Tag: roger corman

Roger Corman’s DEATH RACE 2050 Begins Filming

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Will Stallone return as Machine Gun Joe?!?

An outrageous action-packed film and reboot of the original DEATH RACE 2000, Roger Corman’s DEATH RACE 2050 began filming February 8 in Peru. Filled with the full-throttle mayhem and black-hearted humor, this all-new film drops the flag on a phalanx of automotive gladiators who earn points for killing pedestrians — and their fellow drivers. Roger Corman’s DEATH RACE 2050is an original release from Universal 1440 Entertainment, a production entity of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. The film will be available exclusively on Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital HD in 2016.

In the decades since well-known independent film pioneer and Academy Award® winner Roger Corman first put the iconic anti-hero Frankenstein into the driver’s seat in Death Race 2000, this over-the-top cult classic has hurtled headlong toward cinematic immortality. Among the most enduring of the prolific producer’s legion of memorable films, Death Race 2000 has inspired a growing fan base that continues to propel the popular franchise as it marks the 40th anniversary of its original release.

“This is an amazing opportunity for me and millions of Death Race 2000 fans to experience the intensity, thrills and dark humor of the original, fueled by a terrific young cast, spectacular vehicles and side-splitting action, literally” said Corman, the trailblazing writer, director and producer. “Roger Corman’s DEATH RACE 2050 puts the pedal to the metal to bring this enduring franchise to a whole new level.”

Roger Corman’s DEATH RACE 2050 stars Manu Bennett (The Hobbit franchise) as Frankenstein, as well as Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) as the Chairman, Burt Grinstead (“NCIS”), Marci Miller (Viper), Folake Olowofoyeku (The Beaver), Anessa Ramsey (Footloose), Yancy Butler (Hard Target) and Charlie Farrell (Cantar).

The film is directed by G.J. Echternkamp (Hard Candy) directs from a script by Matt Yamashita (Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda) and G.J. Echternkamp, and produced by Roger Corman (Death Race 2000) and Luis Llosa (Anaconda).

SYNOPSIS
In the not-too-distant future, America is controlled by an all-powerful corporate government that keeps the masses placated with violent virtual-reality entertainment. The event of the year is the Death Race, where a motley assortment of drivers compete in a cross-country road race, scoring points for running down pedestrians and killing each other. The reigning champion and popular favorite is half-man, half-machine Frankenstein — but little does he know he’s taken on a rebel spy as his co-pilot.

Happy Birthday Vincent Price! A Look Back at VINCENTENNIAL

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Today is Vincent Price’s 104th Birthday! Price was born here in St. Louis on this date in 1911 and is the most iconic movie star to hail from our city. Price, who died October 25th 1993, was also a gourmand, author, stage actor, speaker, world-class art collector, raconteur, and all-around Renaissance man. Vincent Price was simply one of the most remarkable people of the 20th Century. Four years ago we had the opportunity to celebrate his 100th birthday and St. Louis was the place to do it. I teamed up with Cinema St. Louis to present VINCENTENNIAL, The Vincent Price 100th Birthday Celebration, an event that lasted through much of the Spring of 2011. The following year VINCENTENNIAL won two coveted Rondo Awards, one for “Best Fan Event” and a second for myself as “Monster Kid of the Year” for directing the event. The Rondo Awards are prestigious Fan Awards given out annually for the year’s best horror-related stuff–movies, magazines, articles, toys, etc.

The purpose of this article is to provide some background and a summary of Vincentennial. As regular readers of WAMG know, I hosted the monthly film festival Super-8 Movie Madness at a local nightclub called The Way Out Club where I show a dozen or so of the old condensed versions of movies on super-8 sound film. Sometimes I have theme nights. In July of 2010 I did a Charles Bronson night where I showed several condensed films starring the rugged actor and decorated the club with Bronson movie memorabilia. A close friend of mine, Maggie Sherrill, suggested I do a similar Vincent Price night the next spring and call it Vincentennial to tie in with his 100th birthday. I thought it was a great idea and began planning Vincentennial, a one-night party at The Way Out Club. But the scope of the event grew in my head and I decided a full-blown film festival in conjunction with an exhibit would be more appropriate than a one-night film show. Everyone in St. Louis I ran the idea by thought it was a good one. I eventually approached Cliff Froelich, the executive director of Cinema St. Louis, a non-profit movie-related event planning group that runs the St. Louis International Film Festival every fall, and suggested joining forces for a Vincent Price film festival. I’m a volunteer at Cinema St. Louis and knew Cliff had the resources, connections, and patrons to pull off a professional film fest. He was very receptive to the idea, so Vincentennial eventually fell under the umbrella of Cinema St. Louis with me given the title Event Director. Vincent Price’s daughter Victoria Price got involved in Vincentennial as I had contacted her very early in the process. She said she had thought St. Louis would be the perfect place to honor her father with an event like Vincentennial. She had even contacted the St. Louis Art Museum before I contacted her to see if they were interested in hosting something, but that venue was under renovation and she didn’t know where to turn. The other guest of honor that we thought was important to have was Roger Corman, who of course directed all the great Vincent Price/Edgar Allan Poe films in the 1960’s. I thought it was a long shot getting Corman to come, especially since we didn’t formally extend the invitation until November, but it turns out Corman’s wife Julie was from St. Louis and he agreed to attend if we flew her in as well. When Cliff asked who I thought would be a good person to conduct the interviews with Corman, I immediately answered Tim Lucas, editor of Video Watchdog magazine and author of the book Mario Bava All the Colors of the Dark. I knew that Tim had written a screenplay about Corman and the making of his 1968 film THE TRIP. I was surprised that Tim had never met Roger Corman and was thrilled when Tim accepted our invitation to conduct the Corman interviews. We also brought in important Vincent Price scholars to introduce the films

