Lawrence George Cohen (July 15, 1936 – March 23, 2019) was an American filmmaker. He originally emerged as the writer of
blaxploitation
In American cinema, Blaxploitation is the film subgenre of action movie derived from the exploitation film genre in the early 1970s, consequent to the combined cultural momentum of the black civil rights movement, the black power movement, ...
films such as ''
Black Caesar'' and ''
Hell Up in Harlem'' (both 1973), before becoming known as an author of horror and
science fiction film
Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses Speculative fiction, speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as Extraterrestrial life in fiction, extraterrestria ...
s — often containing
police procedural
The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasises the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agency, law enforcement agencies ...
and
satirical
Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...
elements — during the 1970s and 1980s. His directorial works include ''
It's Alive'' (1974) and its sequels, ''
God Told Me To'' (1976), ''
The Stuff'' (1985) and ''
A Return to Salem's Lot'' (1987).
Early in his career, Cohen was a prolific television writer, creating series such as ''
Branded'', ''
Blue Light'', ''
Coronet Blue'', and ''
The Invaders''. Later on he concentrated mainly on screenwriting, including ''
Maniac Cop'' and its two sequels; ''
Phone Booth
A telephone booth, telephone kiosk, telephone call box, telephone box or public call box is a tiny structure furnished with a payphone and designed for a telephone user's convenience; typically the user steps into the booth and closes the booth ...
'' (2002); ''
Cellular''; (2004) and ''
Captivity'' (2007). In 2006, he returned to the directing chair for
Mick Garris's anthology series ''
Masters of Horror
''Masters of Horror'' is a horror anthology television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network.
Origin
In 2002, director Mick Garris invited some director friends to an informal dinner at a restaurant in Sherm ...
'', directing the episode "
Pick Me Up".
In 2017, Cohen was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the
Fantasia International Film Festival
Fantasia International Film Festival, also known as Fantasia Fest or simply Fantasia, is a genre film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. It focuses on fantasy, horror, sci-fi and cult genre films. Regular ...
.
Early life
Lawrence George Cohen was born in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, New York City, on July 15, 1936. His family was of
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
ancestry. His sister,
Ronni Chasen, was a publicist who worked with him beginning early in his film career. He moved to the
Riverdale section of
the Bronx
The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
in New York City at an early age.
Cohen exhibited a voracious appetite for films as a child, visiting the movie theaters at least twice a week, and most of them being
double feature
The double feature is a Film, motion picture industry phenomenon in which theaters would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which the presentation of one feature film would be followed by various short subjec ...
s, the young Cohen managed to consume at least four movies a week. He was a fan of the
hard-boiled and
film noir
Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...
movies that featured actors such as
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...
and
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor and dancer. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and maj ...
; films that were penned by the likes of
Raymond Chandler
Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...
and
Dashiell Hammett
Samuel Dashiell Hammett ( ; May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the characters he created are Sam Spade ('' The Ma ...
. Cohen was especially a fan of director
Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz (; born Manó Kaminer; from 1905 Mihály Kertész; ; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed classic films from the silen ...
, whose films include ''
The Adventures of Robin Hood
''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Epic film, epic swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and written by Norman Reilly Ra ...
'', ''
Casablanca
Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...
'', and ''
Dodge City''.
He majored in
film studies
Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various film theory, theoretical, history of film, historical, and film criticism, critical approaches to film, cinema as an art form and a medium. It is sometimes subsumed within media stud ...
at the
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...
.
[
]
Career
Early work
During the 1950s Cohen worked for the NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
television network as an NBC page, where he learned how to produce teleplay
A teleplay is a screenplay or script used in the production of a scripted television program or series. In general usage, the term is most commonly seen in reference to a standalone production, such as a television film, a television play, or a ...
s, and shortly afterward began writing his own television scripts.
Cohen began his career as a writer for well-known television series, concentrating his efforts on the crime and detective genres. He penned several episodes of '' The Defenders'' (1964) — which starred E.G. Marshall — whilst he was serving in the US Army in Virginia.
He wrote one episode of ''Espionage
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...
'' (1964), and episodes of '' The Fugitive'' for producer Quinn Martin
Quinn Martin (born Irwin Martin Cohn; May 22, 1922 – September 5, 1987) was an American television producer. He had at least one television series running in prime time every year for 21 straight years (from 1959 to 1980). Martin is a memb ...
. Other writing credits during the 1950s and 1960s included the fantasy-suspense anthologies ''Kraft Television Theatre
''Kraft Television Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series running from 1947 to 1958. It began May 7, 1947, on NBC, airing at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. It first promoted MacLaren's Impe ...
