Max Landis, the screenwriter known for Bright and Chronicle, is coming under fire for his alleged mistreatment of women – again. The latest allegations, as detailed today in the Daily Beast, include charges that he sexually assaulted and mentally tortured several girlfriends, at least one of whom he allegedly threatened to kill. The LAPD, however, says that it has not received any complaints about him, and his reps did not return phone calls.
The latest of eight women to come forward with allegations of sexual abuse against Landis is actress Ani Baker, an ex-girlfriend who posted on social media that “this person is really destructive,” while telling the Daily Beast that she has heard from other women “that I had never heard of who are like, ‘I too was tortured by this person.’”
“If you have found my page via Max Landis, hi,” Baker wrote on social media. “I’m going to give you some direct info I wish I had gotten, because the experience/aftermath of this person is really destructive, and it will be riddled with pain and emotional work that you don’t need to spend your precious energy on.”
Actress Whitney Moore then came forward on social media, claiming that she also had been subjected to “horrific, inhumane things he did to me.” Five other women are cited in the Daily Beast article as having been abused and humiliated by him.
Landis, the son of director John Landis, was first accused in 2017, when actress Anna Akana — who starred in a YouTube video he directed — took to Twitter the day that Bright was to premiere on Netflix to say that the film was “written by a psychopath who sexually abused and assaults women, right? Cool.”
Several other women came forward soon thereafter with allegations of sexual misconduct, including artist Zoe Quinn, who tweeted: “Sometimes men who commit sexual assault are talented screenwriters and their work comes with baggage. Other times, they’re Max Landis.”
Landis has had a number of big paydays for his screenplays, led by the $3 million-plus he got for Netflix’s Bright in 2016. His credits also the upcoming features Deeper, an oceanic-trench thriller he sold in 2015; a remake of his father John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London that Skybound is producing for Universal; and the horror pic Decon, which QC Entertainment and Good Universe stepped up to produce and finance in 2017. His credits also include the BBC America series Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency.
The writer was with CAA until the WGA ordered its members to fire their agents 10 weeks ago, and a CAA source said he won’t be welcomed back. He’s also been booted from Writ Large, the firm that managed him. His attorney, Howard Abramson, did not return calls.
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