Roger Corman has created his own Hollywood: As a successful director, producer, and low-budget movie mogul running his own studio, he has made films as wanted to make them – true to his own vision and free from the meddling of Hollywood’s power brokers.
All things considered, Corman might be one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of motion pictures. This accolade is bestowed on him not just because of his success as a producer – although, as the title of his autobiography boasts, he has made more than 100 pictures and never lost a dime. He may be one of the most influential filmmakers because, along the way to directing and producing more than 200 films, he ran a de facto school for young filmmakers, the alumni of which have garnered more money and awards than any other group in film history. Among them are James Cameron, Francis Coppola, and Jonathan Demme.
Based on extensive research and interviews with Corman, the authors cover in detail each Corman-directed film – from such two-day wonders as Little Shop of Horrors to such studio pictures as St. Valentine’s Day Massacre – and trace this unique filmmaker’s life and work from his humble beginnings in post-World War II Hollywood to his current mythic status as the Godfather of all independent moviemakers.