Roger Corman
Roger Corman is an American independent film producer, director and actor. He has been called The Pope of Pop Cinema, and is known as a trail blazer in the world of independent film. Much of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of low budget cult films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe. Admired by members of the French New Wave and Cahiers du cinema, in 1964 Corman was the youngest filmmaker to have a retrospective at the Cinematheque Francaise, as well as the British Film Institute and the Museum of Modern Art. In 2009, he was awarded an Honorary Academy Award.
Corman mentored and gave a start to many young film directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese and James Cameron. He helped launch the careers of actors Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson.