Barbara Peeters

Last updated

Barbara Peeters, also known as Barbara Peters, is an American director and screenwriter of television and film. [1] She is best known for her collaborations with producer-director Roger Corman on films such as Humanoids from the Deep , and directing episodes of television shows such as Remington Steele .

Contents

Career

Peeters broke into the film industry working in makeup, as a script supervisor, and as a production manager.

An Israeli investor wanted an X-rated sex film, enabling Peeters to turn director with Just the Two of Us (originally titled The Dark Side of Tomorrow). [1]

She wrote and directed the 1971 biker Bury Me an Angel . She was one of two female directors working for New World Pictures in the 1970s, the other being Stephanie Rothman. Film writer Gary Morris argued, "her New World work is arguably more subversive than Rothman's." [2] She worked in a variety of capacities for that company, also production managing and second -unit directing. Says Peeters:

We lived like gypsies, sleeping in the hallways when we couldn’t pay rent, sharing a car among five people. I thought I had the best life in the world. I was making movies. What were the other girls I’d graduated high school doing back in Iowa? They were marrying the boy who had the biggest farm. [3]

Peeters was quoted in 1978 as saying:

I don't like to be dictated to once I start shooting. If you tell me I have to shoot eight pages in a day and its 6 pm, let [sic] me alone. Don't talk to me at midnight until I am done. If I'm going to take the blame, then I want to make the decisions. If I fail, I won't die. I consider real power the point when you're not afraid to fail... I don't know any director who wants to spend his whole life making low-budget exploitation movies, just as nobody wants to spend their whole life in kindergarten. You look forward to graduating to high school. [1]

Peeters formed Big Movie Company with Terry Schwartz, intending to develop projects for female stars. [1] However, Peeters fell ill in 1979 and spent some time out of the industry.

She returned to directing with the 1980 film Humanoids from the Deep , which was taken out of her hands and greatly changed by Roger Corman, including the addition of several rape sequences. Peeters asked for her name to be taken off the film, but this was not done. After this experience, she stopped working for New World and directed TV for the next decade. [4]

In the 1990s, she established her own company, Silver Foxx Films. In 2008, she moved to Oregon and concentrated primarily on making commercials and developing documentaries. [3]

Selected filmography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Corman</span> American film director, producer, and actor (1926–2024)

Roger William Corman was an American film director, producer and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he was known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film.

<i>The Wild Angels</i> 1966 film by Roger Corman

The Wild Angels is a 1966 American independent outlaw biker film produced and directed by Roger Corman. Made on location in Southern California, The Wild Angels was the first film to associate actor Peter Fonda with Harley-Davidson motorcycles and 1960s counterculture. It inspired the biker film genre that continued into the early 1970s.

<i>Humanoids from the Deep</i> 1980 film by Barbara Peeters

Humanoids from the Deep is a 1980 American science fiction horror film starring Doug McClure, Ann Turkel, and Vic Morrow. Roger Corman served as the film's uncredited executive producer, and his company, New World Pictures, distributed it. Humanoids from the Deep was directed by Barbara Peeters and an uncredited Jimmy T. Murakami.

Queen of Blood is a 1966 science fiction horror film produced by George Edwards and Samuel Z. Arkoff, directed by Curtis Harrington, that stars John Saxon, Basil Rathbone, Dennis Hopper, and Judi Meredith. The film is based on the screenplay for the earlier Soviet feature film Mechte Navstrechu. Director Harrington also reused special effects footage from that film, as well as footage from the Soviet science fiction film Nebo Zovyot.

Stephanie Rothman is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter, known for her low-budget independent exploitation films made in the 1960s and 1970s, especially The Student Nurses (1970) and Terminal Island (1974).

Jonathan Kaplan is an American film producer and director. His film The Accused (1988) earned actress Jodie Foster the Oscar for Best Actress and was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 39th Berlin International Film Festival. His film Love Field (1992) earned actress Michelle Pfeiffer an Oscar nomination for Best Actress and was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival. Kaplan received five Emmy nominations for his roles directing and producing the television series ER.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles B. Griffith</span> American screenwriter (1930–2007)

Charles Byron Griffith was an American screenwriter, actor, and film director. He was the son of Donna Dameral, radio star of Myrt and Marge, along with Charles' grandmother, Myrtle Vail, and was best known for writing Roger Corman productions such as A Bucket of Blood (1959), The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), and Death Race 2000 (1975).

