From cockroaches to ‘Cutthroat,’ King rules all genres

From cockroaches to ‘Cutthroat,’ King rules all genres

Low-budget writer turned film success speaks at UCLA

By Lael Loewenstein

Daily Bruin Staff

At first glance, The Nest, a low-budget horror film about killer
cockroaches, and Speechless , a star-powered comedy about sexual
politics, would appear to have absolutely nothing in common.

But look closer: both films were written by Robert King. In just
a few years, the 35-year-old King has gone from the factory of cult
filmmeister Roger Corman, where movie budgets barely exceed $1
million, to the hallowed halls of MGM, where $38 million budgets
are common.

"Working with Corman was a good way to start," says King of the
horror guru, legendary for turning out films quickly. "Even though
it’s genre work of the most base quality, you’re forced to write a
full script within three weeks and within a month it’s being shot.
It’s great practice."

King will speak tonight as part of the UCLA Extension’s
"Screenwriters on Screenwriting" series.

The writer got plenty of practice on genre films. After The Nest
came Under the Boardwalk, a teen pic which he describes as "Romeo
and Juliet at the beach." Next he wrote Bloodfist , a
violence-saturated kickboxing movie "deemed by the PTA to be one of
the one of the most despicable movies of 1989, along with Tango
& Cash and Nightmare on Elm Street 3," he laughs.

As much as he appreciated the work, King soon got his fill of
exploitation movies. After completing Silk 2, a female Dirty Harry
movie, he realized this was not what he wanted to do.

"I knew that there was something better out there. I wanted to
write something that I thought would be commercial, and I knew good
calling card is always a comedy because it can make people
laugh."

That comedy was Clean Slate, which he sold to MGM/Pathé.
When the studio attached Dana Carvey to the project, King knew he’d
get his film made.

Though content to have graduated to big budget features, he has
found the development process sometimes frustrating.

"In higher budget films, it’s three to five years between when
you start writing and when the film gets released. You can easily
lose track of the connection between what you’ve written and what
eventually ends up on screen. With Corman that is never the case
because it’s so fast. In comparison to commercial movies or TV,
it’s Polaroids."

Accustomed to a hectic work schedule, King kept himself busy
while Clean Slate was in production by writing Speechless, which
eventually starred Geena Davis and Michael Keaton. No sooner had he
returned from the set of Speechless’ Santa Fe shoot than he had to
depart for Malta to do exhaustive background research on his next
script. That film is the Renny Harlin action-adventure Cutthroat
Island.

There are other projects in the works, too: a courtroom drama
set in China, and a low-budget religious satire which he’d like to
direct.

But King acknowledges that he is one among many writers with
directorial aspirations. "It’s an unfortunate cliché of
writers wanting to direct, but there’s a reason for it. So many
writers feel like no one else can communicate their ideas to the
screen. Also, movies are not seen as a writer’s creation, they’re
seen as a director’s creation."

Given his dexterity in so many genres, it’s no surprise that
King should cite among his influences the legendary Howard Hawks,
equally proficient working in westerns, comedies, war films and
musicals.

No doubt, King’s background in genre films contributes to his
facility in films as disparate as The Nest and Speechless.

"What I would recommend to anyone who wants to become a writer
is don’t overlook the lower-budget end and the genre work. There’s
worth in writing no matter what it is because it is a craft and it
is worthwhile to hear your words spoken."

SPEAKER: Robert King. "Screenwriters on Screenwriting," 4000A
Math Sciences, 7 p.m. Admission: $30 . For more info call (310)
825-1901.