Setting aside the series of films that Roger Corman produced and directed – the numerous adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe classics (starring Vincent Price) such as The Pit and the Pendulum, The Raven, and The House of Usher, classics such as The Little Shop of Horrors, and forgettable but enjoyable dreck like X, The Young Racers, and Gas-s-s-s, Corman has still left an incredible legacy of both actors and directors who owe much of their success to the opportunities he gave to them.
Actors and directors such as James Cameron, Ron Howard, Jack Nicholson, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Joe Dante, Jonathan Demme, and most importantly (to me) Robert De Niro. The Corman-directed Bloody Mama was one of De Niro’s earliest appearances and served as quite a springboard to his future career. I even purchased an entire Corman box-set just to get this film on DVD.
So I was hopeful of getting a chance to meet Roger Corman when he made an appearance as the October 4, 2008, Hollywood Collectors Show in Burbank – that is, until I saw the prices he was charging. Signatures were going for $35, while the cost of a photo with him was $25. He had a ‘handler’ with him, so I bypassed his table several times (once snapping the photo below just to show that I had seen him).
Not wanting to give up on him, Bob and I were planning to offer him $80 for signed photo each and photo with each of us. I got sidetracked on the phone, so Bob offered his $40 and met with success. Of course, when I made the same offer, the ‘handler’ had assumed that Bob had advertised the deal to everyone. Still, he accepted the offer on the condition that I didn’t tell anyone else. He also didn’t want me to take the Pit and the Pendulum photo either – until I told him that was the one I really wanted. Corman himself was mostly silent during these negotiations.
So anyway, I got what I wanted and Corman is $40 richer. Maybe his next low-budget film project could be about a couple of crazed fans…
Celebrity encounters from the Fall 2008 Hollywood Collectors Show will continue…
Leave a Reply