Roger Corman’s YouTube Drive-In

Published by Interrobang Staff at August 24, 2013

Academy Award Winning director and producer Roger Corman has created over 300 films. His so-called “B Movies” were visionary, created on an incredibly low budget, and described on his YouTube Channel as “so-bad-they’re-good” entertainment. He also helped jumpstart the careers of some of the greatest legends in the business– names like Martin Scorsese, Jack Nicholson, Peter Bogdonovich, Peter Fonda, Ron Howard and so many more. Roger stopped by the SiriusXM studios to sit down with Ron Bennington and talk about his new YouTube channel, “Roger Corman’s Drive-In. Excerpts from the interview appear below. The interview can be heard in its entirety exclusively on SiriusXM satellite radio.

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Roger Corman on How Corman’s Drive-In Works

Ron Bennington: What an interesting thing. Here is another type of technology that your films are running in. Been through them all, I guess.

Roger Corman: Yes. When I first started, it was straight film with a little bit of television. As a matter of fact, we don’t even use film anymore. It’s all digital. And now with Corman’s Drive-In on the internet, on Youtube – simply moving toward a totally different way of showing films. We put up 30 films a month for $3.95 a month. And you can see all of them or none of them, whatever you want. And then we change the films each month.

Ron Bennington: And these are your entire career of films?

Roger Corman: About 95% of my films. Some of the films I did for other companies who own the rights. But almost all of them, I own the rights.

Ron Bennington: But was that done on purpose? Did you decide it’s much better to be out there doing it yourself, instead of working for a big corporation?

Roger Corman: Yes. I’ve worked occasionally for major studios and got along well with them, but there’s some impediments to the work at major studios. I prefer to work independently.

Ron Bennington: What do you get out of working independently? What do you get about being your own boss?

Roger Corman: The fact is you live or die, hopefully live, by your own decisions. You’re not being told what to do by the head of the studio or his subordinates.

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Roger Corman Talks About What He Hopes Audiences Get Out Of His Movies.

Ron Bennington: There’s something that’s so traditional about you that I almost think it goes back to before film. There’s kind of a carnies, circus, some sort of a fun thing of – hey everybody, we’re putting on a show. (Corman laughs)

Roger Corman: That’s part of it. You work very hard, but you don’t want the work to show. You want to say as a film, as I keep using the word “film”, you want the picture to be entertaining. And you don’t want the audience to even think about who made it or what the process was.

Ron Bennington: But you are thinking about the audience all the time in what you’re doing?

Roger Corman: Yes. I think about what will appeal to me on the basis that I’m not much different from the audience. And I’m hoping what will appeal to me, will appeal to the audience.

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Roger Corman Talks About Working With Fresh Talent.

Ron Bennington: Roger, here’s the thing about you that I think would have shown that you would have been successful in any business. Besides having this great idea of what the audience wants and being able to make it exciting and fun for everybody – you’ve got this great eye for young talent. And I think you need that no matter what business that you go into.

Roger Corman: Yes, because new people are coming up in whatever. You could be in the insurance business and there’s going to be some new insurance guy – I know nothing about the insurance business incidentally, but essentially you know that new actors, writers, directors, producers, new grips, new prop men are coming up.

Ron Bennington: So you’re always looking to work with the kids, the inexperienced people?

Roger Corman: Yes. But generally I will combine the new people with a number of veterans, so there’s a mixture there. There’s sort of a guiding hand.

Ron Bennington: And what a lot of people have said…Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron – is that you gave them that opportunity, not just to shoot the films, but to be in charge on the set. And they don’t always get that in the studios.

Roger Corman: That’s true. Having been a director myself and now being a producer, I recognize that a director must have a certain independence in shooting. So up to me, the producer’s job is primarily, starting with the script, bringing everything together. And once shooting starts, I step away and leave that work to the director.

Ron Bennington: That’s not hard for you? That’s not hard to take that step back once you got up to that point?

Roger Corman: It was necessary. The first time I did that, I was on the set and people on the crew were coming to me as a producer and asking me questions. And I said – you should be asking the director and I actually left the set for that reason.

Ron Bennington: But that takes a certain amount of strength, doesn’t it? To let go? To believe in the project?

