At 87 years old, Roger Corman is a twinkly gent. He walks with a pronounced stoop, and speaks in careful, precise sentences, making considerable effort not to waste a word. It\u2019s hard to believe the career this benign legend has had, not to mention the careers he\u2019s given others \u2013 he gave Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Peter Fonda, Jonathan Demme, Pam Grier, Ron Howard, James Cameron and Jack Nicholson their first breaks.<\/p>\n
Along the way, Corman has written a handful of films, directed 56, had a couple of dozen, mostly uncredited acting cameos, and produced, in some capacity, about 400 movies. The titles include some of the most wonderfully lurid in film history \u2013 take 1957\u2019s Attack of the Crab Monsters, or The Wasp Woman (1959), or Ilsa the Tigress of Siberia (1977). Astonishingly, he\u2019s still working \u2013 something called Dance with a Vampyre would appear to be in production now \u2013 though he hasn\u2019t directed a film himself since 1990\u2019s Frankenstein Unbound.<\/p>\n
Corman is in London for a stage interview as part of the BFI\u2019s mammoth Gothic season. He\u2019s using the invitation as an excuse for a European mini-break with his wife Julie, a fellow producer whom he married in 1970. And he seems happy to share any and every anecdote he\u2019s collected on the job.<\/p>\n
There are so many Corman stories out there that I first wonder if there are any he\u2019d like to debunk. Did he really tell Coppola not to go to the Philippines to shoot Apocalypse Now?<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving made films there myself, I said, \u2018Francis, don\u2019t go! You\u2019re going into the rainy season.\u2019 He said, \u2018Oh, it\u2019ll be a rainy picture.\u2019 But it\u2019s not rain as we know it. It starts in May and continues through to October. His set was wiped out. And the insurance paid out on the basis of a monsoon. But there was no monsoon! It was just normal July weather. He went back in good weather and made the film.\u201d