Landis suing Jackson over ‘Thriller’ show

The U.S. director of the 1983 Thriller video filed legal papers claiming Michael Jackson has no right to plan a stage musical version without his consent.

Landis wrote and directed the breakthrough Thriller video, as well as a making-of documentary about it. The video was for the title track from Jackson’s chart-topping album.

The Nederlander Organization announced this week that it has acquired the rights to and is collaborating with Jackson on a stage musical inspired by the video and featuring songs from Jackson’s Thriller and Off the Wall albums.

TMZ said Jackson got more than $400,000 for the musical and director John Landis is now upset that the singer made the deal without first consulting him.

Landis’s lawyer, Miles Feldman, has asked a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge to prevent Jackson from proceeding with the musical without Landis’s consent, TMZ said.

The entertainment news Web site did not say when the judge is expected to make a decision regarding Landis’s request.

In addition to the Thriller video, Landis is also known for directing the popular films National Lampoon’s Animal House, The Blues Brothers, An American Werewolf in London, Trading Places and Spies Like Us.