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Screen Daily reports that production has begun on Joe Dante's Roger Corman biopic, The Man With the Kaleidoscope Eyes:

Joe Dante set to direct a long-gestating biopic about legendary B-movie producer Roger Corman.

Corman is the founder of New World Pictures and the man behind such cult classics as The Masque Of The Red Death (1989), Little Shop of Horrors (1960) and Death Race 2000 (1975).

The Man With Kaleidoscope Eyes will be produced by Said Ben Said of SBS Productions.

Set in Hollywood in the late 1960s, the film is billed as a comedy. Corman is to make a cameo as himself and has given the project his full blessing.

SBS is likely to handle sales as well as to produce the film, which will be financed through European sources.

After initial reports, the news was confirmed by the film's co-writer Tim Lucas on his Facebook page:

Just got an email link from Joe Dante. Subject line: "It looks like the secret is out." I guess that's as much confirmation as I'll get!

also...

As my co-writer Charlie Largent sez, "YEE HAW!" We wrote our first draft of the script 10 years ago in a whirlwind 12 days, ping-ponging email drafts back and forth. It all started when I watched the DVD supplements for THE TRIP and realized, "Hey, there's a movie here." I've never collaborated with anyone more smoothly and easily: I would write till I got tired, then Charlie would edit what I did and continue on likewise, then I would edit and continue on, then he would edit and continue on, etc. It was the first thing I wrote after finishing MARIO BAVA ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK and it was rejuvenating to knock off something in less than two weeks when BAVA had taken all of 32 years! We overnighted it to Joe, who had no idea it was coming. I think he was in the midst of making LOONEY TUNES BACK IN ACTION; he said he'd come home miserable and exhausted, but when he opened the package and saw what we had done, he couldn't put it down. He agreed to direct it by phone the next day. What a long, strange TRIP it's been! So happy we'll all be able to do this for Roger!

Well, this has shot up to the top of my most anticipated upcoming films list. Wonderful news - this is exactly like the kind of project I've been waiting for Dante to tackle since I first discovered and fell in love with his work as a kid and early teen (and continue to love to this day - recently re-watched The Howling and it holds up wonderfully). I love this director and I couldn't be happier he's in this sixties cinema wheelhouse again for the first time since Matinee.

Sounds great-- more promising than that teen werewolves and vampire film he was stuck with for a bit, at least! And for the curious, that double feature MGM put out a few years back with the Trip and Psych-Out is worth watching some drug-enchanted evening

Dante has mentioned this project in interviews he's done in the past. I thought the project was dead, so I was thrilled to hear it's getting made. Hopefully he gets to do the Termite Terrace project next. Also, it looks to me like Saïd Ben Saïd is the new Megan Ellison, but with even better taste, and no ties to the Weinsteins.

Sounds great-- more promising than that teen werewolves and vampire film he was stuck with for a bit, at least!

Absolutely, though by default I would have high hopes for anything he was attached to, no matter the source. I know you dug The Hole and its Goosebumps vibe which the vampire/werewolf film would undoubtedly also have, but I'm glad this sort of thing isn't his next movie. For a while there was another project he was going to do about a giant bat terrorizing a plane. The Corman biopic just feels like a dream come true - especially for Dante himself - as I've long-thought he needed to do a project exactly like this to creatively regroup after almost two decades of having difficulties. So we'll see!

Meanwhile, like you, I do believe the ultimate Joe Dante movie would (will?) be a straight comedy/drama about teenagers - if my imagination (projection?) is apt, a straight-forward take on the teen from Dante would gives Skins a run for its money, which is saying everything! Matinee and that Eerie, Indiana episode with Danielle Harris are enough proof of this (& to some extent the opening act of Explorers too, and damn I wish we had the deleted scenes with Hawke and "the girl next door," there was a ton of extra high school stuff and with her that was actually shot but cut out).

And for the curious, that double feature MGM put out a few years back with the Trip and Psych-Out is worth watching some drug-enchanted evening

Seconded! I own this release as well and it's a blast.

