Philosophy
Talk with Roger Corman for more than five minutes, and he comes across as a film historian.
Look at his filmography and the list of disciples he brought into the industry, and it's clear that he isn't just a film historian. The prolific producer of low-budget films that often featured creatures is part of film history.
The man nicknamed "The King of B-movies" has found a way to stay relevant for more than 56 years, and now a number of films he produced over 30 years ago are being released for home audiences.
Being released on DVD and Blu-ray today by Shout Factory (shoutfactory.com) are Piranha (1978), Humanoids From the Deep (1980) and a double feature with Battle Truck (1982) and Death Sport (1978). Humanoids is a special 30th-anniversary edition featuring the uncut version of the film. And Piranha 3D is coming to the big screen Aug. 20.
Even so, Corman, 84, believes he'll be just a footnote in film history.
"I don't think I'm going to be remembered in any major way. ... But I'd like to be known simply as a filmmaker. For two things, I should say: One, for the films I've made, and two, for the filmmakers I've mentored."
Corman has produced nearly 400 films in his career and has taught some of the biggest names in the industry. They include filmmakers such as James Cameron, Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, as well as actors Robert De Niro, Jack Nicholson and Sylvester Stallone.
Joe Dante, director of Gremlins and Small Soldiers, says he was most influenced by Corman's ability to spot talent.
"He had an uncanny knack for finding people who really, really wanted to make it in the movie business and would work extra hard and work that extra day and come in at night on their own time to try and make their picture better," Dante says. "That kind of perfectionism bred people like Scorsese and Cameron. People who just want to do it right."
Corman found these actors and directors at colleges and universities including UCLA, the University of Southern California and New York University, where he'd go to recruit passionate, young filmmakers to work for him on the cheap. Although the students have gone on to win a multitude of Academy Awards, he always understood that he was just a steppingstone.
During Ron Howard's directorial debut in Grand Theft Auto (1977), Corman told him: "Ron, if you do a good job on this picture, you'll never work for me again."
One of the keys to Corman's success has long been considered his efficiency, a trait he tried to pass on to all of his film students. At his most prolific, he was able to produce nine films in 1958. He made the original Little Shop of Horrors in two days and a night in 1960 just to prove he could make a film that quickly.
Corman received an Honorary Lifetime Achievement Oscar last year. But he doesn't feel that his career is over. He has produced a movie coming out in the fall called Sharktopus, set to premiere on the Syfy channel. "I love the process of making motion pictures. I don't believe I'll ever stop."
Roger Corman [Wikipedia]
Yvette Vickers
Side note. Yvette Vickers stared in several Corman films.
She was also a Playboy playmate [July 1959] photographed by Russ Meyer [skin flick producer (The Immoral Mr. Teas, Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, Valley of the Dolls, and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls {scripted by film critic Roger Ebert})].
Yvette Vickers [Wikipedia]
- The Library Of Congress And Silent Films
"Library of Congress study sees troubling loss of silent feature films" The report commissioned by the National Film Preservation Board pinpoints the number of works that have survived. Some movies have been found abroad. by Susan King December 4th,...
- Corman/coppola Horror Film..."dementia 13"
Wikipedia... Dementia 13 (UK title: The Haunted and the Hunted) is a 1963 horror-thriller released by American International Pictures, starring William Campbell, Patrick Magee, and Luana Anders. The film was written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola...
- Ingmar Bergman's Birthday
One of the world's greatest directors. I am a big folower of Bergman, especially the early introspective years. It is ironic that Bergman was introduced to the world via Kroger Babb's distribution of Summer with Monika [ Kroger Babb and exploitation...
- Deceased--mario Monicelli
Mario Monicelli May 16th, 1915 to November 29th, 2010 "Italian cinema great Mario Monicelli 'kills himself'" November 30th, 2010 BBC NEWS One of the greats of post-war Italian cinema, Mario Monicelli, has killed himself by jumping out of a hospital...
- "waiting For Godot"...er, I Mean Mccain
Roger Ebert Barack Obama has replied to submitted questions on science by Sciencedebate.com over two weeks ago but McCain has yet to respond and there are just fifty or so days until the election. It would be relevant to read his opinions. I suppose...
