Director John Landis 'returns to filmmaking'
22nd January 2010
Director John Landis, best known for films like An American Werewolf in London and Trading Places, is returning to filmmaking after more than 10 years. Andy Serkis will star opposite Simon Pegg in horror comedy Burke and Hare, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The film is based on the true story of serial killers William Burke and William Hare, who sold the corpses of their victims for dissection.
Landis's last feature film was the 1998 release Blues Brothers 2000.
The lacklustre sequel followed Landis's hit 1980 film The Blues Brothers, starring Dan Ackroyd and the late John Belushi.
Landis's other notable work includes Animal House and, most famously, the Thriller video which accompanied Michael Jackson's global hit - and is credited with reinventing the music video.
Serkis was shortlisted for a best actor Bafta nomination on Thursday for his portrayal of singer Ian Dury in Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll.
He remains best known for his role as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and plays Captain Haddock in next year's big screen Adventures of Tintin.
Burke and Hare, which begins shooting in Edinburgh and London later this month, also stars Isla Fisher and Tom Wilkinson - as anatomy lecturer Dr Robert Knox.
Wilkinson stars in the forthcoming Polanski thriller The Ghost Writer, and recently completed work on superhero caper The Green Hornet.
Source: BBC