Some of the historical items that were part of the The Vincentennial Vincent Price Legacy Exhibit

Vincentennial featured two popular Vincent Price exhibits. The Vincentennial Vincent Price Legacy Exhibit opened April 22 at The Sheldon Concert Hall and Galleries in St. Louis and ran through August. This exhibit was one of historical artifacts, movie memorabilia, and collectibles all celebrating the life and career of Vincent Price.

Movie memorabilia displayed and Cortland Hull’s life-size figures

Robert Taylor, Sara Waugh, Rick Squires, Jenni Nolan O’Dell, and Cortland Hull are Vincent Price collectors scattered across the country and they all lent items from their collections as did several St. Louis-based memorabilia collectors. Robert and Sara lent one-of-a-kind pieces from Price’s childhood and youth, Rick lent just a fraction of his enormous collection of ephemera and collectibles from all aspects of Price’s career, be sure to link to Rick’s site at http://vincentpriceexhibit.com/), and Cortland brought (among other things) his life-size figures of Dr. Phibes and Professor Jarrod from HOUSE OF WAX, which wore the original outfit that Vincent Price wore in that 1953 film.

Some of the various Vincent Price figures, toys, and model kits

There were displays of movie and theater posters, stills, toys, and resin model kits in the exhibit as well. Rick Squires gave an informative exhibit talk at The Sheldon when he was in town as did Robert Taylor. The folks at The Sheldon estimated that over 10,000 people viewed the exhibit during its 4-month run.

With Cortland Hull just after we had set up his figures for the exhibit

The Vincent Price Presents at the Star Clipper Exhibit

The other exhibit was Vincent Price Presents at the Star Clipper which opened in late April at the gallery at Star Clipper Comics, St. Louis’ premiere comic shop, and ran through June. This exhibit featured illustrations of Vincent Price by Joel Robinson, who created the vivid covers for the first eight issues of Bluewater Comics’ Vincent Price Presents series (as well as the Vincentennial logo), and Shana Bilbrey, a popular genre artist and regular contributor to Little Shop of Horrors and other publications. More than a dozen talented St. Louis-area artists filled out the exhibit with paintings and illustrations of Vincent Price including  Jim Batts, Paul Daly, Russ Rosener, Jeff Weigel, and many more.

St. Louis’ Hi-Pointe Theater, home of The Vincentennial Vincent Price Film Festival

The heart of Vincentennial was The Vincentennial Vincent Price Film Festival in St. Louis which ran 10 days and featured screenings of 20 Vincent Price movies. The fest started at the Missouri History Museum with a screening of THE FLY preceded by Michael Jackson’s Thriller complete with a Vincent Price look-a-like contest, dancers, and The Fly in attendance. The film fest then moved to the palatial Hi-Pointe Theater, an old-school style movie palace just a couple of blocks from where Vincent Price grew up.

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A 35mm print of THE LAST MAN ON EARTH was shown and introduced by Rick Squires, curator of The Vincent Price Exhibit website. This was followed by a showing of THE TINGLER which was presented in its original gimmick Percepto with a taped introduction by Joe Dante and post-film discussion by The Film Forum’s Bruce Goldstein who helped recreate the gimmick. The next day Rick Squires introduced and post-film discussed a 35mm print of THEATER OF BLOOD which was followed by THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM with an introduction and post-film discussion by Jonathan Malcolm Lampley, author of Women in the Horror Films of Vincent Price. That night was the first of our two Evening with Roger Corman presentations.

Roger Corman on-stage with Tim Lucas and with his wife Julie

We screened a 35mm print of TOMB OF LIGEIA that was preceded by a 70-minute on-stage interview with legendary director Roger Corman that was conducted by Video Watchdog’s Tim Lucas. This in-depth interview focused on Corman’s collaborations with Vincent Price. Price’s LIGEIA co-star Elizabeth Sheppard was invited to the event but had committed to a stage play, but she filmed a moving 5-minute testimonial about working with Price and Corman that we played after the movie ended. The next day featured a matinee double feature of THE RAVEN and THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES at the Missouri History Museum and later that afternoon we were back at The Hi-Pointe for a 35mm screening of HOUSE OF USHER introduced by Jonathan Malcolm Lampley. That night was the second Evening with Roger Corman. Tim Lucas again sat down with Roger Corman for an 80-minute interview that focused this time on Corman’s amazing overall career. After the interview we presented Mr. Corman a lifetime achievement award and screened a 35mm print of MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH that came from the personal collection of Joe Dante.