'' (1958) and '' Kraft Suspense Theatre'' (1965).
In 1966, he wrote the screenplay to the Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
film '' Return of the Seven'' (also known as ''Return of the Magnificent Seven''), a sequel to the 1960 film ''The Magnificent Seven
''The Magnificent Seven'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Sturges. The screenplay, credited to William Roberts, is a remake – in an Old West-style – of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film '' Seven Samurai'' (itself init ...
'', which had the return of Yul Brynner
Yuliy Borisovich Briner (; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner (), was a Russian-born actor. He was known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in the Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musical ''The King and I'' (19 ...
as gunslinger
Gunfighters, also called gunslingers () or in the late 19th and early 20th century gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in shootouts. Today, the term "gunslin ...
Chris Adams.
He created the Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
TV series '' Branded'' (1965–1966) and was the co-creator with Walter Grauman
Walter E. Grauman (March 17, 1922 – March 20, 2015) was an American director of stage shows, films and television shows.
Early life
Grauman was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Jacob and Irene Grauman, both children of German immigrants who ...
of the World War II espionage TV series '' Blue Light'' (1966) starring Robert Goulet
Robert Gérard Goulet (November 26, 1933 October 30, 2007) was an American‐Canadian singer and actor of French-Canadian ancestry. Goulet was born and raised in Lawrence, Massachusetts, until age 13, and then spent his formative years in Canad ...
. Four episodes he wrote for ''Blue Light'' were edited together to create the theatrical film '' I Deal in Danger'', released in December 1966.
He created '' Coronet Blue'' (1967) starring Frank Converse, and the science-fiction TV series, ''The Invaders'' (1967–1968) for Quinn Martin.
1970s
Although Cohen continued to write TV and film scripts during the 1970s – such as ''Columbo
''Columbo'' is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originall ...
'' – he further turned his hand to directing. His directorial debut was the 1972 comedy film ''Bone
A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...
'' (aka ''Beverly Hills Nightmare)'' starring Yaphet Kotto. Cohen directed ''Dial Rat for Terror'' (1973) and ''Housewife (1973)'' before creating the ''It's Alive'' series in 1974. He wrote, produced and directed the horror film '' It's Alive'', about a mutant monster baby that embarks on a killing spree. The film – an initial commercial failure – was re-released with a new and sharper advertisement campaign; it went on to become a moderate success, earning over $7 million for Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
and spawning two sequels, '' It Lives Again'' (1978) and '' It's Alive III: Island of the Alive'' (1987).[Litwak, Mark (1986). Reel Power: The Struggle for Influence and Success in the New Hollywood. New York: William Morrow & Co.. p. 251. .]
Cohen followed-up ''It's Alive'' with the science-fiction serial killer
A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone:
*
*
*
*
* (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...
film '' God Told Me To'' (1976), in which a New York detective investigates a spate of killings by apparently random people who say that God told them to commit the crimes. He concentrated his work predominantly within the horror genre throughout the 1970s and 1980s, often incorporating elements of crime, police procedural
The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasises the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agency, law enforcement agencies ...
, and science fiction with scathing social commentary.
Cohen's ''It's Alive'' tells of a couple, Frank and Lenore Davis, who give birth to a mutated baby. The doctors and nurses at the hospital attempt to end the life of the deformed child, but it instead kills them and escapes. A police manhunt ensues as the fleeing mutation leaves dead bodies in its wake. Frank sees the child just as Dr. Frankenstein saw his monster and assists the police.
The emphasis in ''It's Alive'' is on the potential effects of chemicals to the ecosystem, and experimental prescription drugs that can be harmful to unborn babies. The score for ''It's Alive'' was composed by Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in film scoring. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely regarde ...
, known for his contributions to many Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...
films, including '' Psycho'', ''North by Northwest
''North by Northwest'' is a 1959 American spy thriller film produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, and James Mason. The original screenplay written by Ernest Lehman was intended to be the basis for ...
'', and ''Vertigo
Vertigo is a condition in which a person has the sensation that they are moving, or that objects around them are moving, when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. It may be associated with nausea, vomiting, perspira ...
''. The welling strings, horn arrangements and harp glissandos throughout the film prefigure the soundtrack to Herrmann's final film score two years later for ''Taxi Driver.'' The cast includes John P. Ryan, Sharon Farrell
Sharon Farrell (born Sharon Forsmoe, December 24, 1940 – May 15, 2023) was an American television and film actress, and dancer. Originally beginning her career as a ballerina with the American Ballet Theatre company, Farrell made her film debu ...
