Roger Corman

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Roger William Corman (born April 5,1926) is an American writer, producer, and actor.

He has been dubbed "the Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the field of independent film.

Corman's work has a long tradition, including his cycle of low-budget cult films based on Edgar Allan Poe's tales. In 1964, Corman was the youngest filmmaker to have a retrospective at the Cinémathèque Française, as well as the British Film Institute and the Museum of Modern Art.

He was co-founder of New World Pictures, a prolific multimedia firm that helped to cement Fox as a major American television network, and a long-serving member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

He was given the Honorary Academy Award in 2009 for his rich engendering of films and filmmakers. "Corman mentored and introduced many young film directors, including Francis Ford Coppola, Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, John Sayles, and James Cameron, and was instrumental in the 1960s and 1970s' New Hollywood filmmaking movement."

Corman's World: Exploiting a Hollywood Rebel, directed by Alex Stapleton, premiered at the Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals in 2011.

After a well-received screening at Sundance, A&E IndieFilms acquired the film's TV rights.

Early life

Corman was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Anne (née High) and William Corman, an engineer. Eugene Harold "Gene" Corman's younger brother, Eugene Harold "Gene" Corman, has directed several films, some in collaboration with Roger. Corman and his brother were baptized in the Catholic faith.

Corman attended Beverly Hills High School and then Stanford University to study industrial engineering. Corman did not want to be an engineer while at Stanford. He enrolled in the V-12 Navy College Training Program, which took six months to complete. After being in the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946, he returned to Stanford to complete his degree, earning a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering in 1947. Corman was first introduced to Sigma Alpha Epsilon, a fraternity at Stanford University.

He worked briefly with US Electrical Motors on Slauson Avenue in Los Angeles in 1948, but his engineering career lasted just four days; his boss told him on Monday that he had made a "worryful mistake." Gene was already a film agent, and Roger decided against going into filmmaking.

Personal life

In 1970, Corman married Julie Halloran. They have four children. On April 3, 2018, Corman's sons, Roger Martin Corman, and Brian Corman, filed a complaint alleging that Corman's film collection was banned from being sold. In 2020, the contract was signed. Corman also sued a wealth management firm about suspected personal harm in 2016. The result of the scandal has not been announced to date.

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Early film career

Corman began working in the mail room at 20th Century Fox. He climbed to the top of a story reader. Gregory Peck's one property that he loved the most and gave him suggestions for was The Gunfighter. Corman had no money at all and decided against Fox and decided to work in film by himself. The G.I. has dominated the GI. Bill Corman studied English literature at Oxford University and lived in Paris for a time.

He then returned to Los Angeles to reestablish himself in the film industry. He worked in television stagehand at KLAC and a Fox messenger. He served as an assistant to literary agent Dick Hyland.

Corman wrote a script in his spare time and sold it to William F. Broidy of Allied Artists for $2,000. "Dick thought it was amusing, so it allowed me to pay myself a commission," Corman said. It was originally branded House in the Sea (1953) and starred Richard Conte and Joan Bennett. Corman also served as associate producer on the film for nothing, but only for the experience.

Corman's script fee and personal contacts raised $12,000 to produce his first feature, a science-fiction film, Monster from the Ocean Floor (1954). It was produced by Corman's own firm, Palo Alto, and published by Robert L. Lippert.

Corman's next film, The Fast and the Furious (1955), directed by John Ireland and co-starring Dorothy Malone, did well enough to inspire Corman to produce another film. Producer Neal H. Moritz and Universal Pictures licensed the name for the 2001 franchise-launching film The Fast and the Furious, a decade later. Moritz had trouble choosing between three finalists, Racer X, Redline, Race Wars, and Street Wars, and was inspired by a documentary on American International Pictures that featured Corman's film. Moritz was able to trade the use of some stock footage to Corman for use of the title.

Corman and Samuel Z. Arkoff's American Releasing Company, a new independent firm owned by James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff, moved Corman's film to the American Releasing Company. Despite receiving several offers for the film from Republic and Columbia, Corman decided against ARC because the government refused to pay him to make two more movies.

Five Guns West (1955), a Western, was Corman's second film for ARC, with Malone and John Lund. Robert Wright Campbell, who worked with Corman on several occasions, wrote the script.

Corman confirmed that he would make four more projects for ARC: High Steel, Cobra, Fortress Beneath the Sea, and an untitled Campbell film. Corman did some uncredited directing on The Beast in With a Million Eyes (1955), then produced another Western, Apache Woman (1955), starring Lloyd Bridges, written by Lou Rusoff. On the Day the World Ended (1955), Rusoff and Corman's post-apocalyptic science-fiction film that was popular.

Corman had intended to bring The Devil on Horseback by Charles B. Griffith about the Brownsville Raid, but it was too costly.

The Woolner Brothers, a Louisiana drive-in owner, financed Corman's Swamp Women (1956), a girls-on-the-lam saga.

He returned to ARC for two Westerns, The Oklahoma Woman (1956) and Gunslinger (1956), with Ireland; Gunslinger was co-written by Griffith, who became a key collaborator with Corman over the next five years. He purchased a script from Curtis Harrington, The Girl from Beneath the Sea. As Night Tide (1961), Harrington made it for Corman years later.

American International Pictures became ARC's new name. Corman was established as the country's best film director. They funded Corman's next film as director, the science-fiction film It Conquered the World (1956). It was co-written by Griffith as a follow-up to The Day the World Ended. It was a huge success.