Roger Corman reading one of our Vincentennial publications and receiving his lifetime achievement award

The next night we moved the film fest to Brown Hall on the campus of Washington University. If you stood at the entrance to Brown Hall, you were directly across the street from Vincent Price’s boyhood home. The first night there was a double feature of LAURA and DRAGONWYCK with introductions and a post-film discussion of LAURA by Washington University film & media professor Gaylyn Studlar. The next night we showed THE WHALES OF AUGUST  followed by VINCENT PRICE, THE SINISTER IMAGE, the 60-minute interview with Vincent Price conducted by David Del Valle in 1987. We followed this with an actual on-stage interview with Vincent Price’s daughter Victoria Price conducted by Mr. Del Valle, seated in a way similar to the interview from 24 years earlier. Victoria really opened up about her father, the rest of her family and what it was like growing up as Vincent Price’s daughter. The final double feature the next night was a 35mm print of the British cut of WITCHFINDER GENERAL followed by a 35mm print of CHAMPAGNE FOR CAESAR. We were supposed to show THE BARON OF ARIZONA and HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL but had tech problems with one and exhibition rights issues with the other. Both films were shown in November at the St. Louis International Film Festival where we recreated Emergo for HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL.

Victoria Price being interviewed by David Del Valle

On Vincent Price’s 100th birthday, May 27th, his daughter Victoria Price gave an amazing 2-hour plus multimedia lecture entitled The Vincent Price Legacy: Reflections From a Daughter at the Missouri History Museum. This was a mesmerizing one-woman show performed by the charismatic Ms Price who held the standing-room-only audience spellbound as she brought her father back to life through reminiscing, photos and film clips. She even got her half-brother Vincent Barrett Price involved. ‘Barrett’ is famously known for his reticence when it comes to speaking about his famous legacy but he sat down for this occasion and let his sister film several minutes of fascinating testimonial. For most who attended several of the Vincentennial events, Victoria’s presentation was the highlight.

Victoria Price’s presentation at the Missouri History Museum and her half-brother Vincent Barrett Price

When Victoria Price was in town, we took her to her father’s high school, St. Louis Country Day School (now known as MICDS) where Cliff Saxton, the school’s archivist, showed her clippings and photos of her father in his youth that she had never seen. She toured the school’s Vincent Price Theater and was forced to sit in a hallway of lockers at the school during a tornado alert (she claims to have found this “very exciting”). The private school got the money ball rolling in terms of fundraising for Vincentennial and became the presenting sponsor of the event. Victoria also attended Robert Taylor’s gallery talk at The Sheldon while she was in town.

Victoria Price with Cliff Saxton at her father’s High School and during a tornado alarm there.

The final event was an outdoor screening of EDWARD SCISSORHANDS at one of the Muny Opera’s outdoor pavilions. Over 450 people brought lawn chairs to see Vincent Price’s last film which was introduced by Victoria Price, who had a small role in the movie. John Landis sent a taped introduction as well. Michael Jackson’s Thriller preceded the film with a team of dancers performing in front of the screen.

Victoria Price introducing EDWARD SCISSORHANDS and the dancers.

Local Actor John Contini, a Kevin Klein Award winner for his one-man John Barrymore play, recreated parts of Vincent Price in his An Evening With Edgar Allen Poe, masterfully channeling Price by reciting Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart before Victoria Price’s presentation at the Missouri History Museum.

Robert Taylor giving a gallery talk at The Sheldon, actor John Contini reciting Poe’s The Tell Tale Heart, and The Fly running amok at The Missouri History Museum

The Magic Smoking Monkey Theater Group, an off-shoot of St. Louis Shakespeare, cleverly turned THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES into a hilarious Monty Pythonesque stage play that ran 8 performances to large crowds at the St. Louis Regional Arts Commission.

THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES Stage play

SUPER-8 VINCENT PRICE MOVIE MADNESS was a 100 minute show comprised of 5 Vincent Price movies on Super-8 Sound Film condensed to 9 minutes each (WITCHFINDER GENERAL, THE RAVEN, PIT AND THE PENDULUM, MASTER OF THE WORLD, WAR-GODS OF THE DEEP), a 17-minute cut of THE MAD MAGICIAN in 3-D (we had plenty of 3D glasses for everyone), a 7-film Vincent Price trailer reel, and Tim Burton’s VINCENT. This was presented at The Way Out Club, a popular St. Louis venue, the night before Vincent Price’s 100th Birthday and at Midnight we screened a 16mm print of DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS, considered perhaps Price’s worst film, but it was a heck of a lot of fun watching it in the middle of the night on Vincent Price’s 100th birthday.

I took the SUPER-8 VINCENT PRICE MOVIE MADNESS show on the road to promote Vincentennial, showing it at the Horrorhound Convention in Indy, the Contamination Convention here in St. Louis and at a few other local venues.

At SUPER-8 VINCENT PRICE MOVIE MADNESS with Alan Sokol from Germany and Peter Fuller, editor of The Sounds of Vincent Price blog, who traveled from England for the event.