Roger Corman: Yes, but if you don’t believe in the project – you shouldn’t make the project.

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Roger Corman Talks About Starting His Youtube Channel

Ron Bennington: So, where do you see it going? I mean you’ve got this Youtube channel now. There’s no reason that young people couldn’t do that, but then you’ve got to be able to get the eyes on the Youtube channel, right?

Roger Corman: Yes. As a matter of fact, that’s a problem we’ve had, although it seems to be working out. For Corman’s Drive-In on Youtube, Youtube has been doing some publicity. I’ve been doing some publicity. And it’s starting to take off. The viewership and the $3.95 a month is beginning to add up. (laughs)

Ron Bennington: The $3.95 a month, it seems like an amazing bargain that you’re getting for this amount of film. Particularly like I said, for young people who like to go back and see how this career was put together. Because you could see it of course, film by film, but when you look at it as a brand – it’s kind of a lesson in filmmaking.

Roger Corman: There’s a certain thread there going through them which I think is interesting. And it is to a certain extent, a lesson. It’s a lesson for me to look back. And I say – why did I do that? (laughs) I know better now.

Ron Bennington: But on a budget, I guess you could never feel 100% – we’ve got it, right? You have to know when you’re cutting corners, not all the corners are going to show up.

Roger Corman: You have to compromise, but you have to compromise wisely. You have to be able to say – okay, I’m going to ease back in this area, but in this other area, I’m not going to ease back. I will take the time and the money to do this exactly the way I want it.

Ron Bennington: And you have to know that film by film?

Roger Corman: Yes. Right.

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Roger Corman Wonders if He Should Have Stopped Directing Sooner

Ron Bennington: Roger, are there any regrets when you look back over this career?

Roger Corman: I sometimes wonder if I should have stopped directing. I had directed, I think about 60 films in about 12, 13 years. And I was shooting a film in Ireland called “Von Richthofen and Brown” at a flying field and each morning as I drove to the flying field, I was tempted to drive in the other direction and go to the beach. And I said – I have to stop directing. I finished the film and I thought I would stop directing for a year, a traditional sabbatical and come back to directing. But I got bored. I started a production distribution company. And the company took off and I just didn’t go back to directing.

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Roger Corman Talks About “Jaws”, “Star Wars”, Spielberg And Lucas

Ron Bennington: Well, another thing that gets said is that so many of these big films are just doing a “Roger Corman” film, but with this monster gigantic budget. Do you ever look at a film and say – I could do that for a fraction and get the same results?

Roger Corman: Well, I remember when “Jaws” came out which is a landmark film. And Vincent Canby, the lead critic of the New York Times, said – “What is Jaws, but a big budget Roger Corman film?” And he was right and something else he missed. It was not only bigger, it was better. And when I saw “Jaws”, I thought – I and my contemporaries, my competitors as it were, are in trouble. Studios have learned to do what we’re doing. And a year or so later, out came “Star Wars” and I thought – we are in real trouble. And indeed, the major studios did take over. And I talked to Spielberg and Lucas and they said – it wasn’t just me. They saw it when they were kids, the films I was making and others, Bill Castle and a number of other guys. And they said – when we get our shot, we’ll make them and we’ll just make them bigger. And I say – they made them better.

Ron Bennington: So, as you sat there watching this, you’re like – A: This is great. Look at my influence. And my influence is going to hurt me now.

Roger Corman: That’s true.

Ron Bennington: That’s amazing. When Spielberg talks to you now, does it feel like it’s two contemporaries or do you guys feel like you’re in different businesses?

Roger Corman: We’re almost in different businesses. First, we’re different generations. Just as the United States economically, is starting to move towards a certain group of wealthy people and other people aren’t so wealthy, films are starting to move into these $200 million budgets and so forth. And then, the films I make are around a million dollars or a little less. So, there’s a real differential.

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Ron Bennington: Roger Corman, what a thrill it is to get the chance to see you and thank you for all these great films. Over 400 films that you’ve made. And you’ll get to see most of them on Youtube on his own channel now, which is youtube.com/cormansdrivein. Thank you so much sir. And I’ll see you next time coming through.

Roger Corman: Thank you Ron. Very good.