Dana Andrews was considering a television play The Stake and wanted to bring Dana Andrews to the role. It was never made. Walter Mirisch of Allied Artists opposed Corman to make The Undead (1957), which was inspired by Bridey Murphy's biography. Griffith penned the script.

Corman produced Not of This Earth (1957), a Griffith-based science fiction film for Allied Artists.

AIP funded a Corman heist film shot in Hawaii, Naked Paradise (1957), co-written by Griffith in August 1956. She Gods of Shark Reef (1958), Corman's return to back with a film made with his own money, She Gods of Shark Reef (1958) – Corman ended up selling the film to AIP.

Corman and Griffith reunited in Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957) for Allied, which became one of his early films' most popular early films.

Corman created a rock-and-roll version of Carnival Rock (1957), which was published by Howco. Rock All Night (1957) was a heist film directed by Griffith that was based on a TV show "The Little Guy" with musical numbers added.

In December 1957, he was supposed to make Rock'n'Roll Girl for AIP.

Corman said in April 1957 that he would attempt to make two films back-to-back from then on to save money.

"Teen Girl Noirs" by Corman (1957), starring Susan Cabot for AIP.

He created The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Sea Serpent (1957), a film shot in August 1957. Tony Miller's Teenage Jungle was supposed to be the next installment.

Following the success of Not of this Earth and Crab Monsters, Allied offering Corman a four-picture contract for 1958.

Corman received his first critical praise for Machine-Gun Kelly (1958), an AIP biopic of the legendary gangster that gave Charles Bronson his first leading role and co-starred Cabot. Campbell wrote the script.

He did Teenage Caveman (1958), Robert Vaughn, also for AIP, but Prehistoric World was not titled Prehistoric World.

He produced two films for Allied Artists, both from Leo Gordon's scripts (the first film they made together) and his brother Gene (the first film they made together) and The Cry Baby Killer (1958), which gave Jack Nicholson his first acting role.

He had his highest budget for I Mobster (1958), a gangster tale co-produced by Edward L. Alperson and Corman's brother Gene for 20th Century Fox. He was arrested in September 1958 as scouting locations in Australia to produce a reimagining of H. Rider Haggard's She.

War of the Satellites (1958) was conceptualized and shot in a record time to profit from the Sputnik launch; it was his first collaboration with art director Daniel Haller.

Corman produced and directed the Stakeout on Dope Street (1958), directed by Irvin Kershner for AIP, wearing salvage costumes from Teenage Caveman (1958), and Crime and Punishment U.S.A. (1959), directed by Dennis Sanders in his first lead role.

Corman announced in January 1959 that he would be moving into distribution.

Corman and his brother Gene founded The Filmgroup in 1959, a company that makes or releasing low-budget black-and-white films as double features for drive-ins and action theaters. Filmgroup announced in February 1959 that they would have ten films released. Stanley Bickman's first films, High School Big Shot (1959) and T-Bird Gang (1959), were their first films.

A Bucket of Blood (1959), a black comedy starring AIP, Corman and Griffith. Corman said he would continue it with The Bloodshot Private Eye, a similar film. It doesn't appear that it was made. Griffith used the same script structure and Corman used several members of the same cast in The Little Shop of Horrors (1960). This film was reportedly shot in two days and a night.

Corman produced The Wasp Woman (1959), starring Cabot from a Gordon script. He and his brother shot two films in South Dakota back-to-back: Ski Troop Attack (1960), a war film written by Griffith and directed by Corman, and Beast from Haunted Cave (1959), Monte Hellman's first film directed by Monte Hellman.

Corman travelled to Puerto Rico and made two films back-to-back: Battle of Blood Island (1960), directed by Joel Rapp, and Last Woman on Earth (1960), directed by Corman from a script by Robert Towne. Corman asked Griffith to write a third, which was shot at the same time as Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961).

Corman had intended to make Part Time Mother from a script by Griffith, but it seems that no such effort had been made.

Later career: Syfy Channel

He continued to produce creature films, including Raptor (2001, dir Jim Wynorski). Dinocroc (2004), which aired on the Syfy cable television network and was good enough for two sequels, Supergator and Dinocroc vs. Supergator (2010), as well as a spin-off film Dinoshark (2010). The Syfy channel had turned down Supergator (2007), but Corman made it anyway.

Corman continued to make action films: Escape from Afghanistan (2001) was a Russian film, Peshavar Waltz supplemented by another video; The Hunt for Eagle One (2006) and Fist of the Dragon (2006) were shot in the Philippines; Roger Corman's Operation Rogue (2014); Fist of the Dragon (2015).

Corman said he produced 60% of his films in 2006. "These foreign countries are giving subsidies that are so large that not only I, but also many independent producers are moving overseas," he said. He sold the Death Race 2000 franchise to Universal, who produced Death Race (2008) with Jason Statham, with Corman credited as executive producer. It resulted in two direct-to-video prequels and one direct-to-video sequel.

Corman created and directed the Netflix web series "Splatter" in 2009, alongside director Joe Dante. Corey Feldman plays the protagonist of the film, and the tale tells of Johnny Splatter's enthralling tale. He began contributing trailer commentaries to Dante's web series Trailers From Hell. Corman cited James Cameron's Avatar (2009) and Christopher Nolan's Inception (2010) as two examples of "great imagination and originality" in 2011.

By now, the SyFy channel was Corman's most profitable channel. He made Sharktopus (2010) and Piranhaconda (2012) for them. Corman produced Death Race 2050, a sequel to the 1975 film Death Race 2000. It was shot with Universal, Corman's first film in more than two decades.

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