[4] In his debut, Landesman wrote and directed the historical film Parkland, based on the book Four Days in November: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, by Vincent Bugliosi.

[5] The film is about the chaotic events that occurred at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas on the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963.

The pathologist, Dr. Bennet Omalu (Smith's character) makes a David v Goliath journey to tell the truth about the dangers of football in the face of criticism and pressure from the NFL and mainstream media.

[11] In October 2008, Warner Bros. acquired the rights to an action thriller Colombian hostage pitch, and set Landesman to write the script of the film.

[13] In October 2013, Landesman was set to re-write and direct Down by the River, based on a 2002 non-fiction book of same name by Charles Bowden, while Henry Bean wrote the first script.