Category: Series 38 – Be Like the Cor-Man!

Hey, all you Daddy-os and cool chicks! Get hip to this new scene, man! We got some groovin’ behoovin’ all in the name of that heppest of hepcats Rog Corman and man, is this guy a real gone cat! We’re  diggin’ the scene in our scenario-series “Be Like the Cor-man”, man, and brother, have we got a blast this week with “A Bucket of Blood”. Man, we’re not just copping a bit, we’re not a couple of gin mill cowboys, we’re laying down the ginchiest melody around! This pucker palace has it all: art, murder, folk singing, and that squarest of cubes, Burt Convy! But don’t blow your jets, this is going to be boss! So focus your audio and pick up what we’re putting down; it’s better than a zonk in the head. Crazy, daddy-o, crazy!

[Translation from “Beat”: we’re pleased as punch that you’re joining us as we discuss Roger Corman’s “A Bucket of Blood.” Our discussion should be quite nifty.]

Poll question: what genre do you think mixes best with comedy?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

In 1977, a little indie film called “Star Wars” was released, ushering in a new era for science-fiction films. Its budget? Eleven million dollars. To which Roger “Be Like the Cor-Man” Corman replied “hold my beer” and a mere three years later presented the world with the sci-fi epic “Battle Beyond the Stars” for a much more reasonable two million dollars. Clearly, the Cor-Man knew where to trim the fat and what useless fripperies weren’t needed to tell a powerful and original story (ok, maybe not that original; the plot is clearly an homage to “The Magnificent Seven” and, via some elegantly subtle clues, to it’s antecedent “The Seven Samurai”. Trust Corman to steal only from the best. He even got one of the actors who was in “The Magnificent Seven” to appear in his movie, and another who almost stole the part of Vin away from Steve McQueen! This movie not only demonstrates Roger Corman’s ability as a producer but also his modesty, as despite the many Corman-esque directorial touches in this movie, Corman refused to be listed as director, turning that honor over the man who helped answer the question: “How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop?” Confused? Give a listen, and much will be revealed.

Poll question: “Star Wars” forever changed the science fiction genre. what movie was a genre game-changer for you?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

There’s a new superhero in town, the man they call “X”! He has the power to see through things! Clothing! Human skin! Manila file folders! And how does he use this power to fight crime, you ask? Uh . . . well, I guess he could see criminals naked and mock them about any body image problems they might have until they surrendered out of sheer embarrassment and shame. Wow . . . X is kind of a jerk. Lotta nerve calling himself a hero . . . except he doesn’t! That’s entirely on me! What a twist! No, this week’s entry in “Be Like the Cor-Man” does read somewhat like a superhero origin story, except that no one ever calls him “X” (the character’s name is Xavier. No, not “Professor” . . .) and he doesn’t try any super heroics, unless working in a carnival counts. I guess it could; that’s how Dick “Robin” Grayson got started, but anyway! This is considered one of the Cor-man’s better efforts; after all, it’s in color and it stars an Oscar-winning actor (Ray Milland) but how does it stack up against “Little Shop of Horrors”? Tune in and find out! Same Cor-time, same Cor-channel!

Poll question: What non-actor’s performance pleasantly surprised you?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Tremble before the rise of the Cor-man! We’re in “Be Like the Cor-man” now, up to our necks! For all his chintzy budgets, churned-out scripts, and lilliputian shooting schedules, Roger Corman hardly ever lost money on any of his pictures. Some of those pictures . . . one finds oneself asking “how?” as is the case of the 1960 now-cult-classic “Little Shop of Horrors” (not the musical, but it’s inspiration). This movie may very well hold the record for the shortest shooting time of any Corman film (tune in to find out how short) but it did have the distinction of being one of the first, if not THE first, horror-comedy movies ever. If you don’t agree with that last point, take it up with Bumpy (but really, do tell us if you can think of an earlier example). If nothing else, this movie is probably the best movie about a human-eating plant surrounded by Jewish stereotypes in Los Angeles that is supposed to be New York’s skid row that Jack Nicholson ever appeared in. Probably. Did that not make any sense? Give a listen; it’ll make even less.

Poll question: is there a movie adaptation you’ve seen that is better than the source material? If so, which one?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Spit fire and save matches, we’ve got us a new series! And it’s a doozy, recognizing one of the greatest most talented highly influential directors of the last hundred years. Who you may ask? Ron Howard? Sure, “Apollo 13” is decent and “A Beautiful Mind” won some minor awards like an Oscar but did he bring us “Dinoshark”? No, he did not! Martin Scorsese? Yeah, yeah, “Raging Bull,” “Mean Streets,” those are ok, I guess, but they’re no “Attack of the Crab Monsters”! What about Francis Ford Coppola? I guess some people like “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now” but come on, what are they compared to “Teenage Caveman”? But you know what all these directors have in common? They all got their starts working with one man. One exceptional man. One single man. One Cor-man. Yes, these giants of Hollywood, and many others, owe a great debt to recently-departed director/producer/occasional-kind-of-actor Roger Corman, a man who has his name on almost four hundred movies. With this series, we are exhorting you, one and all, to “Be Like the Cor-Man” and we’re starting off with one of his interpretations of an Edgar Allen Poe story (and he did a bunch of those!), “The House of Usher” (or “The Fall of the House of Usher,” as it was sometimes marketed. Or my favorite: “The House of Usher Goes to Hawaii”. Thought that of course was never released). What is it about the Cor-man that has left so indelible a impression upon American film-making? Give a listen, and we’ll try to clue you in!

Poll question: what is your favorite decade/era for film making? If you look closely, which decade has most of your favorites and why?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS