“At last count, he produced 413 films and directed 56.”
One of the highlight events at this past weekend’s Overlook Film Festival, held at the hotel Stanley Kubrick used for exterior shots in The Shining, was the coronation of the legendary Roger Corman as a Master of Horror. Granted, we’ve long been referring to Corman by that title, but a special presentation at the event saw Mick Garris officially crown Corman with an award that was an exact replica of the axe Jack Torrance wildly swung around in Kubrick’s film. Our own Kalyn Corrigan covered the event for us all weekend, and she even filmed the entire ceremony.
Kalyn recapped for us:
The event kicked off with a screening of the old classic X: The Man with the X-Ray Vision, which Corman cited as one of his favorite films. After the film was finished, Garris took the stage, axe in hand, and gushed over Corman before dropping down to one knee and handing over the engraved axe to Corman, like a knight would present his favorite sword to a beloved king. Corman smiled and told the crowd that Garris would now have to accompany him to the airport so that he could explain why he was carrying such a vicious weapon onto the plane.
The two then sat down and recorded a live episode of Garris’ ‘Post Mortem’ podcast. There was palpable love in the room as horror fans eagerly watched two of the greats converse like old friends catching up after a long hiatus. Corman is now in his nineties, but by the way he grinned and spoke enthusiastically about his long line of work, it seemed as though he had more energy and vigor than a young filmmaker who had just broken onto the scene.
You can watch the coronation and full Q&A below!
