Stephanie Rothman

Stephanie Rothman (born November 9, 1936 Paterson, New Jersey) is a film director, producer and screenwriter, known for her low-budget independent exploitation films made in the 1960s and 1970s.

Biography

Roger Corman

Rothman studied filmmaking at the University of Southern California and became the first female to be awarded the Directors Guild of America fellowship. This saw her receive a job offer from Roger Corman in 1964 to work as his assistant. "I did everything: write new scenes, scout locations, cast actors, direct new sequences and edit final cuts," said Rothman. "It was a busy, exhilarating time." Corman had Rothman reshoot large segments of the movie that became Blood Bath (1966), and gave her her first full directing job in 1965 on It's a Bikini World (1967), which he financed.

In 1970 Corman established his new production and distribution company New World Pictures and hired Rothman to write and direct it's first film, The Student Nurses (1970). Although an exploitation movie, Rothman was given creative freedom to explore political and social issues which interested her such as abortion and immigration. The Student Nurses was a considerable hit, leading to four sequels and helping establish New World. She turned down Corman's offer to make a sequel and The Big Doll House (1971) because she was not enthusiastic about either project. Instead she directed The Velvet Vampire which has become a cult hit.

Dimension Pictures

She and her husband Charles S. Swartz left Corman in the early 1970s to help set up Dimension Films for whom she made a number of movies. While there she did not receive greater creative freedom or the opportunity to make different movies. However she did receive more money and owned a small share of the company.

Rothman and Swatz left Dimension in 1975. She sold a script. Carhops, which was later filmed as Starhops (1978), changed to such a degree that Rothman took her name on it. There are stories that she re-shot sections of Ruby (1977) but Rothman says these are not true. She did sign a three-picture deal with a producer but no films resulted.

Acclaim

"I was never happy making exploitation films," said Rothman later. "I did it because it was the only way I could work." However her movies have come to receive much critical appraisal, particularly from feminist writers such as Pam Cook and Claire Johnson. She was was honoured with a retrospective at the 2007 Vienna International Film Festival.

Filmography

• Beach Ball (1965) - associate producer
• Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (1965) - associate producer
• Queen of Blood (1966) - associate producer
• Blood Bath (1966) - co-director
• It's a Bikini World (1967) - director, co-writer
• Gas-s-s-s (1970) - production assistant
• The Student Nurses (1970) - director, writer
• The Velvet Vampire (1971) - director, writer
• The Student Teachers (1973) - original writer
• Group Marriage (1973) - director
• Beyond Atlantis (1973) - writer
• Terminal Island (1973) - director
• The Working Girls (1974) - director
• Starhops (1978) - writer

References

• Scott, A. O.. "Stephanie Rothman profile". New York Times. http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=109076. Retrieved 2006-11-01. 

External links

• Stephanie Rothman at the Internet Movie Database