, James Dixon, and Andrew Duggan
Andrew Duggan (December 28, 1923 – May 15, 1988) was an American character actor. His work includes 185 screen credits between 1949 and 1987 for roles in both film and television, as well a number more on stage.
Background
Duggan was born i ...
.
''It Lives Again'' (1978) picks up where the first one ended. More mutated babies are appearing around the country. Frank has now joined a renegade mob who are attempting to stop the government from killing these strange mutations. The emphasis in ''It Lives Again'' is on accepting one's child, even if it is born with deformities or disabilities. The score is again provided by Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in film scoring. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely regarde ...
. The cast includes John P. Ryan, James Dixon, Andrew Duggan
Andrew Duggan (December 28, 1923 – May 15, 1988) was an American character actor. His work includes 185 screen credits between 1949 and 1987 for roles in both film and television, as well a number more on stage.
Background
Duggan was born i ...
, and Frederic Forrest.
1980s
During the 1980s, Cohen directed, produced, and scripted a number of low-budget horror films, many of which featured actor Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty (born April 5, 1941) is an American-Canadian actor. He received an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award for his role as a Nazi SS officer in the 1978 miniseries ''Holocaust'' and a Tony Award in 1974 for his performance in the ...
. The first was '' Q'' – a.k.a. ''Q: The Winged Serpent'' (1982) — about an Aztec
The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...
god known as Quetzalcoatl (the Winged Serpent) resurrected and nesting atop the Chrysler Building
The Chrysler Building is a , Art Deco skyscraper in the East Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. Located at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, it is the tallest brick building in the world wit ...
. The film is set in New York City, as was typical for Cohen, and sees two police detectives investigating a spate of killings in the city. The cast is headed by Moriarty and co-stars David Carradine, Candy Clark, Richard Roundtree, and James Dixon (another Cohen regular). The Chrysler Building scenes were actually shot on location in and around the building, including the inside and outside of the cone atop the edifice.
Cohen's next project with Moriarty was '' The Stuff'' (1985), in which an alien substance of sorts is found bubbling out of the ground. The Stuff is marketed at the general public, which rapidly becomes addicted to it. David "Mo" Rutheford, an industrial saboteur, played by Moriarty, is hired to investigate the origins of the Stuff and decides to destroy the product. The film co-stars Danny Aiello
Daniel Louis Aiello Jr. () (June 20, 1933 – December 12, 2019) was an American actor. He appeared in numerous motion pictures, including ''The Godfather Part II'' (1974), ''The Front'' (1976), ''Once Upon a Time in America'' (1984), ''Hide in ...
, Brian Bloom, Scott Bloom, Andrea Marcovicci, Patrick O'Neal, and Paul Sorvino
Paul Anthony Sorvino (, ; April 13, 1939 – July 25, 2022) was an American actor. He often portrayed authority figures on both the criminal and the law enforcement sides of the law.
Sorvino was particularly known for his roles as Lucchese cri ...
. ''Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' regular Garrett Morris
Garrett Isaac Morris (born February 1, 1937) is an American actor, comedian and singer. He was part of the original cast and was the first black cast member of the sketch comedy program ''Saturday Night Live'', appearing from 1975 to 1980.
He ...
plays Charlie W. Hobbs a.k.a. Chocolate Chip Charlie, a junk food
"Junk food" is a term used to describe food that is high in calorie#Nutrition, calories from macronutrients such as sugar and fat, and often also high in sodium, making it hyperpalatable, and low in dietary fiber, Protein (nutrient), protein, or m ...
mogul who assists Mo with his investigation. Cohen cast Moriarty in ''It's Alive 3: Island of the Alive'' (1987)—the third part of the ''Alive Trilogy''—and again in '' A Return to Salem's Lot'' (1987), the unofficial sequel of Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...
's novel and TV miniseries
In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...
'' Salem's Lot''. Cohen finished the 1980s with ''Wicked Stepmother
''Wicked Stepmother'' is a 1989 American black comedy fantasy film written, produced, and directed by Larry Cohen and starring Bette Davis and Barbara Carrera.
It is best known for being the last film of Bette Davis, who withdrew from the proj ...
'' (1989), in which the late Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympatheti ...
made her last appearance.
1990s
Cohen began the 1990s with his film '' The Ambulance'' (1990) starring Eric Roberts
Eric Anthony Roberts (born April 18, 1956) is an American actor. He has amassed more than 700 film and television credits since his debut in 1978, making him one of the most prolific English-speaking screen actors of all time.
Roberts' career ...
