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How I Made A Hundred Movies In Hollywood Paperback – Unabridged, August 1, 1998

by . Corman (Author)

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In these pages Roger Corman, the most successful independent filmmaker in Hollywood relates his experiences as the director and/or producer of such low-budget classics Attack of the Crab Monsters, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Raven, The Man with the X-ray Eyes, The Wild Angels, The Trip, Night Call Nurses, Bloody Mama, Piranha, and many others. He also discusses his distribution of the Bergman, Fellini, and Truffaut movies that later won Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Film category. Corman alumniJohn Sayles, Martin Scorsese, Jack Nicholson, Vincent Price, Francis Ford Coppola, Peter Bogdanovich, Peter Fonda, Joe Dante, and Jonathan Demme, among otherscontribute their recollections to give added perspective to Corman's often hilarious, always informative autobiography.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

As a screenwriter, producer, and director, Corman is responsible for making many of the most god-awful?but profitable?stinkers in cinematic history. Still, he launched the careers of many other, more talented artists, e.g., Jack Nicholson, Robert DeNiro, Martin Scorsese, and Francis Coppola, and where would Mystery Science Theater be without him? Here he reveals the secrets of his quite remarkable career in a "disarmingly modest fashion" (LJ 5/1/90). A solid volume for all film collections.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Roger Corman founded the film company AIP, and has directed and/or produced such low-budget classics as Attack of the Crab Monsters, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Raven, The Man with the X-Ray Eyes, The Wild Angels, The Trip, Night Call Nurses, Bloody Mama, Piranha, and many others.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Da Capo; First Edition (August 1, 1998)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 254 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0306808749
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0306808746
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #509,993 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #183 in Movie Director Biographies
- #762 in Movie History & Criticism
- #3,085 in Actor & Entertainer Biographies

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169 global ratings

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Customers find this book to be a fun and detailed read, with one noting it's mandatory reading for film students. Moreover, the book is filled with great stories, and one customer describes it as an inspirational look inside indie filmmaking. Additionally, customers appreciate the book's content, with one mentioning it's peppered with boldface-offset comments, and another highlighting its insights into low-budget producing.

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Readability Creativity Story quality Humor Biography Content Budget

28 customers mention "Readability"28 positive0 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, describing it as a fun and engaging read from a talented author, with one customer noting it's mandatory reading for film students.

"As fast-paced and fun as this memoir is, it still probably took me longer to read than it took Corman to make some of his movies...." Read more

"...Corman's wildly entertaining book, professing no illusions about what marvels could be created on the cheap, casts a follow-spot on the man's wisely..." Read more

"...Book. One of my top 10 non-fiction books. A great read. Funny. And exciting...." Read more

"A pretty good book with commentary by people that worked with Roger along the way who later went on, in some cases, to become famous as well...." Read more

16 customers mention "Creativity"16 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the creativity of the book, describing it as clever and ambitious, with one customer noting it provides an inspirational look into indie filmmaking.

"...He had a great eye for talent and gleefully exploited it by paying more in opportunity than cash, but those opportunities launched many to great..." Read more

"...certain chapters (the first half of the book) and it gets my CREATIVE FORCE going FULL GEAR. THe ROCKY of movie makers and it ROCKS...." Read more

"...He is also a crafty businessman who has done his research on how to get movies made affordably while still having a great time along the way. -..." Read more

"...He has his own unique style of moviemaking. If you like "behind the scenes" stories of Hollywood, you'll like this...." Read more

16 customers mention "Story quality"16 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's stories, describing them as endlessly fascinating and inspirational, with one customer highlighting the behind-the-scenes recollections.

"...Corman's story is fascinating and inspiring...." Read more

"...Endlessly fascinating, detailed and anecdotal, this wonderful memoir, supplemented with dozens of boldface-offset comments from many of the..." Read more

"...One of my top 10 non-fiction books. A great read. Funny. And exciting...." Read more

"...What strikes me as interesting is the wide variety of topics covered by Roger's movies, and many of these movies I have seen as I grew up...." Read more

9 customers mention "Humor"9 positive0 negative

Customers find the book humorous, with one mentioning that the results are really funny.

"...Corman emerges as a very funny, creative, and ambitious filmmaker, whether directing, producing, or distributing...." Read more

"...They were rapidly-paced, exploitative, mostly forgettable fun. Perfect popcorn accompaniment...." Read more

"...Book. One of my top 10 non-fiction books. A great read. Funny. And exciting...." Read more

"...He is clever, courageous, always learning, ambitious, funny, and as he says, a craftsman...." Read more

6 customers mention "Biography"6 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the biography, with one noting it provides wonderful insights into Corman's career, while another describes it as more than just a biography.

