Roger Corman Passes Away at 98

An indescribable loss for cinema.

B-movie king Roger Corman, who directed and produced hundreds of low-budget films, has passed away. He was 98. Corman’s imprint on movies is undeniable. The definitive trailblazer and pioneer of independent film, his impact unparalleled, and legacy forever enduring.

Though he began his career as a screenwriter and director (watch his 1962 gem “The Intruder”), it was as a producer that Corman made his biggest impact. Some of the talent discovered by him include Jack Nicholson, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Francis Ford Coppola, James Cameron, Jonathan Demme, Ron Howard, Peter Fonda, and Sandra Bullock, just to name a few.

It all started for Corman in 1949. After serving in the Navy, he landed a job at 20th Century Fox and by 1949 was a story analyst at the studio. Four years later, in 1953, he sold his first screenplay, “Highway Dragnet” and served as associate producer on the film. He used the money he made on that film – $18,000 – and produced “The Monster from the Ocean Floor.” This ability to make movies on very small budgets became the blueprint for Corman’s career.

The end result was a reinvention of the cinematic language. Corman introduced genre cinema to the mainstream, pushing sci-fi and horror into popular consciousness. He also had his own little school of up and coming filmmakers, many of which would end up becoming all-time great auteurs.

Corman produced 498 films and directing 56 over the past half century. Obviously, not every film was a success, but the ideology was for artists to evolve, learn and then jump to the next project. As the man once said: “No matter what happens, keep shooting.”