27
cinema.indiana.edu
The Art and Legacy of Roger Corman 27
Matinee
(1993)
Directed by Joe Dante
March 29 - Saturday - 6:30 p.m.
John Goodman stars as Lawrence Woolsey,
a gimmick-loving movie impresario intent on
opening his latest radioactive monster movie
Mant ("Half man! Half ant! All terror!") in Key
West during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Mod-
eled after real-life director William Castle (one
of Roger Corman's early competitors), Wool-
sey's shameless exploitation of Cold War fears
captures the imagination of a teenage movie
fan struggling to come of age in an atom-age
world that may not have a future. Joe Dante's
funny, nostalgic love letter to his own youth is
an underrated, family-friendly gem. (35mm. 99
min. Rated PG.)
Piranha
(1978)
Directed by Joe Dante
March 29 - Saturday - 9:30 p.m.
The New York Times once asked, "What is
Jaws but a big-budget Roger Corman film?"
Released to cash in on the first Jaws sequel,
New World Pictures' Piranha aptly proves the
point, as a ravenous school of mutant piranha
escape into a Texas river, threatening a youth
camp and resort community. Joe Dante directs
from a darkly humorous script by John Sayles,
offering both a sly send-up of Jaws and a com-
mentary on military-industrial greed. Featuring
appearances by genre veterans Kevin McCarthy,
Keenan Wynn, Barbara Steele, Paul Bartel, and
Dick Miller. (35mm. 94 min. Rated R.)
cinema.indiana.edu