"...Corman's story is fascinating and inspiring...." Read more

"Had this book years ago. It was an excellent read with wonderful insights to Corman’s career and Hollywood...." Read more

"...Roger Corman is an icon and stories within these pages show that he is a gentleman as well...." Read more

"This is a great book. Really great insight into a phenomenal career that helped make the Hollywood of lore...." Read more

5 customers mention "Content"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's content, finding it detailed and informative, with one customer noting it is peppered with boldface-offset comments.

"...detailed and anecdotal, this wonderful memoir, supplemented with dozens of boldface-offset comments from many of the fledgling film artists Corman..." Read more

"A pretty good book with commentary by people that worked with Roger along the way who later went on, in some cases, to become famous as well...." Read more

"...Another plus: the book is peppered with informative and revealing guest essays by the likes of Francis Coppola, Joe Dante, Martin Scorcese, Jack..." Read more

"Informational as well as entertaining and insightfully honest...." Read more

4 customers mention "Budget"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's insights into low-budget filmmaking and money management.

"...And lo and behold----a lot of them were damned good shoestring-budgeted filmmaking, holding up to latter-day appraisal...." Read more

"...at re-purposing B Roll into more than one film, thereby lowering future filming costs...." Read more

"...Still, this book is a nice look into the world of low-budget producing...." Read more

"...Go make your movies, make a lot of movies, manage your time, and manage your money." Read more

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zverina dot com
A Rollicking Read
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2021
Verified Purchase

As fast-paced and fun as this memoir is, it still probably took me longer to read than it took Corman to make some of his movies.

Before reading this, I didn't know much about Corman and figured he was just a low-budget schlockmeister whose only concern was turning a buck. And while it is true he was very business savvy and motivated by profit, making movies was always about more than the money. Corman emerges as a very funny, creative, and ambitious filmmaker, whether directing, producing, or distributing.

This book offers great insight into the business side of movies in tandem with hilarious behind the scenes anecdotes. Corman discovered and/or nurtured the fledgling careers of dozens of future Hollywood giants, including Jack Nicholson, Francis Ford Coppola, Dennis Hopper, Ron Howard (as director), Jonathan Demme, Martin Scorcese, Sylvester Stallone, and James Cameron, to name just a few. In a town known for backstabbing, fleeting loyalty, and dirty dealing, it's telling that Corman seems to be universally hailed as a fair and generous collaborator, as attested by the many testimonials in this book. (Of course, they wouldn't include the negatives, if any, but even outside of this book I haven't found anything to besmirch his reputation.) He had a great eye for talent and gleefully exploited it by paying more in opportunity than cash, but those opportunities launched many to great heights they might never had achieved if they'd had to work their way up gradually within the more bureaucratic and less meritocratic studio system.

After reading this I watched Corman's original Little Shop of Horrors (1962) (purportedly made in just two days and one night of shooting) and laughed harder at a movie than I have in years. Corman, educated as an engineer, placed efficiency foremost and famously didn't waste words on set, preferring to move quickly to the next setup rather than dribbling time away in piddling "thank you that was great" fluffing of cast and crew egos. He was a master of maximizing budgets, often scripting and shooting entire new films if he had time remaining on a set, which apparently was the case with Little Shop, hence its rushed production. But that sort of headlong gung ho push to keep creating and take advantage of every opportunity resulted in more than one masterpiece.

Corman's story is fascinating and inspiring. It would be hard, if not impossible, to replicate his career trajectory today, but with new filming and distribution technologies, there are unique avenues for today's hungry filmmakers to make a splash, and this book might just serve as an impetus for them to get out there and make it happen.

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T. C. Rypel (author of the GONJI series)
Legendary adventures in guerilla filmmaking...
Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2024
Verified Purchase
Superb read. We've recently lost the legendary producer-director ROGER CORMAN (at age 98!). This autobiographical career retrospective, released in 1990, is forever fresh. Obviously timely in the moment, this absorbing, smooth-reading book---at once hard to put down and a quick-bite comfort read---hearkens you back to the lost Silver Age of cinema strike-back against the hypnotic grasp of the early TV years, the 1950s and '60s.

Roger Corman was an iconic commando leader of that low-budget, indie-movie, double-feature lashback that pried the masses out of their living rooms (especially the growing money-to-burn sector of thrill-seeking teens) and courted their repeat patronage. The resultant so-called "B-movies"---a misnomer ported over from the Hollywood Golden Age, when the secondary feature on a double-bill was relegated to lower marquee billing and presumed "B" status---created the indelible B-movie concept in popular viewer fancy that denoted cheap-looking and poorly executed film fare (often enough worthy of much LOWER alphabetical value). Cheesy characters in fast-moving plots that seldom bore up to close scrutiny---or credibility, often enough. Pleasant passing of time---hey, what were you guys looking for?!

