#fighting mad

[greensparty]

Remembering Roger Corman 1926-2024

This one hurts! One of the giants of indie film Roger Corman has died at 98. While he might have been known for B movies, his influence is immeasurable to all movies (A-Z).

If there was some sort of an It's a Wonderful Life scenario where we could see what life would be like if Corman hadn't been born, the entire history of film would look very different. As a producer / director / writer, he discovered and gave early career breaks to Jack Nicholson, Francis Ford Coppola, Peter Bogdanovich, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone, Joe Dante, Ron Howard, Alan Arkush, John Sayles, James Cameron, Gale Ann Hurd and countless others. In 2010 when Corman received an honorary Academy Award, Quentin Tarantino did the tribute. Afterwards QT posed for a photo with many of Corman's proteges and made reference to feeling like he was an honorary member of the Corman Film School!

Demme directing Corman in Silence of the Lambs. The student became the master!

But most notably for me is that he discovered one of my favorite filmmakers of all time Jonathan Demme. Early Corman-produced films that Demme worked on included Angels Hard as They Come, and The Hot Box. Then the first three features Demme directed were for Corman's New World Pictures: Caged Heat, Crazy Mama, and Fighting Mad. Once he moved on to bigger films, Demme never forgot Corman as he cast him in small roles in Swing Shift, The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, The Manchurian Candidate, and Rachel Getting Married. One of the things Demme talked about quite often that Corman taught him was that you need to keep the eye engaged in a film, because if the eye gets bored, the brain (and the viewer) will too, and also that the picture will only be as strong as the hero and antagonist. In 2010 when Demme received an award from Coolidge Corner Theatre, Corman was in attendance and spoke as well. My friend Jake Mulligan taught a class about Corman at the Coolidge a few years ago and had a section about Demme and Corman as well.

Bucket of Blood movie poster

In all of this praise about Corman as a producer and the "Corman Film School" of directors he gave early opportunities to, it's easy to overlook his own directing. My favorite of his own films are the underrated A Bucket of Blood (having a lot to say about beatniks and the art world) and The Little Shop of Horrors (featuring Jack Nicholson in an early role as an eager patient).

In my own directing class in college, my professor would often make reference to Corman, not just the themes and ideas in his films but his approach to low-budget filmmaking. If you've ever seen Corman in an interview you can't help but absorb his bits of wisdom.

I'd highly recommend checking out the 2011 documentary Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel for more about the man himself. I included it in my Best Documentaries of the 2010s list.

The link above is the obit from Hollywood Reporter.

[movieposters1]

[schlock-luster-video]

On April 29, 1982, Death Force (also released as Fighting Mad) debuted in West Germany.

[drmonkeysetroscans]

Anger.

[the-scarlet-witch-22]

It is so iconic that Agatha became the one thing her toxic ex hates: a ghost

[folie-a-deux]

"While on the run together, which of Will's habits might come to 'annoy' Hannibal and vice versa?"

Mads: "A thousand dogs trailing behind them. It's like the easiest way to spot us. (He would be like) 'Will can you get rid of at least one of them or two of them?'"

Hugh: "He's so fussy. You know, (mimicking Hannibal) 'The cutlery is not straight'."

[lil-vibes]

Day 5: Peer into the darkness

Previous/Next

(prompt list here! ) + bonus bc i cant help myself 😔

[legallybrunettedotcom]

corporate nightmare 😍

youtube link

[pokeberry5]

i feel like i never draw tim smiling but bb robin tim smiles a lot! (in between angst and tragedy)

brought to you by my continued attempts at figuring out tim’s early robin hair

[natjennie]

something about "your anger isn't scary to me" is making me so emotional. something about as above so below, cassandra as a mirror of kristen. something about "I've been dropping the ball a lot lately" and kristen's struggles with adhd. something about teenage girls and rage and fury and justice. something about adaine's vision of ruining fallinel and the sylvaire looking for revenge. something about sadness and doubt and anger and love. something about "I choose to understand" being the absolute core theme of d20 in general. something something.

[martyryo]

"they're the same person" "they're different people"

They are a result of mitosis 🦠

[movieposters1]

[schlock-luster-video]

On July 9, 1980, Death Force debuted in France.

[aj-artjunkyard]

I think even funnier than Anakin being a Big War Hero is if he was like. The Temple’s resident tech guy. Cal or Kanan find out who Darth Vader is and they’re like ‘the guy who reset my password???’

[meshaamem-li]

"we need weirder queer identities" y'all can't even handle queer mascs

[professorcalculusstanaccount]

How would you describe Chang's relationship with his adoptive parents in your wonderful au?

Chang is adopted pretty quickly, so it's likely they didn't get much time to get to know each other as well as most adopted families nowadays. My thoughts on Chang and his adopted family are below!

Chang's heroism in The Blue Lotus was impressive, which leads to lofty expectations Chang himself feels incapable of meeting. He struggles to adapt to life in Shanghai, the Wangs' upper middle class culture and has problems at school, having missed out on a few years of education and a lot of unresolved trauma.

He's frustrated at his own inability to fit in, and guilty about flubbing this opportunity at life they gave him. Part of him feels like he's tearing their family apart. The Wangs are desperately trying to give Chang a good life, but feel completely out of their depth.

He also can't help but compare himself to Didi, his much older adopted brother and their biological son, who is scarily competent and a clear favourite of their mother.

Didi is aware that his father may have expectations for Chang to join the Sons of the Dragon. Having experienced the pressure and danger first-hand he takes it upon himself to foster a sense of agency in Chang so he will be capable of choosing for himself when the time comes. Didi trains Chang in martial arts and is tough on him in general, but encourages Chang to travel when he expresses an interest in it. Chang on the other hand encourages Didi to have fun and let loose!

Mr Wang has high expectations for Chang because he believes in him. He and Mrs Wang genuinely care for him and only want the best possible life for him, but this sometimes comes across as them expecting Chang to be somebody else. They first thought Chang was much like Didi, disciplined and quiet, but Chang's rebellious streak catches them off guard. Mrs Wang is particularly shaken.

It struck me how gentle the Wangs were with Didi while he was under the influence of madness poison, and as they are good friends with a mental health specialist, they would absolutely take Chang's mental health seriously. Whether or not they fully understand each other is another thing. As Chang slips into a deep depression they decide to send him off to London to meet his uncle, hoping a change in scenery will help him. On his way through Tibet however, his plane crashes into the mountains...