The Vincentennial garnered tons of high-profile publicity in the St. Louis media. I personally did about a dozen radio interviews and about a half-dozen local TV shows. The local arts paper The Riverfront Times gave Vincentennial a huge cover story (the on-line version of their article can be found HERE) and the city’s major daily The St. Louis Post Dispatch did several articles including the cover of their arts calendar section.

Examples of the high-profile publicity in the St. Louis media that Vincentennial received

I teamed up with Steve DeBellis, a well know St. Louis historian and published a 40-page all-Vincent Price issue of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat to tie into the Vincentennial. This paper comprised all new articles including:

– a cover story on the Vincent Price/Michael Jackson Thriller rap by Steve DeBellis complete with an original illustration by artist Jeff Weigel

– an article about Vincent Price’s High School days by Cliff Saxton, archivist at MICDS (Price’s alma mater) with info not seen in any Price biographies

– a testimonial by his THE FLY co-star David Hedison

– an article on Vincent Price’s top ten best films by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, and Tom Stockman

– a map of Vincent Price St. Louis landmarks

– my interview with TOMB OF LIGEIA star Elizabeth Shepherd

– a look at Vincent Price’s fondness for the St. Louis Cardinals by Dick Pointer

– an article about Vincent Price’s family tree by Steve DeBellis

– an article by Irene Leland about her mother Dorothy who was engaged to Vincent Price in the 1930’s

– a reassessment of DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS by Dana Jung

– an article about Vincent Price’s cooking career by Rick Squires

– an article about Vincent Price’s TV work by Rob Levy

– a 4-page comic-strip biography of Vincent Price by We Are Movie Geek’s own Jim Batts – and much more

Jim Batt’s comic-strip biography of Vincent Price

Vincentennial was a huge success. Over 3500 people attended the The Vincentennial Vincent Price Film Festival and people came from all over the country (and the world) to see the exhibits and join in the celebration. Everyone in St. Louis loves Vincent Price and we’re all proud that this is his home town. Everyone seemed to remember seeing him at the Muny or speaking somewhere here. It was great talking to people about the event because everyone was so positive and wanted to talk or refer me to someone else who wanted to get involved. No one expressed disinterest. Vincent Price is the most iconic movie star to hail from St. Louis. He was also a gourmet chef, author, stage actor, speaker, world-class art collector, raconteur, and all-around Renaissance man. We had only one opportunity to celebrate his 100th birthday and it was important to the people of St. Louis  that it was done right. Vincent Price (unlike Tennessee Williams, another St. Louisan whose 100th B-Day was two months earlier) loved St. Louis and was proud of his roots here. He gave much to our city and Vincentennial was a way to honor the good will his memory generated.

Thanks to Raymond Castile, Danny Fulce, and Rick Squires for some of the photos used in this article.

 

 

 

 

THE STORY OF FILM: AN ODYSSEY – The DVD Review

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I love the movies, really, truly I do, I love the movies. Cinema, motion pictures, movies, film, whatever you want to label this peculiar art form that we all cherish here at We Are Movie Geeks, I have loved it ever since the first time I saw a movie on television, in a theater or at a drive-in. I wish I could recall the first movie I ever saw and what the medium was in which I saw it.

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One of my earliest memories was the yearly showing of Wizard of Oz on television and my delight at seeing Judy Garland in a different movie, Pigskin Parade, and realizing that actors made a living by appearing in more than one movie or television series.

I can recall seeing Battle Beyond the Stars at the Pine Hill Drive-in in Piedmont, Missouri, one of the Russian space movies bought and re-edited by Roger Corman. I stood in the playground in front of that huge screen in awe of the space adventure unfolding against a night sky that blended seamlessly with those images of silver rockets and asteroids and weird looking monsters.

I can recall my family going to an indoor theater, probably in Greenville, Missouri, to see a western, in color, and feeling lost in the wide open spaces captured in that (probably) B-movie landscape.

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I came to love every genre of film and from every country that makes them. Italian peplum, Russian fantasy films, Japanese historical and giant monster epics, English historical romances, American westerns, comedies, monster movies, musicals, everything, just everything.

And among my favorite films are movies about the movies, documentaries giving the history of the medium or narrow casting down to the history of a single studio or director or actor and using numerous clips to illustrate the story. In my collection are excellent documentaries on the history of Warner Brothers, Universal, RKO and MGM studios. Biographies of John Huston, Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, David Lynch, Roger Corman. Profiles of Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, James Dean, John Wayne, Ginger Rogers and Jimmy Stewart. I particularly love a series called 100 Years of Horror hosted by Christopher Lee and featuring clips from every monster and horror and science fiction picture imaginable.

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I say all this as an introduction to an incredible piece of work, a 15 episode history of innovation in the movies, The Story of Film, sub titled An Odyssey by Mark Cousins. This project should be subtitled a Personal Odyssey and I’ll get to that in a minute.  I found this box set at one of St. Petersburg’s libraries and brought it home, knowing nothing about the project. Of course I became hooked and watched it all, usually one episode a day, then watched the whole series again and have dipped into certain episodes ever since.

