Saturday, November 14

• Roger Corman to Receive Honorary Oscar

  Even Roger Corman admits that his name was unlikely to be associated with an Academy Award. Yet the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has decided to give Corman an honorary lifetime achievement Oscar, nonetheless. Corman told The Associated Press that he was surprised by the announcement.

  I predicted that I would not win because I make low-budget films, and I felt the Academy would not give an award to someone who made low-budget films. I was truly surprised when I got the call.

  Corman began his career producing and directing low-budget fare like 1955's Swamp Women and Monsters from the Ocean Floor, Corman quickly found that what he did best was provide opportunities to young director and actors like Martin Scorsese (1972's Boxcar Bertha), Jack Nicholson (1960's Little Shop of Horrors), Robert De Niro (1970's Bloody Mama), Francis Ford Coppola (Dementia 13), and Ron Howard (1977's Grand Theft Auto). Sylvester Stallone starred in two Corman movies, 1975's Death Race 2000 and Capone, and told Entertainment Weekly that he owes his career to Corman.

  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. If you look at those early movies with Jack Nicholson, you can see it — that he was building his rhythm back then. You can see that he had it. He would allow out-of-the-box people like Scorsese and De Niro to flourish. He didn't go with the status quo. He was a master at spotting talent.

  It was his eye for finding talent that Corman is the most proud of.

  I know that they all would have achieved the same level if they had never met me, but I think what I was able to do was to give them a start and help them a little bit in their careers, and I take great pride in that.

  Corman receives his Honorary Oscar at a ceremony today.

  
  
  

  Death Race 2000 - Trailer

  Posted 11/14/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Jack Nicholson | Martin Scorsese | Roger Corman | Ron Howard | Sylvester Stallone | Robert DeNiro | Francis Ford Coppola

Friday, May 1

• Hollywood's Best Film Directors Premiere - Who Said It?

  The things you get fired for when you're young are the same things you win awards for when you're old.

  Tomorrow, ReelzChannel TV broadcasts the US premiere of the new series Hollywood's Best Film Directors. We're kicking it off with six back-to-back half-hour episodes starting at 8 p.m. ET/PT. If you're up early enough, get a sneak peak with an episode of Francis Ford Coppola at 9:30 a.m. ET/PT and again at 12:30 p.m. ET/PT. In it, Coppola recounts the first time he introduced The Godfather to Marlon Brando in a private meeting that involved a tray of deli meats, black shoe polish, boxes of Italian cigars, and a Japanese robe.

  In the back-to-back block, directors Chris Columbus, Barry Levinson, Richard Donner, Joel Schumacher, and Rob Reiner divulge their tales of movie making. Tune in and get to hear who said:

  No, it's about love, friendship; it's about hope, it ends high, it ends great. Couldn't get anybody to make it. Did it with independent money.

  How television became this thing that has moved in and has rearranged everything in terms of how we think.

  These two wannabe movie stars meet on a dead set…There's the glamour of Hollywood except the lights are off so it's not quite a movie set, it's a dead set with two people that will never be actors.

  It was basically born out of my life experience as a person who was making an utter mess of my dating life.

  It's like having sex for the first time, it feels good but you don't know if you're doing it right.

  Watch our six back-to-back episodes starting with director Chris Columbus this Saturday, May 2nd, starting at 8 p.m. ET/PT. And be sure to catch Hollywood's Best Film Directors at its regular time every Thursday night, 8-9 p.m. ET/PT.

  
  

  Posted 05/01/2009 by reelz

  Related: Hollywood's Best Film Directors | Chris Columbus | Joel Schumacher | Marlon Brando | Richard Donner | Rob Reiner | Barry Levinson | Francis Ford Coppola | The Godfather