Meet the Malaysian Filmmakers Following In Roger Corman’s Indie Footsteps1 min read
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Roger Corman’s influence on Hollywood’s greatest filmmakers is well documented, with the maverick director having mentored the likes of Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, Francis Ford Coppola and James Cameron to name just a few. But now, the man dubbed the “pope of pop cinema,” has gained a new crop of enthusiastic disciples in Malaysia.
Corman’s seminal 1998 autobiography How I Made One Hundred Films in Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime, which documented his filmmaking career, has, rather unexpectedly, become something of a bible for a Malaysian indie producer behind a production company that is shaking up the local industry.
“We have been inspired by Corman and his book,” says producer Elise Shick, before rattling off some of Corman’s core filmmaking philosophies: “High concept, low cost, high entertainment. It’s a completely new concept for our film industry.”
Shick and filmmaker-book publisher Amir Muhammad are the driving forces behind the newly formed and innovative Malaysian production company Kuman Pictures. Launched near the end of 2018, the production house’s name is a play on Corman’s as well as the Malay word for “germ” (a nod to viral content).
Photo credit: Hollywood Reporter