. The film is set in New York City and is focused on Josh Baker (Roberts), an aspiring comic book artist, who investigates a string of disappearances: people who are picked up by a mysterious ambulance that never reaches the city hospital. '' The Ambulance'' features cameos by Stan Lee
Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...
, Larry Hama
Larry Hama (; born June 7, 1949) is an People of the United States, American comic-book writer, artist, actor, and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s.
During the 1970s, he was seen in minor roles ...
and Jim Salicrup of Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
. He would direct only two other films during the 1990s, one being the Blaxploitation
In American cinema, Blaxploitation is the film subgenre of action movie derived from the exploitation film genre in the early 1970s, consequent to the combined cultural momentum of the black civil rights movement, the black power movement, ...
film '' Original Gangstas'' (1996), featuring Jim Brown
James Nathaniel Brown (February 17, 1936 – May 18, 2023) was an American professional American football, football player, civil rights activist, and actor. He played as a Fullback (gridiron football), fullback for the Cleveland Browns of the ...
, Pam Grier
Pamela Suzette Grier (born May 26, 1949) is an American actress, singer, and martial artist. Described by Quentin Tarantino as cinema's first female action star, she achieved fame for her starring roles in a string of 1970s action, blaxploitati ...
, and Fred Williamson. For most of the decade, Cohen concentrated on writing. He penned the remainder of the William Lustig ''Maniac Cop'' Trilogy – he had previously scripted '' Maniac Cop'' in 1988 – that features Robert Z'Dar
Robert James Zdarsky (June 3, 1950 – March 30, 2015), better known by his stage name Robert Z'Dar, was an American character actor and film producer, best known for his role as officer Matt Cordell in the cult horror film ''Maniac Cop'' (1988) ...
as undead Maniac Cop, Matt Cordell, and B-Movie
A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...
horror actor Bruce Campbell. He then provided the story of the third adaptation of Jack Finney's 1955 science-fiction novel '' The Body Snatchers'', a tale of alien invasion and paranoia
Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of co ...
: '' Body Snatchers'' was directed by Abel Ferrara and starred Forest Whitaker
Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and activist. His accolades include an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Best Actor Award at the ...
. Throughout the decade Cohen was further involved in various TV projects including ''NYPD Blue
''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble ca ...
'' and the Ed McBain-inspired ''87th Precinct: Heatwave''.
2000s
Cohen's output after the 1990s was less prolific and concentrated solely on scriptwriting, except for a brief return to directing with the ''Masters of Horror
''Masters of Horror'' is a horror anthology television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network.
Origin
In 2002, director Mick Garris invited some director friends to an informal dinner at a restaurant in Sherm ...
'' episode " Pick Me Up" (2006). His first project, ''Phone Booth
A telephone booth, telephone kiosk, telephone call box, telephone box or public call box is a tiny structure furnished with a payphone and designed for a telephone user's convenience; typically the user steps into the booth and closes the booth ...
'' (2002), became involved in a Hollywood bidding war, the script eventually ending up in the hands of Joel Schumacher
Joel T. Schumacher (; August 29, 1939 – June 22, 2020) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Raised in New York City by his mother, Schumacher graduated from Parsons School of Design and originally became a fashion designe ...
. ''Phone Booth'' was a commercial success with an estimated budget of $13 million and a worldwide gross of $98 million. The film starred Colin Farrell
Colin James Farrell (; born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor. A Leading actor, leading man in blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and independent films since the 2000s, he has received various List of awards and nominations received by Col ...
, Katie Holmes
Kate Noelle Holmes (born December 18, 1978) is an American actress. She first achieved fame as Joey Potter on the television series ''Dawson's Creek'' (1998–2003).
Holmes made her film debut with a supporting role in Ang Lee's '' The Ice Sto ...
, Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland (born 21 December 1966) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his starring role as Jack Bauer in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox drama series ''24 (TV series), 24'' (2001–2010, 20 ...
, and Forest Whitaker
Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and activist. His accolades include an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Best Actor Award at the ...
; it was produced by David Zucker
David Samuel Zucker (born October 16, 1947) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Associated mostly with parody comedies, Zucker is recognized for collaborating with Jim Abrahams and his brother Jerry as part of Zucker, Ab ...
.
His next film, another action-crime thriller titled '' Cellular'' (2004), also featured phones and, like ''Phone Booth'', it was a modest commercial success with an estimated budget of $25 million and a gross worldwide return of $50 million. ''Cellular'' starred Kim Basinger
Kimila Ann Basinger ( ; born December 8, 1953) is an American actress. She has garnered acclaim for her work in film, for which she has received various accolades including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a ...