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A “Personal” Odyssey would be a more accurate subtitle as Mr. Cousins, (who first wrote a book covering this same ground and then spent six years shooting the documentary) lets us know up front this is his personal and highly opinionated story of film. He takes us step by step through every technical innovation from the invention of the camera to the recent changeover to all digital shooting and projection. He accurately informs us that it was not the camera that made the movies, it was the editing table. The first time two or more pieces of film were spliced together to create a narrative, cinema was made.  Then came color tinting, sound, wide screen systems, stereo sound, 3 Dimensions.

If you have ever taken a course in film history or read any of the many books on the subject you’ll recognize a lot of the names here. Among the usual suspects are the Lumiere Brothers, Georges Melies, DW Griffith, Murnau, John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, John Huston. And covering so much ground in only 15 one hour episodes of course a lot gets left out. David Lynch is well represented and I was delighted to see David Cronenberg also discussed at some length. If Woody Allen or Mel Brooks were mentioned I missed it.

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Cousins narrates his project with his soft Irish brogue and takes a global view of film. Which makes it all the more curious that he does not mention Irish film at all, since there is such a thing. Angela’s Ashes qualifies as Irish and so does The Crying Game. Europe is will represented but there is no mention of the astonishing work of Harry Kumel of Belgium.

Among the countries discussed at length: Germany, Russia, the French New Wave and the Italian neo-realist school. Ozu gets quite a lot of coverage, and rightfully so. But we also get quite a lot on Takeshi Miike (that most horrifying shot from Audition, if you’ve seen it you know what I mean.) and Shinya Tsukamoto.

But I was glad to learn so much about film makers I had never heard of, from countries I had no idea made world class films, or that I had very limited knowledge of. Egypt, Israel, Iran, and Brazil are discussed at some length. Although there is no mention of Jose Mohica Marins (Coffin Joe,) probably the most well known Brazilian film maker, to me anyway.

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If Cousins work has a failing it is an open prejudice about main stream Hollywood product. From the beginning he shows us a Christmas tree ornament hanging in space near the Hollywood sign (really!) and labeling Hollywood “the Bauble”. From many comments throughout the series we are asked to consider most of that body of work useless and without merit. I have to be fair and admit that a lot of disposable fluff came off the Hollywood assembly line in the 30s through the 50s. But many smart, personal, well thought out films were made by several directors, most of which have stood the test of time.

Our narrator also makes some truly outrageous statements, and some glaring omissions. While covering Orson Welles we are told that in his entire career Welles “never worked for any of the four major studios!” FOUR major studios? I thought there were about 6 or 8 major studios, RKO was never major? Or Universal? What about Columbia? Also when we get to the French New Wave we are not told that Truffaut, Godard and most of the rest of that crew had been film critics. Their back ground is critical in understanding where, how and why the French New Wave came about. For that matter we never hear the name Cahiers du Cinema, easily one of the most important film magazines ever published.

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One very curious statement, Cousins spends some time on Performance, the outrageous psychotropic English gangster mind melding, cross dressing enigma and proclaims it THE film that any aspiring film maker should watch, to see how a movie should be made! Please don’t get me wrong, I love Performance, have watched it numerous times, abused a variety of substances in order to do so. But that is a very strange statement to make. Just as an aside, any time I see James Fox in anything I cannot help but think of Chas and that outrageous Memo From Turner! “Does that sound equitable?”

But when Mark Cousins is on top of his game this series hums. Cousins really gets warmed up when he gets to the 70s and the Decade under the Influence, when the styles of the neo-realists and French New Wave were absorbed by Hollywood film makers like John Cassavetes and Robert Altman. In fact I got the impression that covering the 70s was the point of the whole series.

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Many Directors are interviewed and more than a few actors, but even here there are some odd choices. We get interview footage with Gus Van Sant, for instance. But then we get a side by side comparison of Hitchcock’s Psycho and Van Sant’s ill advised remake and what amounts to an apology for the color remake being made in the first place. Van Sant (who I do like by the way, I thought My Own Private Idaho was brilliant) explains that he made the remake basically for the paycheck. Fine, he has that right, just as I have the right never to watch the thing. The main point seems to be that Van Sant could show much more of Ann Heche’s naked body and bloody open wounds than Hitchcock could have ever gotten away with in 1960. Thankfully that is about the only time spent on useless remakes.

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The real danger in watching a series like Story of Film is the urge to get out copies of the complete films and watching them all, all over again. If I see clips from Intolerance, Vampyr, Citizen Kane, Vertigo, Passion of Joan of Arc, The Searchers, Blue Velvet, The Godfather, Once Upon a Time in the West or any number of other titles, I want to see the whole movie again.

And the real value in a series that attempts to be this comprehensive is in learning about so many new film makers and their projects. I kept a notebook and a pencil handy to write down Directors and titles while watching Story of Film, and so should you.

There is only one special feature to this set and it is on all five discs, a 90 second ad which covers the whole series in a machine gun edit of clips from every major film and director interview. Maybe I have spent too much time watching movies; I could name just about every clip as it flashed by.

With any faults this is a very valuable and enjoyable series for any movie geek, I learned quite a lot, and I have been accused of knowing everything about movies. The more I learn, about anything, the more I realize how much more I have to learn.

