Writer-Director Max Landis Hit With Allegations of Sexual and Emotional Abuse From 8 Women (UPDATE)

Max Landis was first accused of sexual misconduct and predatory behavior in December 2017.

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UPDATED 6/19, 1:50 p.m. ET: Max Landis has been dropped by his managers at Writ Large. “Writ Large does not represent Max Landis,” former manager Britton Rizzio tells Deadline. “As soon as we heard about the Daily Beast article, we parted company.”

Rizzio told The Wrap, “I do not represent Max Landis.”

Writer-director Josh Trank (2015’s Fantastic Four) tweeted that he banned Landis from the set of Chronicle—both men’s first feature film, written by Landis—in 2012. "I 100% believe every word of this article about Max," he said in his post.

In a follow-up tweet, Trank said, "I've warned people in private about him years. As have MANY."

See original story below.

Writer-director Max Landis has been accused of abuse by eight different women, according to The Daily Beast.

In a new report published by the outlet, Landis is said to have engaged in emotional, physical, and sexual abuse over a 10-year time span. Testimonies were given by former girlfriends, friends, and colleagues who claim that Landis—son of Blues Brothers director John Landis—used his money, power, and familial connections in Hollywood to conceal his behavior. Landis is accused of regularly raping his partners, using psychological and emotional abuse, and either physically assaulting or mentally torturing those in his social circle. 

The eight women also described the 33-year-old as everything from a “serial rapist, gaslighter, body shamer, to a physical and psychological abuser.” These women also allege that he cut them off from their friends and family so they would become emotionally dependent on him. 

“He sees something shiny and he wants it. He’s like, I have to have it,” one accuser explained. “He would systematically try to have sex with all the women I knew. We’re not people to him.” 

Another accuser added, “Abuse is slippery. Max did, somewhat, announce that he was abusive. That was what was so disarming about his particular brand of manipulation.”

According to The Daily Beast, a number of sources were anticipating a call about Landis for years. This isn’t the first time Landis—who’s best known for writing movies like Chronicle and Bright, and creating the Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency TV series—has faced allegations of abuse. In December 2017—around the debut of Bright on Netflix—Landis was hit with accusations of sexual misconduct and predatory behavior by multiple people on Twitter, such as actress Anna Akana and video game developer Zoë Quinn.

In light of the allegations, Landis has been dropped from several projects. A representative for the forthcoming horror-thriller Shadow in the Cloud—which originated with a script by Landis—told The Daily Beast they weren’t initially aware of the claims against him, but have since removed him from the project. Other projects—like his remake of his father’s An American Werewolf in London—have either been indefinitely postponed or canceled since the initial allegations were made against him in 2017.

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