Calling all genre freaks, horror-heads, B-movie obsessives, and fans of pleasurably trashy cinema: You have a new must-watch documentary series. Premiering November 15 on Shout! Factory TV, Cult-Tastic: Tales from the Trenches with Roger and Julie Corman is a 13-part series focusing on the peerlessly bonkers work of notorious low-budget film pioneers Roger and Julie Corman. Shout! Factory debuted the trailer for the project as well, and it's equal parts informative and, thankfully, wild AF.
"I've never really thought of myself as an artist," opines Roger in the trailer. "I thought of myself as a craftsman." While Roger Corman's reputation as a craftsman who produced films with reckless, unprecedented efficiency (over 130 films over seven decades!) is set in stone, we humbly disagree with Mr. Corman. There is genuine artistry seeping in the frames of his B-movie masterpieces, despite their -- actually, because of their wild moves and salacious content. The trailer shows many of the most tantalizing moments from the Cormans' deep filmography, with frank commentary from the two and the folks who worked on them.
And many of "the folks who worked on them" wound up being massive Hollywood successes themselves -- the Cormans had a knack for discovering untapped talent and giving them their first shot in the low-budget world of B-movie filmmaking. Some of the Cormans' scouted talent include James Cameron, Jack Nicholson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sandra Bullock, Will Ferrell, Francis Ford Coppola, and many, many more. If you've been enjoying Shout! Factory TV for a while now, you've likely dipped your toe into some of the Cormans' catalog, available for streaming on the service, and seen some of these famous faces pop up. Now, you can hear the stories behind the stories.
"It makes total sense to be Shout! Factory TV's first original streaming series," said the Cormans in a Shout! Factory statement. "Shout! Factory TV is the perfect place to share our memories, allowing us to bring our stories to life and share them with a passionate audience. Shout! Factory TV’s focus on cult classic film and TV programming makes them the perfect home for this rich history of independent film." If you, like me, are a passionate fan of this kind of cinema, this is essential viewing -- at the very least, to see Roger Corman calmly and sweetly explain his rationale for some of the most carnage-laden footage ever unleashed onto the screen.
Check out the trailer and official synopsis for Cult-Tastic: Tales from the Trenches with Roger and Julie Corman below. If it's up your alley, check it out on Shout! Factory TV on November 15. For more on the Cormans, check out this hilarious trailer mashup of Josh Trank's doomed Fantastic Four adaptation with Corman's take on the material. You will likely agree that Corman's is better.
In the series, the Cormans draw upon their vast filmography and footage from over 130 films spanning seven decades. Within each episode, the legendary filmmakers share insightful stories and defining moments from their movies, recall talent and young filmmakers they fostered, as well as provide behind-the-scenes perspectives on how they produced some of the smallest budget films that went on to achieve box-office gold.