From cockroaches to 'Cutthroat,' King rules all genres

Published: Monday, May 1, 1995

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.