd Phillips on his John Belushi Project and the Mel Gibson/Liam Neeson Cameo in THE HANGOVER 2

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: October 27th, 2010 at 1:37 pm

Earlier today Warner Bros. held a press conference for their new comedy Due Date here in Los Angeles.  In attendance were Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis, Michelle Monaghan, the screenwriters, and director Todd Phillips.  While I’ll have the entire press conference online in the near future, since Phillips gave updates on the status of his John Belushi project (our previous coverage is here) and what exactly happened with the Mel Gibson/Liam Neeson cameo in The Hangover 2, I wanted to offer those quotes today.  Hit the jump for what he said:

Todd Phillips Taking “A Very Renegade Approach” to His John Belushi Biopic

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: September 3rd, 2010 at 4:38 pm

Word leaked last month that director/producer Todd Phillips (The Hangover) is developing a film based on the life of late comedian John Belushi.  While at this early stage he wished the project was still under wraps, Phillips talked a bit about his approach to the material.

“Our goal is not to do a traditional biopic approach with it that people expect, whether you’re talking about Walk the Line or Ray. All good movies, but our goal is not to make that typical biopic. We want to make a movie that, if John Belushi saw it, he would be happy that it captured his spirit. Sometimes I feel that they don’t entirely capture the spirit of the person they’re about. Our goal is to capture the spirit of Belushi, not necessarily make a straight-ahead biopic.”

Sounds noble enough to me.  Hit the jump to hear more of what Phillips had to say on the matter.

THE HANGOVER Director Todd Phillips Is Developing a Biopic Based on the Life of Comedian John Belushi

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: August 11th, 2010 at 8:26 pm

After a slight hiccup in securing the rights, producer/director Todd Phillips (The Hangover) is back on track with the development of a film based on the life of late comedian John Belushi.   Alexandra Milchan and Bonnie Timmerman join Phillips as producers; Steven Conrad (Pursuit of Happyness) will pen the script.

The larger-than-life Belushi first garnered national attention on Saturday Night Live during its inaugural years from 1975-1979, then thrived on the big screen with iconic roles in such films as Animal House and The Blues Brothers.  He passed away in 1982 at the age of 33.  Hit the jump for further details on the project, as well as a look at the actors who could assume such a role.

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