Roger Corman once explained what he looks for in a protégé: “Firstly, intelligence”
The legendary Roger Corman passed away at the incredible age of 98, and we really have him to thank for some of the best independent and ultimately influential films of the 20th century. The iconic director put his name to the likes of House of Usher, Little Shop of Horrors and The Silence of the Lambs, which, alongside being some of the best in the horror and thriller genres in and of themselves, have heavily influenced the likes of Mike Flanagan and Osgood Perkins in the past decade.
The so-called ‘King of Cult’ was a true master when it came to low-budget, cult-status films, and even gave Jack Nicholson his first break in film in The Cry Baby Killer of 1958. Corman was also known for his adaptations of unsettling Edgar Allan Poe stories, including House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum and The Raven, alongside his foray into New Hollywood, earning him the status of ‘The Spiritual Godfather of New Hollywood’ with films like The Wild Angels and The Trip.
His illustrious and varied career makes Corman the perfect person to guide the next generation of filmmakers, and before his death, he did just that. In an interview with the BFI, Corman said: “What I look for in any filmmaker is three things. Firstly, intelligence. I’ve never met a producer, director or screenwriter who’s been successful in the long run who isn’t intelligent.”
Although Corman says intelligence is part of the equation, there’s more to do, as he continues: “Second, the ability to work hard. Motion picture making is sometimes considered to be a glamorous business, and it is, but it’s also very, very hard work. You have to have the willingness and the ability to work hard.”
The final part of the equation is potentially the hardest part, but it is something Corman clearly had in spades. He goes on: “Those are not that difficult to pick, but the third is creative talent. With most of the directors who’ve worked with me, they’ve started as an assistant or a film editor.”
In the most nonchalant way possible, showing how incredible his career was, Corman said: “Francis [Ford Coppola] started cutting anti-American propaganda out of Russian science fiction films before moving on to become my assistant and second unit director, so I was able to see over a year or two just how talented he was. With Marty Scorsese, I saw an underground film he’d made in New York that I thought was very good, so went with him on his first Hollywood picture.”
It is difficult to see true talent, but Corman managed to understand what it took to make it as part of the movie industry and, as such, was very successful in allowing some of Hollywood’s greatest talents to grow under this tutelage, at least for a little while.
Now, that’s a guy you want to be listening to, having created so many groundbreaking films and tipped his hat to the likes of Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese, who both, of course, went on to direct some of the most famous and best films of all time. Take note.
