John Landis does a lot of smacktalk in this

That's what I found so odd about it. As you say, he does owe his career to these kinds of films, and for him to come across as so disagreeable was, for me, a big disappointment and took a lot away from my enjoyment of the film.

-------------------------
"It's better not to know so much about what things mean." David Lynch

He's surprisingly bitter and unpleasant.

Maybe they got him on a bad day? It strikes me that he never accepted any responsibility or culpability for what happened when he was shooting TZ, maybe that hangs heavy on his conscience or something as he gets older, who knows. I just didn't like him or the way he presented himself in this film and a little Landis would have gone a long way.

-------------------------
"It's better not to know so much about what things mean." David Lynch

As for Tarantino - the Weinsteins specifically prohibited any use of QT's likeness or voice in this film. Hartley addresses this in the DVD commentary, as well as having nothing but good things to say about Landis. I'm surprised at the negative reaction that some people have, because Landis came across as the same enthusiastic and forthright personality that I've seen in many film docos. If you hear the commentaries for his first two movies you'll find that he's the first to knock himself down.

I've run into Landis at conventions. When he gets drunk, look out. He IS a bitter *beep*

Of course co-workers aren't going to speak ill of him.

That doesn't mean he isn't an *beep* when he feels like it, which is a good percentage of the time. Dude is bitter and has not made a decent movie in many, many years.