Making stuff to get stuff made

Roger Corman, - the king of the B movie – was as much of a mythmaker as a film mogul with over 350 titles to his name. One story claims he made The Terror using shoot time left over from The Raven. The Little Shop of Horrors was reputedly in the can after two days (to meet a bet). But perhaps the hardest rumour to confirm is how Corman raised funds for his projects. Now, I have only empirical evidence to back this up (some guy on the radio said so), but I’m a copywriter, not a journalist so I’m going to side with the Maxwell Scott quote. Corman’s method was pretty simple. First he would think of a catchy title, then shoot and cut a trailer of what the film could look like to hook investors.

So far so interesting, but what can we learn from Roger’s approach? Well, say what you like about Roger Corman’s pictures (and many do – mostly bad stuff), his parsimonious production and clever manipulation of investors’ anticipation have meant his films never get stuck in development hell and always make their money back. Except The Intruder, which starred William Shatner.

Roger might not be Fellini, but he is a master at marketing. Who do you think puts about all these apocryphal tales? And it’s this and the fact Corman knows the power of a good trailer and poster that’s led to a long and healthy career. He’s still making films today.

Watching these YouTube films promoting Stephen King’s new book ‘Full Dark No Stars’, I was reminded of the Corman Method of Film Financing. Sure, these films are a nicely crafted campaign to shift King’s latest anthology to the Internet generation. But they’re also a clever way of selling the film rights too.

There are four films (one for each story), but the above are the best because of their obsessive detail. After all, there’s nothing new about the basic premise of each tale. Fair Extension is a twist on the standard ‘Man in need meets the Devil’. A Good Marriage sees a dutiful wife uncover her husband’s dark secret. What we want is the detail King promises to bring to bear. And these films reveal just that.

Look at where Elvid decides to set up shop in Fair Extension – down a dingy alley in the airport side of town. Mr Streeter has to literally cross to the wrong side of tracks. Only then can our unfortunate protagonist meet the casually attired stranger with grotty teeth and a voice that drops an octave when he outlines the more nefarious parts of the deal. I love the rhythm of the dialogue and the footage of a healthy Streeter, post transaction. It’s almost as if there’s a film sitting in a can that just needs funds for distribution Mr Investor!

A Good Marriage is more a straightforward proposition. A strong (if obvious) soundtrack, cast and production design dramatically reveal a wife’s grim discovery and subsequent dilemma. It’s not as polished as Fair Extension. It could do with losing the ‘cameraman stumbling around in the woods’ shots. But the elegant cinematography and editing nicely unravel a chilling tale. What is she going to do? Aside from his growing driving licence collection, he’s a lovely guy – smiling at her from the wing mirror and content to share time spinning coins (I would have cut this bit – too contrived). What would you do Mr Film Investor? What would Joan Cusack do? What if she was married to Michael Chiklis? Who let’s face it, has only played The Thing since The Shield finished. We don’t even have to go to a studio. AMC could pick it up. It feels similar in tone to Breaking Bad. Hey! This project has John Dahl written all over it. He’s done television movies before – and Red Rock West – one of my favourite films – was so good it eventually got a theatrical release. Send him a copy of the book. Heck, I think I might pick a copy up for myself.

I can almost imagine what Full Dark No Stars could be like – filmic.

24 November 2010
Views
Permalink
Tweet

antigob

Making stuff to get stuff made

the-antigob's Space

About the-antigob

Archive

If you like all this, then you're me

Idea

Film

Follow Me