The ABCs of B-Movie Bullsh*t -- A is for A.I.P.

A

is for A.I.P.

Samuel Z. Arkoff and James H. Nicholson did not believe movies were art. They had no reverence for relevance. They were businessmen, pure and simple. Their methodology was ingenious. Come up with an insanely catchy tile (I Was a Teenage Werewolf). Hire a talented artist to create a poster based on that title. Show the poster to film buyers. Rake in the cash, and then hire people to actually make the movie. As backwards as this may sound, there was no arguing with their success. During a time when the studios were fighting a losing battle against television, A.I.P. understood that the real money was in the kids who couldn't stand being cooped up inside with their parents, so they made movies for drive-ins that offered up all of the scares, skin and laffs kids craved.

For star power they hired older actors who the studios no longer wanted. The result was big names for budget prices. They formed a deal with a plucky young go-getter named Roger Corman, and as a result grandfathered the 70s movie revolution. They made good movies (Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machines). They made bad movies (Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs). They even ventured out and made some expensive movies (Meteor), but in the end the quality meant less than the quantity--A.I.P. made a lot movies and ended up defining B-Movie cinema as we still know it.

A

is for A.I.P.

and

A.I.P.

was

Awesome