The 5-Minute Interview: John Landis, Filmmaker

John Landis is an American filmmaker, writer and actor best known for directing "Animal House", "Blues Brothers" and "Trading Places". He is currently appearing at the Sci-Fi-London Film Festival, courtesy of the new Sky Movies Sci-Fi and Horror channel

If I weren't talking to you right now, I'd be...

Around the corner in Piccadilly Circus buying postcards.

A phrase I use far too often is...

Excuse me madam but your hair is on fire.

A common misperception of me is...

I'm still alive. I actually passed away in 1958.

I wish that people would take more notice of...

How the governments of both the United States and Great Britain constantly disregard the will of their people. And on a less serious note, traffic lights.

In moments of weakness I...

Eat.

The most surprising thing that happened to me was...

My birth. It was totally unexpected.

I am not a rock star but...

I know a lot of them. But I'm not going to drop any names.

My ideal night out is...

A good meal, a good book, a good movie, and a good play. And a good night's sleep after that. Luckily, I've found all of the above in London.

I'm good at...

Sarcasm. But I'm not so sure how it translates on to the printed page.

I'm very bad at...

Computer programming. I can't do it and that's why I pay people to do it for me.

You know me as a film director, but I would also like to have been...

A lumberjack. I get that from the Monty Python sketch. I'm a big fan of them. I'm a fan of British comedy in general.

The best age to be is...

Twenty. Your whole life is ahead of you and you've yet to realise how terrifying a prospect that is. Plus, you know everything at that age; you're at your physical peak, old enough to be an adult, and yet young enough to be a kid.

In a nutshell, my philosophy is...

Always question.

The world would be a better place if...

There was no religion. The two great killers are religion and nationalism. If we all just travelled a bit more, I think we'd realise that on an individual level we're all pretty much the same.

Simon Black