<i>Stripped to Kill</i> 1987 American film

Stripped to Kill is a 1987 American erotic thriller/sexploitation film directed by Katt Shea and starring Greg Evigan, Kay Lenz and Norman Fell. Its plot follows a female Los Angeles police detective who goes undercover posing as a stripper to investigate a series of slayings connected to a strip club near Skid Row.

<i>Not of This Earth</i> (1988 film) 1988 film by Jim Wynorski

Not of This Earth is a 1988 American science fiction horror comedy film, directed by Jim Wynorski and starring Traci Lords in her first mainstream role after her departure from the adult film industry. It is a remake of Roger Corman's 1957 film of the same name, written by Charles B. Griffith and Mark Hanna.

<i>Night Call Nurses</i> 1972 film by Jonathan Kaplan

Night Call Nurses is a 1972 American sex comedy film directed by Jonathan Kaplan. It is the third in Roger Corman's "nurses" cycle of films, starting with The Student Nurses (1970).

<i>The Velvet Vampire</i> 1971 film by Stephanie Rothman

The Velvet Vampire, also known as Cemetery Girls, is a 1971 American vampire film directed by Stephanie Rothman. It stars Celeste Yarnall, Michael Blodgett, Sherry Miles, Gene Shane, Jerry Daniels, Sandy Ward, and Paul Prokop. It has been cited as a cult film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julie Corman</span> American film producer

Julie Ann Corman is an American film producer. She is the widow of film producer and director Roger Corman.

<i>Starhops</i> 1977 American film

Starhops is 1977 exploitation comedy film directed by Barbara Peeters, based on a script by Stephanie Rothman, writing under a pseudonym, and was edited by future Oscar winning screenwriter Steve Zaillian.

<i>The Student Nurses</i> 1970 American film

The Student Nurses is a 1970 American film directed by Stephanie Rothman. It was the second film from New World Pictures and the first in the popular "nurses" cycle of exploitation movies. It has since become a cult film.

<i>Terminal Island</i> (film) 1973 film by Stephanie Rothman

Terminal Island, released theatrically in the U.K. as Knuckle Men, is a 1973 American action–drama thriller film directed by Stephanie Rothman. It features early screen performances by Tom Selleck and Roger E. Mosley. Although an exploitation film, it has been treated with much serious discussion by critics and academics over the years. It is regarded as a cult film.

<i>Candy Stripe Nurses</i> 1974 American film

Candy Stripe Nurses is a 1974 American comedy film written and directed by Alan Holleb, and starring Candice Rialson. Produced and distributed by New World Pictures, it was the last in their popular "nurses cycle" of films that commenced with The Student Nurses (1970).

<i>Summer School Teachers</i> 1974 film by Barbara Peeters

Summer School Teachers is a 1974 feature film directed and written by Barbara Peeters and starring Candice Rialson. It is about three female friends who all teach at a school over the summer.

<i>Bury Me an Angel</i> 1971 American film

Bury Me an Angel is a 1971 American biker film from female director Barbara Peeters, who was script supervisor on Angels Die Hard (1970). She was the first woman to direct a biker film. The film was acquired by Roger Corman's New World Pictures.

Kathleen Ann Shea is an American actress, film director, and acting teacher. She is best known for directing the erotic thriller Poison Ivy, which was nominated for the 1992 Sundance Grand Jury Prize.

Dixie Peabody was an American actress who appeared in early 1970s exploitation films from Roger Corman’s New World Pictures. Before she became an actress, she was a model who went by the name Diane Potter.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Gross, Linda (Feb 12, 1978). "A Woman's Place Is in... Exploitation Films?: A Trend-Setter in the Youth Market Women in Exploitation birth December 6, 1954 Films". Los Angeles Times. p. 34.
  2. Morris, Gary (January 2000). "Roger Corman's New World Pictures: Notes toward a Lexicon". Bright Lights Film Journal.
  3. 1 2 'Barbara Peeters – Don’t Ask her about "Humanoids from the Deep" ', Rosey's Ashland Play Reviews Archived July 20, 2012, at the Wayback Machine accessed 1 July 2012
  4. Christopher T Koetting, Mind Warp!: The Fantastic True Story of Roger Corman's New World Pictures, Hemlock Books. 2009 p 175-176