IT CONQUERED HOLLYWOOD! THE STORY OF AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL PICTURES
Jericho, NY, March 26, 2001 – What do a “Mickey Mouse Club” member, a macho man of “Mission Impossible,” a gun-toting vigilante and a baby-faced ranch-hand have in common? They were all stars in Sam Arkoff and James Nicholson’s genre-defining flicks from renegade independent studio, American International Pictures (AIP).
From Tuesday, May 1 to Friday, May 4, AMERICAN MOVIE CLASSICS will complement the premiere of its new documentary, IT CONQUERED HOLLYWOOD! THE STORY OF AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL PICTURES, with a “midnight madness” film festival featuring many of AIP’s classic films and stars.
On Tuesday, May 1, AMC features an AIP double-feature with HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER (1958) at 11:00 PM followed by some bikini-clad beach action with BEACH BLANKET BINGO (1965), starring the classic young lovers of the 1960s, ex-Mouseketeer Annette Funicello and her singing paramour, Frankie Avalon. On Wednesday, May 2, see the tough guy star of DEATHWISH, Charles Bronson, in MACHINE GUN KELLY (1958). The following night, Thursday, May 3, it’s the “Mission Impossible” man Peter Graves in the sci-fi cult classic, IT CONQUERED THE WORLD (1956). AMC’s AIP salute concludes on Friday, May 4, with the screen debut of “Bonanza” and “Little House on the Prairie” star Michael Landon in AIP’s first big hit, I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF (1957), which spawned a multitude of films geared towards teenagers.
AMC’s festival of these cult classics accompanies the premiere of its original production, IT CONQUERED HOLLYWOOD! THE STORY OF AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL PICTURES, airing on May 1 at 10:00 PM (ET). The one-hour special, narrated by director Peter Bogdanavich, is filled with anecdotes from studio visionary Sam Arkoff and a list of collaborators including: Roger Corman (director of over two dozen AIP features), actor Bruce Dern (THE CYCLE SAVAGES) and critics Roger Ebert and Thomas McGee.
AMERICAN MOVIE CLASSICS is the nation’s premier classic movie network, bringing timeless favorites to a broad audience by placing them in a fresh and contemporary context. Award -winning original documentaries, series and specials are infused with the energy and excitement of Hollywood past and present. Launched in 1984, AMC is currently available in 77 million homes.
Contact:
Sal Cataldi
212-244-9797
Jaime Saberito/Dina White
516-803-4350
Fenot Tekle/Lynn Weiss
310-998-9300