Legendary Indie Director and Producer Roger Corman Dies at 98
We’re always sad to report about the death of an important person from the industry, but that is also part of our reality and we have to honor the work that these people put into the history of cinema. This is why we are sad to report that it has been announced that legendary indie director Roger Corman passed away in his come in Santa Monica, CA, on May 9, 2024 at the age of 98. Roger Corman never became a mainstream author, but he was a pioneer of independent cinema and one of the most important filmmakers in history.
No official cause of death was revealed, but the news was confirmed by Corman’s family yesterday, who also issued the following statement: “His films were revolutionary and iconoclastic, and captured the spirit of an age. When asked how he would like to be remembered, he said, ‘I was a filmmaker, just that‘.“
Roger Corman is an icon of the so-called B-cinema, having specialized in making low-budget independent films, mostly horrors, which have nevertheless demonstrated Corman’s exceptional talent and his visionary ideas. He was, in fact, the filmmaker who discovered Hollywood legends like Jack Nicholson, Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Ron Howard, Jonathan Demme, Peter Bogdanovich, James Cameron, Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Bruce Dern, and William Shatner, among others; it was Corman who actually helped them launch their careers by giving them a chance to enter the industry. He also helped popularize foreign filmmakers in the US, including some major names like Federico Fellini, Ingmar Bergman, François Truffaut, and Akira Kurosawa.
Like John Carpenter, Corman preferred to work independently on movies and opted to retain creative control and make his visions come to life. He received the nicknames “The Pope of Pop Cinema”, “The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood”, and “The King of Cult”, being considered a major figure in the evolution of independent cinema. He also occasionally appeared as an actor.
His major works include It Conquered the World, A Bucket of Blood, The Little Shop of Horrors, the Corman-Poe Cycle, X: The Man with the X-ray Eyes, The Wild Angels, The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, and The Trip. His whole filmography includes numerous movies, but these are considered by most to be his best and most memorable outings, which is why we have listed them here.
Corman has also received numerous awards during his lifetime, including the Honorary Lifetime Achievement Oscar, honoring Corman’s contribution to the film industry. Despite never becoming a mainstream author, Corman has changed cinema for the better and he remained among the rare idealists who opted to fight for his visions throughout his career. May he rest in peace.
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