Philosophy
Roger Corman--his B-movies
"With Roger Corman's B-movies, the 'B' stands for beloved"
by
George Artsitas
August 2nd, 2010
USA TODAY
by
George Artsitas
August 2nd, 2010
USA TODAY
Talk with Roger Corman for more than five minutes, and he comes across as a film historian.
Look at his filmography and the list of disciples he brought into the industry, and it's clear that he isn't just a film historian. The prolific producer of low-budget films that often featured creatures is part of film history.
The man nicknamed "The King of B-movies" has found a way to stay relevant for more than 56 years, and now a number of films he produced over 30 years ago are being released for home audiences.
Being released on DVD and Blu-ray today by Shout Factory (shoutfactory.com) are Piranha (1978), Humanoids From the Deep (1980) and a double feature with Battle Truck (1982) and Death Sport (1978). Humanoids is a special 30th-anniversary edition featuring the uncut version of the film. And Piranha 3D is coming to the big screen Aug. 20.
Even so, Corman, 84, believes he'll be just a footnote in film history.
"I don't think I'm going to be remembered in any major way. ... But I'd like to be known simply as a filmmaker. For two things, I should say: One, for the films I've made, and two, for the filmmakers I've mentored."
Corman has produced nearly 400 films in his career and has taught some of the biggest names in the industry. They include filmmakers such as James Cameron, Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, as well as actors Robert De Niro, Jack Nicholson and Sylvester Stallone.
Joe Dante, director of Gremlins and Small Soldiers, says he was most influenced by Corman's ability to spot talent.
"He had an uncanny knack for finding people who really, really wanted to make it in the movie business and would work extra hard and work that extra day and come in at night on their own time to try and make their picture better," Dante says. "That kind of perfectionism bred people like Scorsese and Cameron. People who just want to do it right."
Corman found these actors and directors at colleges and universities including UCLA, the University of Southern California and New York University, where he'd go to recruit passionate, young filmmakers to work for him on the cheap. Although the students have gone on to win a multitude of Academy Awards, he always understood that he was just a steppingstone.
During Ron Howard's directorial debut in Grand Theft Auto (1977), Corman told him: "Ron, if you do a good job on this picture, you'll never work for me again."
One of the keys to Corman's success has long been considered his efficiency, a trait he tried to pass on to all of his film students. At his most prolific, he was able to produce nine films in 1958. He made the original Little Shop of Horrors in two days and a night in 1960 just to prove he could make a film that quickly.
Corman received an Honorary Lifetime Achievement Oscar last year. But he doesn't feel that his career is over. He has produced a movie coming out in the fall called Sharktopus, set to premiere on the Syfy channel. "I love the process of making motion pictures. I don't believe I'll ever stop."
Roger Corman [Wikipedia]
Attack of the Giant Leeches
1959
Trailer
1959
Trailer
Yvette VickersSide note. Yvette Vickers stared in several Corman films.
She was also a Playboy playmate [July 1959] photographed by Russ Meyer [skin flick producer (The Immoral Mr. Teas, Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, Valley of the Dolls, and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls {scripted by film critic Roger Ebert})].
Yvette Vickers [Wikipedia]
- The Library Of Congress And Silent Films
"Library of Congress study sees troubling loss of silent feature films" The report commissioned by the National Film Preservation Board pinpoints the number of works that have survived. Some movies have been found abroad. by Susan King December 4th,...
- Corman/coppola Horror Film..."dementia 13"
Wikipedia... Dementia 13 (UK title: The Haunted and the Hunted) is a 1963 horror-thriller released by American International Pictures, starring William Campbell, Patrick Magee, and Luana Anders. The film was written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola...
- Ingmar Bergman's Birthday
One of the world's greatest directors. I am a big folower of Bergman, especially the early introspective years. It is ironic that Bergman was introduced to the world via Kroger Babb's distribution of Summer with Monika [ Kroger Babb and exploitation...
- Deceased--mario Monicelli
Mario Monicelli May 16th, 1915 to November 29th, 2010 "Italian cinema great Mario Monicelli 'kills himself'" November 30th, 2010 BBC NEWS One of the greats of post-war Italian cinema, Mario Monicelli, has killed himself by jumping out of a hospital...
- "waiting For Godot"...er, I Mean Mccain
Roger Ebert Barack Obama has replied to submitted questions on science by Sciencedebate.com over two weeks ago but McCain has yet to respond and there are just fifty or so days until the election. It would be relevant to read his opinions. I suppose...