Smallscreen Features

Exclusive: Roger and Julie Corman interview, Dinocroc tipped as favorite

By April MacIntyre Jun 24, 2010, 22:48 GMT

US producer/director Roger Corman and his wife Julie attend the Academy Awards nominee uncheon in Beverly Hills, California, USA, 15 February 2010. The 82nd Academy Awards telecast is scheduled to air on 7 March 2010. EPA/NINA PROMMER

The American B-movie king Roger Corman and wife Julie Corman have birthed some impressive cinematic babies.

The couple spoke to Monsters and Critics' yesterday about their latest Syfy popcorn reptilian thriller "Dinocroc vs. Supergator," a fast-paced biological experiment gone awry with a requisite ensuing coverup that features Corman's friend, the late David Carradine, who appeared in Corman's 1970's classics "Death Race 2000" and more as an evil billionaire trying to cover his tracks.

Corman is 84 years-old, but possesses the energy of a man half his age, and often times appears in cameos in his epic creature features which gobble up humans and wreak righteous anger at those who dare manipulate nature for their greedy purposes.

Corman has an impressive film library of over 400 films, including pictures his company has acquired, the types of films that were made for classic drive-ins and matinee horror marathons.

"Dinocroc vs. Supergator" airs this Saturday (June 26) on Syfy, read our review here: Review

DVD company Shout! Factory has upped the ante for Corman by bringing the revered filmmaker to the upcoming Comic-Con in San Diego.

Shout! (on the main show floor at booth #3749) has pulled together quite a line-up of genre names for a panel discussion and various special signings. Shout! Factory will present Roger Corman: B-Movie King on Friday, July 23 at 5:30 PM (Room 25ABC).

Roger Corman, Julie Corman, Joe Dante, Allan Holzman (Galaxy of Terror, Forbidden World), Sid Haig, Mary Woronov (Death Race 2000, Rock’n’Roll High School) among others were announced in a press release from the company.

Attendees will have the opportunity to sneak peek at the upcoming lineup from Roger Corman's Cult Classics home entertainment series and to participate in the Q&A with panelists during this session. The panel is moderated by documentary filmmaker Alex Stapleton, director of the upcoming film King of the B's: The Independent Life of Roger Corman. (Check ShoutFactory.com for Comic-Con updates)

Monsters and Critics loved "Dinocroc vs. Supergator" and had a few questions for Mr. Corman and Julie Corman.

Monsters and Critics:  I love your films and kept an actual body count between "Dinocroc" and "Supergator," and it seemed like "Dinocroc" was the favorite son and was getting most of the kills until the very end.  Of all your creatures that you brought to the cinematic forefront, if you had a Sophie's Choice - who is your favorite?

Roger Corman: Probably, I would go with "Dinocroc" of the current films. Going back - because it was the first and to us the most original of the last few films we've done. Going back in time, however, I might pick "Piranha", Joe Dante directed and was a solid success for us and also maybe "Humanoids from the Deep".

M&C: I loved that one.

Julie Corman: How about "Crab Monster"?

Roger Corman: Oh, "Crab Monsters", which I shot when I first started. I was on a ten-day schedule and on a budget of $70,000 and we had a lot of trouble because the waves were trying to break up the crab monster as we were trying to shoot it.

Julie Corman: And he had a leading lady in one picture who objected to the size of the monster.

M&C: In "Dinocroc vs Supergator" there was some interesting little scenes, sort of like throwaway scenes, that I wanted to ask you about specifically, Dr. (Kimberly) -she gives her brother a hug before he's eaten by Dinocroc, they're in a scene and she looks at him, then hugs him. Where do those kinds of scenes come from? I mean it was a very kind of surreal moment in that particular stage of the film.  Do you insert scenes on the fly or if something doesn't feel right do you edit on the spot?

Roger Corman: That was done by the director, Jay Andrews, who I think is a very good director. The scene was in the script and Jay followed the script 90%, which is normal for the way we work.

We generally follow the script very closely, but we always give the director leeway to make some changes as he or she goes along and Jay felt that added a little emotional moment to the scene.

M&C:  B-movies are so popular and life is so heavy and things feel out of our control and I was wondering if you could comment. The '50s, with the Cold War was the height of all these fantastical films. Can you talk about that and the resurgence of these films today, the popularity of your films?

Roger Corman: Well, I think any work of creativity reflects the culture in which it's made. And I started in the late 1950s and you're right, the Cold War influenced much of what we were doing, particularly say, in creature or monster pictures it was always a result of atomic radiation.

We move to today and now we're talking about genetic engineering as the basis of the creature. In other words, we react to the world around us.

M&C: Of all the poster art from all of your films in your home, which are some of your favorites that you have on display?

Roger Corman: Well, we have them on display at the office but not at the home. At the office we have "Death Race 2000", which I think is - I can't remember every poster we've done, but I would say that one. Plus, there's a poster that's become a classic that I designed for a friend of mine. There was "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman". I designed that poster as a favor and that thing has been reprinted over and over and over.