Now if you’ll excuse me I have to watch Gallipoli, Kansas City Bomber and West of Zanzibar again. Oh dear, not enough hours in the day……

“Corman’s Drive-In” Launches This Summer On YouTube Paid Channel

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As one of the first major Hollywood filmmakers to launch a paid channel on YouTube, Roger Corman, along with his longtime producer partner Julie Corman, will unveil “Corman’s Drive-In” on YouTube, which reaches more than one billion unique users monthly. Corman’s new channel is part of YouTube’s new platform offering viewers more channels through a paid subscription model.

“Corman’s Drive-In” – set to launch this summer – gives the legendary Oscar winning director the opportunity to take the treasured library of more than 400 classic films directly to his fan base, as well as reach a new millennial audience.

“I have always approached filmmaking with the desire to reach a broad audience, and YouTube is clearly where the viewers are now,” said Roger Corman. “In today’s ever-connected marketplace, I couldn’t think of a better platform on which to unveil “Corman’s Drive-In.”

Under the banner of New Horizons Picture Corp., the Cormans will use this venture to not only expand distribution of these classic titles, but also provide an outlet for new films in production.

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Photo: AP

“This exciting launch on YouTube creates a myriad of opportunities for us, especially as we continue to develop and produce new titles to complement the existing film catalogue,” added Julie Corman.

Beyond the extensive library, “Corman’s Drive-In” will feature the Cormans’ personal introductions to these films, as well as fascinating interviews about Roger’s filmmaking achievements and the many stars and directors he has worked with over the years.

Corman’s canon of over 400 films includes such well known and iconic cult titles as “Deathrace 2000” (voted the greatest ‘B’ picture of all time), “Masque of the Red Death,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” “Piranha,” “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School,” “Grand Theft Auto” (Director Ron Howard ‘s feature directing debut), “The Fast and the Furious,” “Crybaby Killer” ( Jack Nicholson ‘s first film), “Fire on the Amazon,” ( Sandra Bullock ‘s first film), “The Intruder” ( William Shatner ‘s first film), and “Jackson County Jail,” (Tommy Lee Jones ‘ first film), among many others.

Corman has been a mentor to a virtual who’s who of American filmmakers, including Francis Ford Coppola , Martin Scorsese ,Ron Howard, James Cameron, Peter Bogdonovich, Jonathan Demme, John Sayles, Joe Dante, Gale Anne Hurd and many others. He helped launch the careers of actors such as Jack Nicholson, Robert DeNiro, Sylvester Stallone, Sandra Bullock, William Shatner, Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and many others.

A longtime champion of the work of such notable international filmmakers as Francois Truffaut, Akira Kurosawa, Frederico Fellini and Ingmar Bergman, The Cormans’ New World Pictures was the first distributor of their films in the U.S.

Roger and Julie Corman have worked together since 1972, when they signed Martin Scorsese as the director on “Boxcar Bertha,” a career-launching move. Since then, Julie Corman has produced more than 30 films in the last three decades.

In 2010, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored Roger Corman with an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement. He and Julie continue to produce four to five films a year from their offices in Los Angeles.

http://www.rogercorman.com/

2009 Governors Awards

©A.M.P.A.S.

Roger Corman & William Shatner To Appear Together At Comic-Con Panel Moderated By Kevin Smith July 14

EPIX will present two living legends together on stage at this year’s Comic-Con to preview their latest EPIX projects: director/producer and Academy Award® recipient Roger Corman and the incomparable actor, writer and director William Shatner. The panel will be held July 14 in San Diego and will be moderated by “Mr. Comic-Con” himself, Kevin Smith. Smith has had two comedy events on the network, most recently in February with his special Kevin Smith: Burn in Hell.

Following the panel on July 14, both William Shatner and Roger Corman will each introduce screenings to their new films at Comic-Con: the EPIX Original Documentary William Shatner’s Get a Life! at 7PM and EPIX Original Movie Roger Corman’s Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader in 3D at 12AM at Reading Cinemas.

“We enjoy working with these two icons and are excited to bring them together with their fans at Comic-Con,” said EPIX CEO Mark Greenberg. “We look forward to premiering both of these EPIX Originals on TV, online, and on devices to reach all their fans nationwide.”

About the EPIX Original Documentary

William Shatner’s Get a Life! – Premiering July 28 at 8pm ET

Based on Shatner’s hugely popular book, this film examines the mystery, longevity and the cultural phenomena of Star Trek and its long-obsessed fans known as “Trekkers.” On the surface, the film is an exploration of strangers who have for years attended conventions which looked foolish and almost laughable to some – but Shatner discovers the many secrets and hidden motives behind these individuals’ compulsion to attend these events. The end result is a film that reveals a fun and touching side of the fanfare surrounding Star Trek, and examines the thrill of what’s happening at these fantasy conventions and the enduring popularity of the film and TV series as Shatner further embraces his role as Captain James T. Kirk and his own impact.

