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A while ago, we recieved an e-mail out of the blue asking us to consider the subject of today’s Hollywood History article for inclusion in the series.
Unfortunately, they didn’t give their Outposter name, so we don’t know who it was, but if you are out there, mysterious Outposter, then this one is for you! This time, we look at something that is probably a foundational touchstone of every Outposter’s young movie lives – New World Pictures.
If you went anywhere near a video store in the 1980s and stared, open-mouthed, at some of the most captivating, gruesome VHS cassette covers and posters you had ever laid your young eyes on, then it was probably New World Pictures behind the production.
Not only that, but it is also where some of the most recognisable names in various fields in Hollywood got their first start in the industry.
A Brave New World – Exploitation, Explosions, and the American Dream
Back in the early ’70s, Hollywood was still a place where you could pitch a movie about a telepathic killer dog, get $300,000, and walk out of the room with a handshake deal.
That’s when Roger Corman, the patron saint of cheap thrills and cinematic lunacy, decided the time was right to unleash his own movie studio: New World Pictures.
For the uninitiated, which obviously won’t include a single Outposter as you are all superior online movie beings, Roger Corman isn’t just some B-movie footnote.
He’s the guy who churned out hundreds of low-budget films, usually in two weeks or less, while simultaneously launching the careers of people who’d later become Hollywood royalty.
Scorsese, Coppola, James Cameron, Jonathan Demme, Ron Howard—you name a filmmaker who ever won an Oscar, and chances are they started out directing something for Corman that involved mutant crabs, topless nurses, or futuristic biker gangs.
Corman was basically the world’s least picky film school, except you didn’t have to pay tuition… you got paid in sandwiches, camera rentals, and trauma.
“Why Let Other People Screw Me When I Can Screw Myself?”
In 1970, Corman was fed up with major studios botching the distribution of his movies, so he figured, “Why let other people screw me when I can screw myself?”
Thus, New World Pictures was born.
The business model was simple: crank out movies cheap, make them lurid enough to get teenagers interested, and always—always—put something on the poster that suggested there might be nudity, even if there wasn’t.
Women in Prison: More Talent Than Wardrobe
Corman tapped into the sweet spot of American drive-in culture: horror, sci-fi, action, and women-in-prison movies. Early hits included:
The Student Nurses (1970): Four nurses navigate love, drugs, and violence. Mostly an excuse to show skin, but it made money. Enough said.
Caged Heat (1974): A women-in-prison flick directed by future Oscar-winner Jonathan Demme. Yes, the same guy who gave us Hannibal Lecter once had to choreograph a topless catfight.
Death Race 2000 (1975): Grand Theft Auto before it was cool.
Death Race 2000 remains one of the crown jewels of New World. Paul Bartel directed, David Carradine wore leather bondage gear, and Sylvester Stallone turned up before anyone knew who he was. The plot? A dystopian road race where you literally score points for mowing down pedestrians.
It’s violent, it’s satirical, and it’s the kind of movie that makes you realize we probably peaked as a civilization sometime in the mid-’70s.
Highbrow Foreign Cinema
While New World was cashing in on biker gangs and killer cars, it also became an unlikely distributor of highbrow foreign films.
Between Satan’s Cheerleaders and Smokey Bites the Dust, New World brought films by Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, and Akira Kurosawa to American audiences.
One week you’re watching The Arena – a sword-and-sandals romp starring Playboy models – the next week you’re watching Cries and Whispers.
It was cinematic whiplash that confused critics and delighted Corman’s accountant.
Sea Monsters and The Ramones
The late ’70s and early ’80s were New World’s sweet spot for cult hits.
Piranha (1978): Directed by Joe Dante. It was a rip-off so good that Steven Spielberg gave it a thumbs up.
Humanoids from the Deep (1980): Sea monsters show up, and for some reason they’re only interested in women. All the excuse New World needed.
Rock ’n’ Roll High School (1979): Featuring The Ramones, this film is basically a middle finger set to power chords.
Galaxy of Terror (1981): This is basically Alien if you shot it in a closet with leftover Halloween decorations, with a young James Cameron working on set design.
The Wonder Years
By the early ’80s, Corman sold New World to other businessmen, who kept the brand alive but went more mainstream. Suddenly, the same studio that once gave us Barbarian Queen was producing wholesome TV like The Wonder Years and Santa Barbara.
That’s like finding out the guy who used to sell you fireworks behind the gas station is now your dentist.
New World Pictures wasn’t just a studio—it was a philosophy.
Make movies fast, make them cheap, and make them fun.
Corman knew audiences didn’t always want Oscar bait; sometimes they wanted exploding cars, rubber monsters, and buxom gladiators with dialogue so bad you prayed the sound mix was off.
And in delivering that, New World gave us more than trash—it gave us joyful trash while teaching a generation of filmmakers how to stretch a nickel until it begged for mercy.
When we look with despair at modern Hollywood and wonder what is missing, maybe the answer was right in front of us all along?
If you liked this, don’t forget to check out some of our other Hollywood History articles.
The post HOLLYWOOD HISTORY: New World Pictures appeared first on Last Movie Outpost.
