Roger Corman

Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor known as "The Pope of Pop Cinema." He was a trailblazer in independent film and has directed low-budget cult films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe. Corman's unique style of filmmaking has been admired by the French New Wave and Cahiers du cinéma. He co-founded New World Pictures, a multimedia company that helped establish Fox as a major American TV network. Corman mentored many young film directors, including Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, and James Cameron. He also launched the careers of actors like Jack Nicholson and Sylvester Stallone. A documentary about his life and career, Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel, premiered at the Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals in 2011.