About the EPIX Original Movie

Roger Corman’s Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader in 3D – Premiering August 25 at 10pm ET

In an update to the great genre pictures of the ‘50s, Roger Corman’s first ever 3D film Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader follows a college coed who uses an experimental drug to transform herself into a popular beauty – but at a huge price. Produced by Corman along with his producing partner/wife Julie Corman, the movie stars Jena Sims (The Vampire Diaries), Sean Young (Blade Runner), Treat Williams (Hair, Prince of the City, Everwood), Ryan Merriman (Pretty Little Liars), A.J. Lamas (Leave it to Lamas), Mary Woronov (Eating Raoul), Ted Raimi (Spider-Man), with cameo appearances by Corman himself and director John Landis (An American Werewolf in London, Animal House, The Blues Brothers). Acclaimed visual effects artist Kevin O’Neill (Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula, Blade and Piranha 3D) directs.

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WAMG Interview With ROGER CORMAN and ALEX STAPLETON (CORMAN’S WORLD: EXPLOITS OF A HOLLYWOOD REBEL)

Roger Corman is a Hollywood legend! Last week, WAMG got the chance to sit down with the man himself, along with Director Alex Stapleton about their new film CORMAN’S WORLD: EXPLOITS OF A HOLLYWOOD REBEL.

CORMAN’S WORLD: EXPLOITS OF A HOLLYWOOD REBEL is a tantalizing and star-studded tribute to Roger Corman, Hollywood’s most prolific writer-director producer, and seminal influencing force in modern moviemaking over the last 60 years. Featuring interviews with Hollywood icons and cinematic luminaries, some who launched their careers within Corman’s unforgettable world of filmmaking, including Paul W.S. Anderson, Peter Bogdanovich, Robert De Niro, Peter Fonda, Pam Grier, Ron Howard, Eli Roth, Martin Scorsese, William Shatner and Jack Nicholson, along with many others, this documentary chronicles how Corman created his cult film empire, one low-budget success at a time, capitalizing on undiscovered talent, and pushing the boundaries of independent filmmaking.

Check out the interview here:

Director Alex Stapleton weaves archival footage following Roger’s illustrious career: From his early days of genre-defining classics including the original Fast and Furious, the original Little Shop of Horrors, The Crybaby Killer, The Intruder, House of Usher, and The Wild Angels (which at that point in 1966 was his 100th film) – to present day video of him and his wife Julie on location, still at work as they continue to produce and distribute films outside the studio system: fast, cheap and out-of-this-world!

Distributed by Anchor Bay Films, Corman’s World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel is rated R for some violent images, nudity and language. Run time 90 minutes.

CORMAN’S WORLD: EXPLOITS OF A HOLLYWOOD REBEL opens in select theaters on December 16th

NYCC 2011: Photos

I’m not going to even try to write a description for them but here are the best of my photos from NYCC. Which ones do you like best? Can you guess which are my favorite?

Jerry Cavallaro – www.JerryCavallaro.com

Blu Monday: July 12, 2011

Your Weekly Source for the Newest Releases to Blu-Ray

Continue reading Blu Monday: July 12, 2011

Blu Monday: April 12th, 2011

Your Weekly Source for the Newest Releases to Blu-Ray

Blu-Ray for Tuesday, April 12th, 2011

  • Roger Corman’s Cult Classics: BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS (1980)
  • Disney/Pixar’s CARS; 2-Disc Combo (2006)
  • Willem Dafoe stars in FAREWELL (2009)
  • From the makers of STEP INTO LIQUID comes HIGHWATER (2009)
  • Disney/Pixar’s THE INCREDIBLES; 4-Disc Combo (2004)
  • Keith David & Golden Brooks star in THE INHERITENCE (2010)
  • Documentary Double Feature: THE LAST CONTINENT/ANTARCTIC MISSION (2008)
  • Alain Delon’s LE CERCLE ROUGE: Criterion Collection (1970)
  • Jeff Malmberg’s Fascinating Documentary MARWENCOL (2010)
  • Claire Denis’ WHITE MATERIAL Criterion Collection (2009)

Blu-Ray for Tuesday, April 15th, 2011

  • HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART 1; 3-Disc Combo (2010)

