Roger Corman would have a field day coming up with a title for this one.
It’s about an 87-year-old man who refuses to yield ground to the behemoths that have invaded his home world.
Corman, known for 60 years of low-budget films with titles such as “The Navy vs. the Night Monsters” and “Attack of the 50ft. Cheerleader,” concedes his own story is beginning to take on the tenor of one of his far-fetched films, which now number more than 450 that he’s produced or directed (he’s lost count).
And with the help of YouTube, the Syfy network and a resurgence of shoestring-budget cinema, Corman is back like a zombie with the munchies:
“Crab Monsters, Teenage Cavemen, and Candy Stripe Nurses: Roger Corman: King of the B-movie,” hit shelves last month, detailing his films and some of the careers he helped launch, including Jack Nicholson’s and Robert De Niro’s.
• Joe Dante will direct “The Man with Kaleidoscope Eyes,” a Corman biopic. No release date is set.
• Earlier this year he launched “Corman’s Drive-In,” a YouTube channel that provides 30 of his classic B-films monthly for $3.99 a month.
Corman is tickled that there’s a resurgence “in that camp quality” to movies.
“I think we’ve hit a saturation point with $150 million movies,” he says from his Los Angeles office. “Lately, very few of them have been made well.”
Not that Corman made his own reputation producing Oscar bait. But in a frail economy, bringing a movie in under budget and on time has become a premium video service. And he’s scoring solid ratings with Syfy, producing original movies such as “Dinoshark, Sharktopus” and “Dinocroc vs. Supergator.”
Corman acknowledges that his movies “maybe get a break” from viewers used to Hollywood blockbusters, but with good reason.
“There’s a David and Goliath element to the movies I make,” he says. “I think people look on those kind of films fondly. Plus, the movies are almost always entertaining. And every once in a while, they’re good.”
