Josh Trank Banned Max Landis From ‘Chronicle’ Set and Hasn’t Spoken to Him Since 2012
Zack Sharf
Josh Trank reacted to the latest sexual and emotional abuse allegations made against Max Landis by revealing on social media that he banned Landis from the set of their 2012 superhero movie “Chronicle.” Trank and Landis came up with the “Chronicle” story together, with Landis getting sole screenplay credit and Trank directing the project. The film, released by 20th Century Fox, was a platform at the time for rising actors Dane DeHaan and Michael B. Jordan.
“I 100% believe every word of this article about Max,” Trank wrote on Twitter. “I banned him from visiting principal photography of ‘Chronicle,’ and I haven’t spoken to him since 2012. To read about the terror he’s inflicted on so many women since then makes me sick to my stomach. Heartbroken beyond measure.”
Landis, son of comedy director John Landis, was accused of sexual and emotional abuse by eight women in a lengthy exposé published June 18 by The Daily Beast. The women, some of whom were Landis’ ex-girlfriends, claim the screenwriter manipulated his relationships with them in order to get them into his inner circle, after which he allegedly physically and/or psychologically abused them. The allegations accuse Landis of fat shaming, choking, and/or sexually abusing his victims.
“Chronicle” served as a breakthrough for both Trank and Landis. The film grossed over $120 million worldwide on a $12 million budget. Landis was originally hired to write a sequel to the movie, but he told IGN in April 2013 that Fox was not in favor of the darker direction he wanted to take the story. By July 2013, Landis and Trank went their separate ways and the “Chronicle” sequel was killed. Landis went on to write the scripts for films such as “American Ultra” and the Will Smith-starring Netflix original “Bright,” while Trank had issues of his own directing Fox’s “Fantastic Four” reboot. Trank is next behind the camera for Tom Hardy’s Al Capone drama “Fonzo.”
IndieWire has reached out to Trank and Landis’ representatives for additional comment.
I 100% believe every word of this article about Max. I banned him from visiting principal photography of Chronicle, and I haven’t spoken to him since 2012. To read about the terror he’s inflicted on so many women since then makes me sick to my stomach. Heartbroken beyond measure.
— Josh Trank (@joshuatrank) June 18, 2019
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