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Summary: Driller Killers and Roger Corman, Of Course
Review: (...)Gray's biography--fun as it is-- is more than a story about a man who is arguably one of Hollywood's most idiosyncratic moguls. It is a chronicle that parallels that of The Great Depression, World War II, the growth of the film industry and Los Angeles itself. We meet again celebrities we haven't thought about in years like the adorable dimpled Jon Davison, the memorable Vincent Price and even run across pop culture icons like Frank Gorshin. Occasionally this book is burdened with glitz-town detail that only a dedicated film buff might adore but these moments are rare. Like a super hero, Corman--now 75 and still going--is resilient because he is multi-faceted. The same can be said for screenwriter cum UCLA instructor and journalist Beverly Gray. The two seem admirably paired in that way. Gray uses her many experiences and talents to tell the story of a man of many parts.
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Summary: Roger Corman: An Unauthorized Biography
Review: Beverly Gray's superbly written, readable, and extensively documented biography of Roger Corman maintained my interest and gave me an understanding of his complex personality and career. The book also gives an insider's view into many Hollywood personalities, including a number of his disciples, cohorts, and acquaintances. The insightful prevailing theme of the book is Corman's internal struggle between his artistry and his bottom-line business concern, resulting in settling for small but memorable low-budget achievement rather than for potential professional greatness as a filmmaker. Ms. Gray draws on the personal insights she has gained on Corman from her almost ten years as his development executive. She also does a remarkable job in presenting the enormous multiplicity of his sources and story lines, including the anti-establishment themes of the 1960's and 1970's.
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Summary: Book Review
Review: I really enjoyed Beverly Gray's new book, Roger Corman, An Unauthorized Biography of the Godfather of Indie Filmmaking. The story is exhaustively documented and chockfull of interesting tidbits. It is written in an easygoing, readable style and offers a fascinating look at the world of moviemaking.
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Summary: The best source of info and insight re: Roger Corman
Review: On a recent vacation (after much searching for a good book to bring) I read Beverly Gray's excellent book about Roger Corman, the best known, and (as I learned) least understood Producer in Hollywood. I brought a unique perspective as a reader, as I have worked for Roger many times as a visual effects artist and have met with him in person quite often in the mid 90's. Ms. Gray's book is the best collection of knowledge about the inner workings of all of Roger's companies, and his private life I have ever seen. I found myself yelling out loud during parts that talked about the films I worked on saying "My God, THAT's why that happened!" or "I should've known...". I can hear Roger speaking the quotes that Ms. Gray attributes to him (as do the interviewees), and she is dead-on if memory serves. Roger IS an amazing man, but very few people seem to really know him. He is as frustrating as he is kind, as generous as he is cheap. Ms. Gray has laid out for the reader an image of the complex web that makes up the life and businesses of this screen legend, and has done so in a way that made me want to turn the page, even with clear blue oceans just feet from my chair waiting for me to jump in. She starts on his early years, giving you insight into his family life, then methodically lays out the path that led him from company to company. She has sectioned the book into his early life, his AIP (American International Pictures) years, his New World years, and his (present) company: Concorde-New Horizons. It was well written, VERY well researched, entertaining, precisely footnoted and should not be overlooked by any serious Corman student. Finally, as an author myself, I have to say that Ms. Gray has a great style of writing, and a wonderful way of making (what could be) a boring biography, into a can't-put-it-down page turner.
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Summary: Roger Corman: An Unauthorized Biography
Review: Roger Corman is a Hollywood movie making legend in his own lifetime. What is sometimes overlooked is that he was also responsible for launching the film making careers of such luminaries as Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, John Sayles, James Cameron, Jack Nicholson, Peter Fonda, and Sylvester Stallone. Roger Corman: An Unauthorized Biography Of The Godfather Of Indie Filmmaking is the thorough, informative, illuminating, at times inspiring life of a unique, one-of-a-kind film directors who has fifty low-budget movies to his credit, and who has producers almost five hundred more! This is one well-written, meticulously researched Hollywood biography that is a "must read" for all movie fans, film buffs, and show business historians.
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Summary: A "must" for all Roger Corman fans!
Review: Roger Corman is a Hollywood movie making legend in his own lifetime. What is sometimes overlooked is that he was also responsible for launching the film making careers of such luminaries as Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, John Sayles, James Cameron, Jack Nicholson, Peter Fonda, and Sylvester Stallone. Roger Corman: An Unauthorized Biography Of The Godfather Of Indie Filmmaking is the thorough, informative, illuminating, at times inspiring life of a unique, one-of-a-kind film directors who has fifty low-budget movies to his credit, and who has producers almost five hundred more! This is one well-written, meticulously researched Hollywood biography that is a "must read" for all movie fans, film buffs, and show business historians.
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Summary: A Great Book About Moviemaking
Review: Usually, these unauthorized bios of entertainment industry figures are either slick, superficial rehashes of newspaper articles cobbled together by pseudo-writers or vicious hack-jobs by bitter ex-employees out for blood. Not this one. Beverly Gray's book is a wonderfully written, methodically researched, indepth look at a movie-making legend, written by an ex-employee who manages to portray her former boss with warmth, wit and surprising objectivity. Gray's background in academia really comes through, not in the dry, textbook writing usually associated with scholars, but in the intelligence and smoothness of her prose. This book is as educational as it is entertaining, marked by exceptional reporting and insightful anecdotes from her first-hand experience as Corman's right-hand woman. You'll learn far more about Roger Corman from her book than the one he wrote about himself. Highly recommended for anyone interested in movie-making...and the business behind the business.
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