I think we can all honestly say we didn't see that coming

For what it's worth, Tim Lucas said that was not true.

cinemartin wrote:For what it's worth, Tim Lucas said that was not true.

Where did Tim Lucas say that? I wasn't able to find any mention of this casting on his Facebook page.

Yeah, that strikes me as silly. I still say Micahel Shannon looks the closest to a young Corman.

Lucas said it on Facebook. Maybe he took it down...

Lucas made this statement an hour ago (I'm guessing he made a similar statement earlier but took it down before he got Joe Dante's confirmation):

The internet has been exploding this morning with variations on the attached story. I now have to tow the company line and not immediately respond to such rumors here or elsewhere, so I've been awaiting the official word from my producers. It is now in hand.

"Quentin is a great filmmaker and a good friend, however there is absolutely no truth to the stories in the press and on the web that he is going to play Roger Corman in my upcoming film THE MAN WITH KALEIDOSCOPE EYES." - Joe Dante

Based on a few comments Lucas has made in that thread, it seems like Tarantino's name may have been bandied about in regards to a supporting role and somehow Roger Corman caught wind of that but misinterpreted it. That would explain Corman's quote, at least.

I would agree that Michael Shannon would be wonderful casting.

Just joined this forum to have something to do while bored at work. What better first post than to sing Dante's praises.

I love Joe Dante. Gremlins was my favorite movie as a kid. All of his films were pretty solid until Small Soldiers, which suffered from some of the corniest dialogue. As you guys mentioned, Matinee is pretty terrific. The 'burbs is one of my favorite 80s comedies, and probably still my favorite Tom Hanks movie. Explorers is a great underrated 80s sci-fi kids adventure movie.

From what I read, Dante was pulled from Explorers by the studio before he had even finished shooting, because they wanted to rush the release. So he had to just edit what he had together. It still holds together really well. But I'm incredibly curious what the film would be if he had gotten to finish it how he intended.

Anyway, I didn't see an introduction thread. So hey. I'm Nick. I like movies.

It's a good time for Joe Dante fans: in addition to The Man With the Kaleidoscope Eyes, Dante will be directing a horror comedy called Bury the Ex.

I love Joe Dante but the logline for this film sounds terrible.

ianungstad wrote:I love Joe Dante but the logline for this film sounds terrible.

I mean, it doesn't sound like the most gratifying use of Joe Dante's immense talent (though perhaps more interesting than The Hole, which I rank as his weakest work), but I'm hoping it will be infused with his greatest inimitable sensibilities. He really should ask Pino Donaggio to write a big horror/Romance score for it - that'll automatically amp up the fun.

Regarding the plot, I haven't seen it but isn't My Super Ex-Girlfriend kind of the same movie except here it's with zombies? Perhaps I would be a little more concerned of the possibility that this may be a throwaway gig if he wasn't also directing The Man With the Kaleidoscope Eyes.

It's actually more or less the exact plot of Camille, except that film wasn't a comedy.

I was going to say it sounded like Over Her Dead Body, but your James Franco-starring film sounds slightly classier!

colinr0380 wrote:...your James Franco-starring film sounds slightly classier!

It's really not.

Does he at least go over Niagara Falls in a barrel at one point?

colinr0380 wrote:Does he at least go over Niagara Falls in a barrel at one point?

If by 'barrel' you mean 'white horse', then yes.

The film does sound awful, but from the look of its official Twitter it's shooting now; at least it's more work for Dante, who deserves it.

... and now Dante is crowdfunding for the film.

I love Joe Dante but that page just made me kinda sad

I will contribute if any of that $200,000 will go toward funding the hiring of a large orchestra for the score Pino Donaggio ought to write for this thing (again, Donaggio scored The Howling for Dante and is definitely worthy of stepping up to the late Jerry Goldsmith's throne).

I totally missed this behind-the-scenes clip for Burying The Ex on Entertainment Tonight's website, but holy shit you guys Mary Woronov is in the movie!!!