John Landis - Into the Night

When two strangers stumble into international intrigue in the middle of a Los Angeles night, anything can happen... and does, in this zany comedy. Ed Orkin is an insomniac with a cheating wife and a dull job. His chances for excitement look hopeless until a mysterious blond named Diana drops onto the hood of his car. Now it’s Ed’s turn for some adventure and romance as Diana leads him on a merry and murderous chase where the payoff could be dollars or death. The outstanding cast includes a host of Hollywood’s hottest directors in cameos. It’s a night on the town you’ll never live down.

As the film goes on, Ed Okin gets more and more tired. He’s exhausted both physically and emotionally even before the film begins, and he stays awake for the two full days of the story. I wanted him to be like he was “stoned,” that he have that kind of distant perception of what was happening around him. The screenwriter Koslow had set the story in Malibu and Bel Air. Instead, I wanted to take place all over Los Angeles. We went to the center, to the Marina Del Rey, Hollywood Boulevard, Century City, the airport and Beverly Hills. Jonathan Hill plays the tailor in Rodeo Drive and Paul Bartel the doorman of the Beverly Hills Hotel. The two FBI agents at the end are Jonathan Demme and Carl Gottlieb! It was an intentionally strange film. Deborah’s costumes are funny, especially those of the Savak agents. They wear the most absurd clothes, ties the same colour as the shirts, absolutely ridiculous outfits.

Il cinema delle meraviglie, conversation with John Landis in Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan, John Landis, published by Torino Film Festival, 2004.