After first making a name for himself in the 70’s and 80’s with Gremlins, Piranha, The Howling and Innerspace, Joe Dante went a little quiet, popping up occasionally for lesser fare such as Small Soldiers, Looney Tunes: Back in Action and Matinee.
Well, he is back on the scene now with new 3D feature The Hole, which seems to be grabbing very good reviews in advance of its UK release later this month. Added to that is this morning’s exciting exclusive from Digital Spy that Dante will team up with Colin Firth (Bridget Jones, Mamma Mia!, Nanny McPhee, A Single Man) for a biopic all about celebrated B-movie producer Roger Corman.
For those not in the know, Roger Corman has worked for decades as a producer of much-loved, low budget films, often giving now well-established actors and directors their first taste of film-making experience. IMDb lists an astonishing 393 producer credits, with the films listed having given early breaks to actors such as Jack Nicholson, Peter Fonda, Bruce Dern, Dennis Hopper, Talia Shire, and Robert De Niro.
Directors who have worked with Corman include such varied and distinguished names as Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, Peter Bogdanovich, Jonathan Demme, James Cameron, John Sayles, Curtis Hanson, Robert Towne, Timur Bekmambetov and, of course, Dante himself.
The proposed film, which Dante is now touting around studios in search of a production deal, will revolve around the making of Corman’s 1967 film “The Trip”, a film about a TV commercial director who in the midst of a personality crisis, who decides to start experimenting with hallucinogenic drugs. The Trip was written by Jack Nicholson and starred Peter Fonda, Bruce Dern and Dennis Hopper, with Nicholson, Hopper, Fonda and Corman all apparently taking LSD “in preparation” for the film.
Dante is pitching his proposed film, tentatively titled “The Man with the Kaleidoscopic Eyes” as a comedy and he clearly has a lot of affection for Corman, who gave him his own start with Piranha, back in 1978.
I really hope Dante can get this project off the ground. Roger Corman is a legendary figure in Hollywood and Dante’s style of film-making seems like a perfect fit for this type of project. As soon as we hear any more news on this one, we’ll let you know.
