Is Roger Corman ever going to slow down? Nope. Definitely not.
At the age of 91, legendary filmmaker/producer Roger Corman just received a well-earned “Master of Horror” award at this past weekend’s Overlook Film Festival, where he also spilled some beans about a couple of upcoming projects he’s developing. Yes, at 91 years old, Corman is still actively making movies. Because he’s the greatest ever. And a total inspiration.
Via Indiewire, Corman revealed that he’s working on a film titled Death Squad, which will draw inspiration from real-life Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte. The site notes that the movie will focus on “a post-apocalyptic world in which a tyrannical ruler orders extrajudicial killings supposedly to alleviate crime, which leads him to start killing anyone who disagrees with him.”
Corman spoke about the project:
It’s the most interesting story that I’m working on. [The main character is a] quasi-dictator, but not that bad a guy – he’s shaded little bit toward the black than shades of gray. He comes to the same conclusion [as Duterte], that the judicial system is corrupt, and he’s going to kill the criminals because he knows who they are. As he gets into it, he finds there’s an opposition to what he’s doing and he starts to say, ‘Well, that guy is against me. I think he’s a criminal. Let’s kill him.’ He starts saying he’s going to kill the criminals and ends up saying I’m going to kill anybody who resists me, but in his mind, it’s the same rationale… he’s expanding his interpretation of what a killer is.
The B-movie master also noted that he’s working on Death Race to the Finish, a brand new installment in the Death Race franchise that will hammer the final nail into its coffin:
It’s been my feeling that you don’t want to push a franchise too far. You have to know when to stop. [This title] fits the storyline I’m working on. It says, ‘We’ve had a good run. It’s time to move on.’
Most recently, Death Race 2050 was just released this year.