And nobody ever carped beyond the occasional "worst flick I ever saw, man!" They were rapidly-paced, exploitative, mostly forgettable fun. Perfect popcorn accompaniment. And lo and behold----a lot of them were damned good shoestring-budgeted filmmaking, holding up to latter-day appraisal.

Corman was the foremost expositor of this phenomenon. The book is rife with his canny lessons on making every penny count. Endlessly fascinating, detailed and anecdotal, this wonderful memoir, supplemented with dozens of boldface-offset comments from many of the fledgling film artists Corman tutored and launched (e.g., Francis Ford Coppola, Jack Nicholson, Robert Towne, Peter Bogdanovich), is a sobering correction to the often-heard, nose-crinkled lazy jeering about "Roger Corman movies."

Corman's wildly entertaining book, professing no illusions about what marvels could be created on the cheap, casts a follow-spot on the man's wisely mapped-out journey outside the expensively clunky Hollywood mechanism.

The truth is all in there. And cheap or not, truth bears a value that can't be airily dismissed.

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2 people found this helpful

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DE Burke
Superb book for indendent filmakers.
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2008
Verified Purchase
This is not a how to book. It's HOW I DID IT! Book.
One of my top 10 non-fiction books.
A great read. Funny. And exciting. I bought a copy for myself and read it (again) after consuming the library version. I find myself reading certain chapters (the first half of the book) and it gets my CREATIVE FORCE going FULL GEAR.
THe ROCKY of movie makers and it ROCKS.
THis book inspires you to think "outside" the box on making movies. It inspires you to be fearless in making YOUR own films.
Roger was not only fast he was a good director.
And he made millions doing what he loves. WOW. That is pretty cool.
Roger is one of my creative hero's. He is up there with Jack Kirby, John Lennon and others.
I highly recomend this book to anyone that wants to experience the thrill of making movies.

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Willie Taylor
A real gem
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 20, 2016
Verified Purchase

I really loved this book. It is well written, with some interesting snippets from famous faces Corman worked with over his career. These snippets often give a funny and contradictory viewpoint to that put forward in the main text. I had never heard of Corman before reading the book, I simply bought it because of the title. I feel very lucky to have tripped over a real gem.

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Steve Vernon, Horror Author and Windbag at Large
Not a book for bad eyes
Reviewed in Canada on May 3, 2024
Verified Purchase
All right, so the book looks great. I've read the first chapter, but I've had to use a magnifying glass. The font is TINY and my eyes are old.

Still, I'm waiting for June and I'm going to read the rest of it, with a magnifying glass, on a lawn chair on my front patio.

With a cold beer...

******************************************************

Okay, so it's June and I just finished reading the book this week and it truly rocked. If you're a fan of cheesy horror movies in general, or the late Roger Corman in specific, buy a copy of this book.

Once you get accustomed to the small font the chapters begin to fly by. Corman was well known for his speed and efficiency in filmmaking, and it definitely shows in this bio.

It's raining today, but the next sunny day I am heading for the patio, with a beer, to start reading Charles Band's Confessions of a Puppetmaster: A Hollywood Memoir of Ghouls, Guts, and Gonzo Filmmaking!

I love these kinds of books. I've got an autobiography of Don Coscarelli on the way later this month.

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S-Prix-O-Net
Coreman fore ever
Reviewed in France on November 6, 2019
Verified Purchase
rférence pour le cinéma "indépendant " et pour la logique de production à moindre coût.

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Michael Huck
Roger Corman
Reviewed in Germany on October 24, 2017
Verified Purchase
Having watched as a teenager the Poe movies starring Vincent Price and Ray Milland made by Corman and becoming a life-long fan of Corman and his unique ways of making movies it's a very interesting book on learning how Corman became Corman. The only sad point is, that the book does not include the later later years as Corman is still working and a second book or an update would be great.

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Grace Jones
Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on December 6, 2016
Verified Purchase
bought as a gift

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Top reviews from the United States

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5.0 out of 5 stars A Rollicking Read

5.0 out of 5 stars Legendary adventures in guerilla filmmaking...

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb book for indendent filmakers.

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars A real gem

5.0 out of 5 stars Not a book for bad eyes

5.0 out of 5 stars Coreman fore ever

5.0 out of 5 stars Roger Corman

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars

A Rollicking Read

Legendary adventures in guerilla filmmaking...

Superb book for indendent filmakers.

A real gem

Not a book for bad eyes

Coreman fore ever

Roger Corman

Five Stars