Shout! Factory Dec. 17 announced that its filmed entertainment distribution and production arm, Shout! Studios, has partnered with China’s Ace Film HK Company and Friendship Films to produce “Corman’s Hollywood,” a new multi-part documentary series about the life and works of pop cinema director Roger Corman and his wife and business partner, Julie Corman.
Created, written, and co-produced by Ashley Sidaway and Robert Sidaway from Friendship Films, the 13-episode series explores the career odysseys of the Cormans, uncovers inside backstories on many popular Corman movies, and provides a candid portrait of a trailblazing indie filmmaking duo.
The series follows Shout! Factory and Ace Film HK Co.’s March acquisition of Corman’s New Horizons Picture catalog featuring 270 movies and TV series. Titles include Rock ‘N’ Roll High School, The Trip, The Wild Angels, Death Race 2000, Piranha, Bloodfist, Black Scorpion, Little Shop of Horrors, Eat My Dust! and Humanoids from the Deep, among others.
Filmed over four months in Los Angeles, “Corman’s Hollywood” draws on a filmography spanning seven decades. The series offers viewers access inside the Cormans’ cinematic universe and features extensive in-depth interviews.
Corman and his wife share stories and defining moments from their movies, recall talent and young filmmakers they mentored, as well as provide behind-the-scenes perspectives for the films they produced.
Corman, recipient of an honorary Oscar in 2009, produced more than 350 films and directed 60 others. He influenced a generation of Hollywood filmmakers and screen talent, including Jack Nicholson, Francis Ford Coppola, Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, Ron Howard, Peter Fonda, Jonathan Demme, Gale Anne Hurd, Diane Ladd, Tommy Lee Jones, Harry Dean Stanton, Sandra Bullock, Bruce Dern, Talia Shire, Charles Bronson, Joe Dante, Peter Bogdanovich and Sally Kirkland.
Julie Corman worked with Demme, John Sayles, Catherine Hardwicke, Robert King, Bill Pullman, Martin Sheen, Peter Billingsley, Jon Lovitz, and Mario Van Peebles, among others. She was chair of the graduate film department at NYU.
“It has been a rewarding and emotional experience to share some of the great moments and memories from so many of our films over seven decades,” Roger and Julie Corman said in a statement. “We have been privileged to work as independents in Hollywood that in a way has allowed us to bring our stories to the screen for audiences around the world. Our hope is that audiences get as much pleasure and fun from this series as we had making these films.”
Calling Corman one of the most “prolific” producers and directors in Hollywood, Shout’s founders and co-CEOs Bob Emmer and Garson Foos say his and Julie’s ingenuity and independent spirit resonate far beyond the silver screen and today’s entertainment industry.
“It’s important that their insights and stories continue for generations to come,” Emmer and Foos said.
Shout! Studios will distribute the series in North America across multiple formats. Red Sea Media is handling international sales, excluding Asia where Ace Film will handle distribution.