We’ve gotten a lot of emails informing us that Roger Corman is going to receive his honorary Oscar this weekend. Apparently these folks missed the weekend discussion thread we had about it a couple of months ago. So we’ve moved it up to the top of the page today. If you didn’t comment then, you can comment now.
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The movie we discussed in this week’s episode guide was Roger Corman’s “The Undead.”

As Bill says in his write up: “Next time you have the notion to defend Roger Corman as a good director, watch this movie and repent.”

But there is one group that has not repented: The Motion Picture Academy’s Board of Directors, which recently voted to give ol’ Rog an honorary Oscar.

What do YOU think?

To help you discuss this topic, I could have gone to “Daddy-O’s Drive-In Dirt” and put together a list of the Corman movies done by MST3K but alert reader Dave (aka Finnias Jones) kindly did it for me. (Thanks Dave!)

Producer/Director:
• 311 – IT CONQUERED THE WORLD
• 315 – TEENAGE CAVEMAN
• 317 – VIKING WOMEN AND THE SEA SERPENT
• H01 – THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED (which I consider “canon” though purists might not. I wasn’t there at the time, but both extant versions are good, even if the riffing is inaudible and not the product of Best Brains, just the fans)
• 503-Swamp Diamonds
• 511-Gunslinger
• 806 The Undead
Exec. Producer:
• 406-Attack of the Giant Leeches
• 618-High School Big Shot
• 701 – Night of the Blood Beast
Of course Roger is responsible for many more movies, some better, some worse (CT’s “Wasp Woman” is his, and as producer: “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School,” the original “Death Race 2000,” etc.)

So what do you think of Roger? Does he deserve the Oscar or should he be, as one poster wrote in the episode guide thread, “indicted for crimes against cinema”?
(Me: Although I know he has been a mentor to several guys who went on to be good, and while I am grateful for him for providing some great MSTing fodder, I agree with Bill.)