Roger Corman is an Academy Award-winning American producer and director of low-budget movies, some of which have established great reputations. Corman began his film career in 1953 as a producer and screenwriter, and he began directing films in 1955. In Corman’s most active period, he would produce up to seven movies a year and often shot extremely quickly on sets from other larger productions. He shot the original version of The Little Shop of Horrors in two days and one night. He is known for stressing the importance of budgeting and resourcefulness.

Corman retired from directing in 1971 to focus on production and distribution through his company New World/Concorde/New Horizons making low-budget films and using the profits to distribute distinguished art films. In 2009, he received an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement.

A number of noted film directors worked with Corman, usually early in their careers including Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, James Cameron, Peter Bogdanovich, Joe Dante and many more. Corman also gave many famous actors big breaks in their early careers such as Jack Nicholson, Peter Fonda, Bruce Dern, Michael McDonald, Dennis Hopper, Robert De Niro and David Carradine.