Roger Corman

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jim48

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And the Oscar goes to... B-movie king Corman

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By DAVID GERMAIN, AP Movie Writer David Germain, Ap Movie Writer – 30 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – Roger Corman, memorably dubbed "the Orson Welles of the Z-Movie" and "the Pope of Pop Cinema," never expected the words "Academy Award recipient" would accompany his name.

The man, whose 350 movie credits include such low-budget fare as "The Masque of the Red Death" and "X: The Man With the X-Ray Eyes," is receiving an honorary Oscar for a lifetime of achievement that includes mentoring such filmmakers as Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron and Ron Howard.

Corman, 83, said he was aware the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was considering him for the honor. He felt certain he would not make the cut, though.

"I predicted that I would not win because I make low-budget films, and I felt the academy would not give an award to someone who made low-budget films. I was truly surprised when I got the call," Corman said in an interview at the offices of his production and distribution outfit, New Horizons Pictures.

Corman does not just make low-budget movies. He's a maestro at it, creating plenty of schlock with titles such as "Night Call Nurses" and "Galaxy of Terror" but also cult hits with staying power. Among his productions are "Death Race 2000" and "The Little Shop of Horrors," shot in just over two days for $30,000, featuring a young Jack Nicholson and a creepy, campy story line that later spawned a stage show and Hollywood musical remake.

Along with Nicholson, those who got acting breaks from Corman include Robert De Niro (1970's "Bloody Mama"), Charles Bronson (1958's "Machine-Gun Kelly") and Sylvester Stallone (1975's "Capone" and "Death Race 2000").

Corman is receiving his award at a ceremony Saturday along with fellow honorary Oscar recipients Lauren Bacall and cinematographer Gordon Willis.

Keeping budgets tiny and shooting quickly, Corman has made a profitable career defying the Hollywood maxim that you never put your own money into a movie. He still finances his own films so he can make them his way, without interference from studio backers.

His memoir is titled "How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime" — though the book's title is wrong on both counts, Corman said. He's made far more movies, and he acknowledges a few have lost money.

Sex and violence sells many of Corman's movies, but he also has peddled social commentary — racism with 1962's "The Intruder" starring William Shatner, and mental illness with 1977's "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden."

From his initial success in the late 1950s and early '60s, Corman set out to nurture young talent.

"I'd made a little bit of money, and I felt I should invest this money, and I don't really know anything about real estate or the stock market," Corman said. "But as a young filmmaker around town, I socialized with and knew other young filmmakers, and I thought, 'I think I know the ones who are the most-talented and who haven't had their chance yet.'"

So he invested his profits in people. Corman gave early directing shots to Coppola (1963's "Dementia 13"), Scorsese (1972's "Boxcar Bertha"), Howard (1977's "Grand Theft Auto"), Jonathan Demme (1974's "Caged Heat") and Joe Dante (1978's "Piranha").

Cameron did effects work on early 1980s Corman productions such as "Battle Beyond the Stars," while others who got a start in Corman's stable include John Sayles and Peter Bogdanovich.

Corman said he's never envied his proteges for the acclaim and box-office success they achieved later.

"I've admired them and actually, I take pride in what they have done," Corman said. "I know that they all would have achieved the same level if they had never met me, but I think what I was able to do was to give them a start and help them a little bit in their careers, and I take great pride in that."

Corman himself has a distinctive awards history. His office is wall filled with Oscar nominations for foreign-language classics he distributed in the United States. Corman's former company, New World Pictures, was a U.S. home for films by Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, Francois Truffaut and Akira Kurosawa.

Though he has had films at prestigious festivals such as Cannes and Venice, Corman jokes about the acclaim he's earned from lesser events.

"I'm the great winner of awards at minor film festivals," Corman said. "I've got a shelf at home filled with awards from festivals you never heard of."

Where will he put his Oscar?

"It'll go in front," Corman said.
 
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jim48

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXdgElbKe_w[/youtube]
 
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a_lost_packet_

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Shatner had the whole "Brown Shirt" thing going on there at the end. :)

You know, no matter how much someone may say they can't stand Corman's B- movies, they'd have to admit that he has entertained a heck of a lot of people. Maybe, he's even made a few think? That's not a bad way to spend one's life.

Way to go Roger!
 
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jim48

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a_lost_packet_":1ct94dtq said:
Shatner had the whole "Brown Shirt" thing going on there at the end. :)

You know, no matter how much someone may say they can't stand Corman's B- movies, they'd have to admit that he has entertained a heck of a lot of people. Maybe, he's even made a few think? That's not a bad way to spend one's life.

Way to go Roger!

Shatner was damn good in that. I remember seeing Death Race 2000 at a drive-in movie when I was in high school. We talked about that one for weeks! It was so kewel, because we were taking our Driver's Ed classes and earning our restricted licenses and well just learning how to drive. I think Death Race 2000 was the reason my first car was a '67 VW bug as opposed to something that could move. My dad, the car salesman, in his infinite wisdom. ;)
 
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10_stone_5

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jim48":lb744esk said:
And the Oscar goes to... B-movie king Corman
I read this with great delight.

I'm guessing that a younger version of Corman would have hated this. But then again, who knows, he was so unpredictable.

You have to love a guy who can make a profit on something like this ---

"The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent (1957)
A group of lonely Viking women build a ship and set off across the sea to locate their missing menfolk, only to fall into the clutches of the barbarians that also hold their men captive. There is a cameo appearance by the sea serpent. In the Viking era, somewhere in the North Atlantic area, the Viking Women are awaiting the return of their Viking Men from a hunting expedition and, growing tired of the long wait, the Viking women, led by Desir, (and, possibly desire as Viking Nights are long and cold), set sail in search of their Viking Men. In the course of the journey, their ship is destroyed and a handful (of the best-looking ones) are washed upon an island. There, they find their Viking Men, who are being kept prisoners in a large rock quarry by a primitive band of Viking-era Barbarian Warriors. With much resourcefulness, they rescue the men-folk and all set sail for Viking Land, pursued hotly by the Barbarian Warriors. But the pursuit party is destroyed by a Viking-era Sea Monster, who then turns its attentions upon the Viking Flotilla, but Vedrick the Viking tosses a sword at the Sea Monster, which instantly deflates it."
 
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