With the release of Death Race 2050 on home video platforms, Roger Corman continues the career for which he has achieved cult status and unending notoriety as “The Pope of Pop Cinema.” During decades of independent film production, often accomplished on little more than a few dollars and a dream, Corman -- now 90 years old and still working -- has not only created countless cheesy movie memories but also offered early opportunities to many of the most famous film professionals working today.
As we celebrate Corman’s return with a sequel to one of his all-time classics, we look back at 13 big Hollywood names that got their start toiling at the feet of the Schlockmeister himself!
Known For: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Chinatown, The Shining, Batman, A Few Good Men
Jack is Hollywood royalty, but his early days were filled with indie filmmaking, including some of the most famous -- or infamous -- Corman productions ever mounted. His first film credit was in Corman’s The Cry Baby Killer (1958), and he was Wilbur in The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), but it was his appearance as the son of Peter Lorre’s Dr. Bedlo in The Raven (1963) that provided Nicholson with perhaps his most memorable Corman credit. To take advantage of Boris Karloff’s limited remaining availability after Raven wrapped, Corman quickly mounted the almost incomprehensible thriller, The Terror (1963), with Nicholson as the hapless hero beguiled by a mysterious woman at a seaside castle.
Quote About Working with Corman: “There's nobody in there, that he didn't, in the most important way support. He was my life blood to whatever I thought I was going to be as a person. And I hope he knows that this is not all hot air. I'm going to cry now.”
Known For: The Godfather saga, Apocalypse Now, Bram Stoker’s Dracula
The man that would define the Mafia in pop culture started out working as a sound technician, dialogue director, and associate producer for Corman on films like Battle Beyond the Sun (1962), Tower of London (1962), and the infamous quickie The Terror (1963). During work on The Young Racers in 1963, Coppola knocked out a script for a low budget thriller called Dementia 13. Nine days of shooting gave Coppola his first directorial and screenwriting effort…and he even met his wife on set!
Quote About Working with Corman: “Roger Corman exploited all of the young people who worked for him, but he really gave you responsibility and opportunity. So it was kind of a fair deal.”
Known For: The Dirty Dozen, Once Upon a Time in the West, Death Wish
All the world loves a lover, or so goes the tune in the infamous Japanese cologne commercial that starred Bronson as himself. Years before he became the tough guy lead of the Death Wish series, Bronson appeared in smaller roles on TV and in cult films like House of Wax (1953) and -- in his first full lead role -- Corman’s Machine-Gun Kelly (1958). Bronson never worked with Corman again after this starring role, one that was originally intended for Corman stalwart Dick Miller.
Quote: “I never talk about the philosophy of a picture.”
Known For: The Godfather: Part II, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Meet the Parents
His collaborations with fellow Corman alumni Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese have contributed indelibly to the history of cinematic culture, but Robert De Niro’s early career also intersected with the low budget producer extraordinaire when he appeared as Lloyd Barker in Corman’s successful gangster film (appropriately enough) based on the true story of Ma Barker (here played by Shelley Winters), Bloody Mama (1970).
Quote About Working with Corman: “I spent lunchtime in a grave during the filming of Bloody Mama. When you're younger, you feel that's what you need to do to help you stay in character. When you get older, you become more confident and less intense about it, and you can achieve the same effect.”
Known For: Rocky, Rhinestone, Rambo
One of the definitive he-man heroes of the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s, Stallone had early roles in Corman productions like Capone (1975) and Death Race 2000 (1975; more on this one later in David Carradine’s entry). Stallone enjoyed working on Capone -- what he dubbed an inbred cousin to The Godfather -- and he had similar appreciation for Corman’s work ethic when he next joined the team on the dystopian cult classic Death Race. Read on…
Quote About Working with Corman: “When we did Death Race 2000 in two and a half weeks, it shows you it could be done. It was the only unofficial college of the arts where you got to learn filmmaking for free by a master… If I hadn’t done those parts I probably wouldn’t be here today… He provided a forum for a lot of us to grow. We were the seeds and he owned the farm.”
Known For: The Terminator, Aliens, Titanic, Avatar
He made it all the way to the Academy Awards stage, proclaiming himself “King of the World” like the character of Jack Dawson in his historic blockbuster Titanic (1997) -- which garnered eleven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director -- but decades earlier he began as an uncredited production assistant on Corman’s Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (1979). Cameron also served as an effects and production jack-of-all-trades on Battle Beyond the Stars (1980), as well as working on Galaxy of Terror (1981) and Android (1982). From Android to Terminator; the more things change…!
Quote About Working with Corman: “I entered [Battle Beyond the Stars] as a junior model builder and ended up three months later as production designer, which could only happen on a Roger Corman production.”
Continues
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire