Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) is pleased to announce that one of Hollywood’s most gifted masters of filmmaking, Roger Corman will serve as Jury President for the International Competition at the 25th TIFF.
Mr. Corman has produced more than 550 films and directed fifty others in a career spanning nearly 60 years. In 2009, he received an Honorary Oscar of Lifetime Achievement from the Academy of Motion Pictures “for his rich engendering of films and filmmakers.” He has a keen eye for young talent, such as Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese and James Cameron, as well as high-quality foreign films, including Academy Award-winning films by Ingmar Bergman, Francois Truffaut, Federico Fellini, and Akira Kurosawa, which he has presented to the American public.
Mr. Corman has deep ties with TIFF. In 1994, he was Jury President for the Young Cinema Competition at the 7th TIFF in Kyoto. Last year, Corman’s World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel was selected for the 24th TIFF’s Special Screening section.
Message from Roger Corman
“There are telltale signs when you are witnessing the humble origins of a future master filmmaker. These young filmmakers display a certain intelligence, creativity and tireless effort. It is exhilarating to watch and aid their ascension. My last visit to Tokyo revealed to me a panorama of Asian cinema, a promising crop of young directors. I am privileged to return as Jury President of the Tokyo International Film Festival, to again experience the thrill of finding young genius. I know that this year, as in years past, we will be impressed and inspired by new storytellers.”
International Competition President – Roger Corman / Producer & Director
Biography
Born in Detroit in 1926, Roger Corman sold his first screenplay, entitled Highway Dragnet, to Allied Artists and served as associate producer on the film in 1953. With the proceeds of the sale he made The Monster from the Ocean Floor the following year, his first film as an independent producer, on the remarkable budget of $18,000.
Corman began producing a wide array of low-budget features for American International Pictures; all were extremely successful. With this string of box office hits to his credit, Corman began to procure larger budgets. Throughout the 1960s, Corman’s cycle of Vincent Price/Edgar Allan Poe horror films earned him international acclaim. Always a trendsetter, Corman made the first “biker” movie with Wild Angels. Starring Peter Fonda and Nancy Sinatra, the film opened the 1966 Venice Film Festival to great acclaim. Corman also began the late 60’s “psychedelic” film craze in 1967 with The Trip, written by and starring Jack Nicholson. As American International Pictures’ primary director, Corman’s success built the company into a major force in Hollywood.
In 1970s, Corman founded his own production and distribution company, New World Pictures, which became the largest independent motion picture company providing the public with fast-paced entertainment or cult films. At the same time the company presented such high-quality foreign films as Academy Award-winning films by Ingmar Bergman, Francois Truffaut, Federico Fellini, Akira Kurosawa, and Werner Herzog.
In 1983, Corman sold New World Pictures to produce more movies with larger budgets, and announced the formation of his new company, Concorde-New Horizons. Concorde’s releases include the critically acclaimed Reflections in the Dark, starring Mimi Rogers and Billy Zane, and Paul Anderson’s Shopping.
In 1990, Roger Corman wrote (with Jim Jerome) his autobiography “How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime”, published by Random House. In 2009, Corman received an Honorary Oscar of Lifetime Achievement from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences “for his rich engendering of films and filmmakers.”
