I've been a Roger Corman fan for a long time. I like most of his movies: The early cheapies, the Poe cycle, even most of the Concorde/New Horizons stuff is at least watchable. But I have the greatest fondness for the New World Pictures period of his career.
The list of favorites that were produced by New World is long. I love The Student Teachers, Lady in Red, Galaxy of Terror, Jackson County Jail, Piranha, Cannonball, Big Doll House, Death Race 2000. There are many, but my favorite is easily Hollywood Boulevard, which is the film that parodied its own company and was made with liberal use of existing footage from earlier New World Pictures.
I've read some of the books in Corman. Ed Naha's Brilliance on a Budget, Beverly Grey's Unauthorized Biography of Corman, and Roger's own How I Made A Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime. I knew more about Corman and his career than most. Despite my not inconsiderable knowledge, there was a wealth of information in Mind Warp! The Fantastic True Story of Roger Corman's New World Pictures that I was unaware of.
Christopher T. Koetting has done an astonishing amount of research for this book. Every New World Picture is featured in it. From the inception of each project, to the production, and on to the critical and financial results. It's fascinating to see Roger follow the trends: Nurses and Teachers, women in prison, science fiction, sword and sorcery. Or did he create the trends? The answer is probably a little of both.
Corman is portrayed as a bit of a schizophrenic. He admittedly has leftist, even radical philosophies, yet in his heart the man is a die hard capitalist, with a shrewd eye always on the bottom line. Roger Corman is also presented as one with a sly sense of mischievous humor, as when he received a letter of protest against one of his titillating Nurse movies from a group called the Private Duty Nurses. Corman responded by giving his next Nurse movie the name of the offended group: Private Duty Nurses.
Mind Warp is an expensive trade paperback. Too expensive for some, especially for those of us in The States who will have to pay a high shipping rate. This is not a book for the casual fan. The serious Roger Corman aficionado, of which I most certainly am, needs to own this book. I got mine from a US distributor, Midnight Marquee. It still came to $36.00, which, like I said, is high for a paperback. But at least this book is sturdy enough for years of reading and research. I don't regret buying it a bit.
The list of favorites that were produced by New World is long. I love The Student Teachers, Lady in Red, Galaxy of Terror, Jackson County Jail, Piranha, Cannonball, Big Doll House, Death Race 2000. There are many, but my favorite is easily Hollywood Boulevard, which is the film that parodied its own company and was made with liberal use of existing footage from earlier New World Pictures.
I've read some of the books in Corman. Ed Naha's Brilliance on a Budget, Beverly Grey's Unauthorized Biography of Corman, and Roger's own How I Made A Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime. I knew more about Corman and his career than most. Despite my not inconsiderable knowledge, there was a wealth of information in Mind Warp! The Fantastic True Story of Roger Corman's New World Pictures that I was unaware of.
Christopher T. Koetting has done an astonishing amount of research for this book. Every New World Picture is featured in it. From the inception of each project, to the production, and on to the critical and financial results. It's fascinating to see Roger follow the trends: Nurses and Teachers, women in prison, science fiction, sword and sorcery. Or did he create the trends? The answer is probably a little of both.
Corman is portrayed as a bit of a schizophrenic. He admittedly has leftist, even radical philosophies, yet in his heart the man is a die hard capitalist, with a shrewd eye always on the bottom line. Roger Corman is also presented as one with a sly sense of mischievous humor, as when he received a letter of protest against one of his titillating Nurse movies from a group called the Private Duty Nurses. Corman responded by giving his next Nurse movie the name of the offended group: Private Duty Nurses.
Mind Warp is an expensive trade paperback. Too expensive for some, especially for those of us in The States who will have to pay a high shipping rate. This is not a book for the casual fan. The serious Roger Corman aficionado, of which I most certainly am, needs to own this book. I got mine from a US distributor, Midnight Marquee. It still came to $36.00, which, like I said, is high for a paperback. But at least this book is sturdy enough for years of reading and research. I don't regret buying it a bit.
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