Blu Monday: March 29, 2011

Your Weekly Source for the Newest Releases to Blu-Ray

Blu-Ray for Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

  1. Jeff Bridges stars in AGAINST ALL ODDS: Special Edition (1984)
  2. ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN/ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN 2 (1989/1996)
  3. Ryan Gosling & Kirsten Dunst in ALL GOOD THINGS (2010)
  4. Vintage Mel Gibson in ATTACK FORCE Z: 30th Anniversary Edition (1981)
  5. Robert DeNiro & Robin Williams in AWAKENINGS (1990)
  6. Academy Award-Winner Natalie Portman in BLACK SWAN (2010)
  7. Children’s Classic retold CHARLOTTE’S WEBB (2006)
  8. Rose McGowan & Amy Smart are DEAD AWAKE (2010)
  9. Francis Ford Coppola’s DEMENTIA 13: Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Pack (1963)
  10. Academy Award Nominee DOGTOOTH (2010)
  11. Naomi Watts & Sean Penn in FAIR GAME (2010)
  12. THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD (1965)
  13. HOTEL FOR DOGS: Blu-Ray/DVD Combo (2009)
  14. Dario Argento’s INFERNO (1980)
  15. Nicholas Ray’s KING OF KINGS (1961)
  16. LEGALLY BLONDE 2: RED, WHITE & BLONDE (2003)
  17. Extreme Japanese Gore in MACHINE GIRL (2008)
  18. Anjelica Huston & The Sisters Duff in MATERIAL GIRLS (2006)
  19. MESRINE: PUBLIC ENEMY #1 (2011)
  20. THE MIKADO: Criterion Collection (1939)
  21. Kevin Pollack in PICTURE THIS (2008)
  22. Shelley Winters in POOR PRETTY EDDIE: Blu-Ray/DVD Combo (1975)
  23. Hilary Swank in THE RESIDENT (2010)
  24. SCAR 2D/3D – with 2 pair of 3D glasses (2007)
  25. Wes Craven’s SCREAM (1996) / SCREAM 2 (1997) / SCREAM 3 (2000)
  26. Animated Classic THE SECRET OF NIMH (1982)
  27. Basil Rathbone in SHERLOCK HOLMES: The Complete Collection (1939)
  28. Sasha Grey in SMASH CUT: Unrated (2009)
  29. Charlton Heston in SOYLENT GREEN (1973)
  30. SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES: 2-disc Blu-Ray/DVD Combo (2008)
  31. THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE: 2-disc Blu-Ray/DVD Combo (2004)
  32. Franchise Collection: STAR TREK II: WRATH OF KHAN/STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME
  33. TANGLED 2D/3D: 4-disc Blu-Ray/DVD Combo (2010)
  34. Michael J. Fox is TEEN WOLF (1985)
  35. Charlton Heston in THE TEN COMMANDMENTS: 2-disc Special Edition (1956)
  36. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS: Limited Edition 6-disc Gift Set (1956)
  37. Boris Karloff & Jack Nicholson in Roger Corman’s THE TERROR (1964)
  38. THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK: Criterion Collection (1984)
  39. Mike Leigh’s TOPSY-TURVY: Criterion Collection (1999)

DVD for Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

  1. Randolph Scott 4-Film Collection: COLT. 45/FORT WORTH/TALL MAN RIDING/RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY
  2. 3-Film Collection: ACE VENTURA Trilogy
  3. Paul Perry’s AFTERLIFE (2010)
  4. ALL GOOD THINGS (2010)
  5. Frank Sinatra in ANYTHING GOES (1954)
  6. BECOMING EDUARDO (2008)
  7. BENEATH THE DARK (2010)
  8. Best of British Classics: CANDLELIGHT IN ALGERIA (1944)
  9. Best of British Classics: CHILD IN THE HOUSE (1956)
  10. Best of British Classics: THUNDER IN THE CITY (1937)
  11. BLEADING LADY (2011)
  12. BUREAUCRACY (2009)
  13. Ben Gazzara & Sylvester Stallone in CAPONE (1975)
  14. COLONY: The Endangered World of Bees (2009)
  15. Ondi Timoner’s COOL IT (2010)
  16. Double Feature: Shirley Temple in CURLY TOP/DIMPLES
  17. DEAD AWAKE (2010)
  18. FAIR GAME (2010)
  19. FATAL SECRETS (2009)
  20. FATHER OF MY CHILDREN (2009)
  21. 3-Film Collection: FRIDAY Trilogy
  22. THE GOOD WAR & THOSE WHO REFUSED TO FIGHT IT (2000)
  23. HEAVEN AIN’T HARD TO FIND (2010)
  24. THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE (2008)
  25. After Dark Originals: HUSK (2010)
  26. IMAX: HUBBLE (2011)
  27. INFERNO (1980)
  28. INGREDIENTS (2009)
  29. LOVING LAMP POSTS (2011)
  30. MESRINE: PUBLIC ENEMY #1 (2011)
  31. THE MIKADO: Criterion Collection (1939)
  32. Charlton Heston in MOTHER LODE (1982)
  33. MY TIME WILL COME (2008)
  34. ONE WEEK (2008)
  35. THE OWLS (2010)
  36. After Dark Originals: PROWL (2010)
  37. British Double Feature: THE 20 QUESTIONS MURDER MYSTERY/TREAD SOFTLY
  38. THE RESIDENT (2010)
  39. THE RESTAURATEUR (2010)
  40. 3-Film Collection: RUSH HOUR Trilogy
  41. SCAR (2007)
  42. A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1995)
  43. THE SWIMSUIT ISSUE (2009)
  44. TANGLED (2010)
  45. TEENAGE PAPARAZZO (2010)
  46. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956)
  47. THOSE THREE [An Seh] (2007)
  48. THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK: Criterion Collection (1984)
  49. TINY LITTLE LIES (2008)
  50. TOPSY-TURVY: Criterion Collection (1999)
  51. THE VANQUISHED [I Vinti] (1953)
  52. WATERHOLE (2009)
  53. Sarah Silverman in WHO’S THE CABOOSE (1999)
  54. ZOMBIE WOMEN OF SATAN (2009)