Ach, folks. This one truly, truly, truly hurts.
Without belaboring the issue, there are times when there just aren't enough words to do justice to what one person's passing means. Life isn't exactly full of pioneers or visionaries -- I'd honestly say that maybe there's a good dozen each of us learns of in our respective lifetimes -- and it goes without saying that a true luminary's impact likely won't be fully appreciated until he or she is -- ahem -- dead and gone. I think, culturally, we've tried to make some adjustments along the way -- we've made some solid attempts to honor those who paved the way for so, so, so many -- and yet there's still no barometer by which we can effectively gauge how far and wide any single person's reach has grown across however many years he or she has been given.
Alas, none of us lasts forever. Though the souls we've touched along the way do live on well past our heartbeats, there comes that time when our contributions cease ... and such is the news I have to deliver with the passing of Hollywood heavyweight Roger Corman.
No, I'm not even going to try to put into sentences just how much of a legacy this man built. With an astonishing catalogue of titles across every conceivable genre and a resume that nearly reached five hundred different films, it's obvious to suggest that we'll likely not see another like him any time soon. Yes, yes, and yes: I realize that -- to a degree -- the projects he associated with over the years varied in qualitiy -- with 500 of them, how could they not? -- but those of us who've both followed cinema and written about it undoubtedly have something in there that we might worship, praise, or admire ... and -- in all honesty -- I've probably got a few.
A few years back, I recall debating his works with some folks in an online message board. (Ask your parents, kids.) While the general consensus was that the -- cough cough -- young ones in the discussioni didn't think highly of Corman's output, the older and wiser and perhaps more learned pointed out a fact or two not the least of which was that some of the entertainment industry's intellectual giants might not be where they were unless someone like Corman came first, swung open doors, and even gave a few of them a chance. Think what you will about a storyteller who, sure, trafficked in a bit of schlock, but Corman knew talent when he saw it ... and he never stopped to put it to good use in whatever way he could.
Though he's gone and/or passed over, his impact should be felt for a few decades more ... if there is any justice in the known universe.
Our warmest praises are extended to family, friends, and fans of Roger Corman.
May he forever rest in peace.
-- EZ
Without belaboring the issue, there are times when there just aren't enough words to do justice to what one person's passing means. Life isn't exactly full of pioneers or visionaries -- I'd honestly say that maybe there's a good dozen each of us learns of in our respective lifetimes -- and it goes without saying that a true luminary's impact likely won't be fully appreciated until he or she is -- ahem -- dead and gone. I think, culturally, we've tried to make some adjustments along the way -- we've made some solid attempts to honor those who paved the way for so, so, so many -- and yet there's still no barometer by which we can effectively gauge how far and wide any single person's reach has grown across however many years he or she has been given.
Alas, none of us lasts forever. Though the souls we've touched along the way do live on well past our heartbeats, there comes that time when our contributions cease ... and such is the news I have to deliver with the passing of Hollywood heavyweight Roger Corman.
No, I'm not even going to try to put into sentences just how much of a legacy this man built. With an astonishing catalogue of titles across every conceivable genre and a resume that nearly reached five hundred different films, it's obvious to suggest that we'll likely not see another like him any time soon. Yes, yes, and yes: I realize that -- to a degree -- the projects he associated with over the years varied in qualitiy -- with 500 of them, how could they not? -- but those of us who've both followed cinema and written about it undoubtedly have something in there that we might worship, praise, or admire ... and -- in all honesty -- I've probably got a few.
A few years back, I recall debating his works with some folks in an online message board. (Ask your parents, kids.) While the general consensus was that the -- cough cough -- young ones in the discussioni didn't think highly of Corman's output, the older and wiser and perhaps more learned pointed out a fact or two not the least of which was that some of the entertainment industry's intellectual giants might not be where they were unless someone like Corman came first, swung open doors, and even gave a few of them a chance. Think what you will about a storyteller who, sure, trafficked in a bit of schlock, but Corman knew talent when he saw it ... and he never stopped to put it to good use in whatever way he could.
Though he's gone and/or passed over, his impact should be felt for a few decades more ... if there is any justice in the known universe.
Our warmest praises are extended to family, friends, and fans of Roger Corman.
May he forever rest in peace.
-- EZ
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