, Chris Evans, William H. Macy
William Hall Macy Jr. (born March 13, 1950) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. He is a two-time Emmy Award and four-time Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award winner, and has been nominated for an Acade ...
, and Jason Statham. ''Cellular'' was later re-made as '' Connected'' (2008), Cohen being credited with the story. He then scripted the horror-thriller films '' Captivity'' (2007) and '' Messages Deleted'' (2009); however, both films fared poorly on a critical and commercial level. Cohen nevertheless received acclaim for the above-mentioned '' Pick Me Up'', which he directed for the Mick Garris TV series ''Masters of Horror
''Masters of Horror'' is a horror anthology television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network.
Origin
In 2002, director Mick Garris invited some director friends to an informal dinner at a restaurant in Sherm ...
'' (2006). The episode was written by splatterpunk- horror author David Schow, and starred Cohen regular Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty (born April 5, 1941) is an American-Canadian actor. He received an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award for his role as a Nazi SS officer in the 1978 miniseries ''Holocaust'' and a Tony Award in 1974 for his performance in the ...
.
In 2003, Cohen, together with production partner Martin Poll, was at the center of a lawsuit against 20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
, claiming the company had intentionally plagiarized
Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of anothe ...
a script
Script may refer to:
Writing systems
* Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire
* Script (styles of handwriting)
** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...
of theirs titled ''Cast of Characters'' in order to create the Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...
-starring '' League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' in 2003. According to the BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, the lawsuit alleged 'that Mr. Cohen and Mr. Poll pitched the idea to Fox several times between 1993 and 1996, under the name ''Cast of Characters''.'["Gentlemen lands Fox in $100 million lawsuit," September 27, 2003. ''Calcutta Telegraph''.]["Producer and Writer File $100 Million Lawsuit Against 20th Century-Fox," September 25, 2003. ''Business Wire''.][ on 2008-05-16.] ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' was an adaptation of the 1999 published comic book series by Alan Moore
Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', Swamp Thing (comic book), ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman: The Killing Joke' ...
and artist Kevin O'Neill.
In 2006, Cohen was included in the ''Masters of Horror
''Masters of Horror'' is a horror anthology television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network.
Origin
In 2002, director Mick Garris invited some director friends to an informal dinner at a restaurant in Sherm ...
'' TV anthology, which also included – but was not limited to – writers and directors as diverse as Dario Argento
Dario Argento (; born 7 September 1940) is an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. His influential work in the horror film, horror and giallo genres during the 1970s and 1980s has led him to being referred to as the "Master of the ...
, Clive Barker
Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English writer, filmmaker, and visual artist. He came to prominence in the 1980s with a series of short stories collectively named the ''Books of Blood'', which established him as a leading horror author ...
, John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, composer, and actor. Most commonly associated with horror film, horror, action film, action, and science fiction film, science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s, he is ...
, Richard Chizmar, Don Coscarelli
Don Coscarelli Jr. (born February 17, 1954) is an American film director, film producer, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in horror films. His directing credits include the first four films in the Phantasm (franchise), '' ...
, Wes Craven
Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter and producer. Amongst his Wes Craven filmography, prolific filmography, Craven worked primarily in the Horror film, horror genre, particularly sla ...
, David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is a principal originator of the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation, infectious diseases, and ...
, Joe Dante
Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, ''Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix the 1950s-style B movie genre with Counterculture of th ...
, Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born 9 October 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and artist. His work has been characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales, Gothic fiction, gothicism and horror fiction, horror often blending the genres ...
, Ernest Dickerson
Ernest Roscoe Dickerson (born June 25, 1951) is an American director, cinematographer, and screenwriter of film, television, and music videos.
As a cinematographer, Dickerson is known for his frequent collaborations with Spike Lee ever since they ...
, Stuart Gordon
Stuart Alan Gordon (August 11, 1947 – March 24, 2020) was an American Filmmaking, filmmaker, theatre director, screenwriter, and playwright. Initially recognized for his provocative and frequently controversial work in experimental theatre, Go ...
, James Gunn
James Francis Gunn Jr. (born August 5, 1966) is an American filmmaker. He began his career as a screenwriter in the mid-1990s, starting at Troma Entertainment with ''Tromeo and Juliet'' (1996). He then began working as a director, starting wi ...
, Sam Hamm, Tom Holland
Thomas Stanley Holland (born 1 June 1996) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, including a BAFTA Award, he featured on the ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 Europe list of 2019. Some publications have called him one of the most ...
, Tobe Hooper
Willard Tobe Hooper (; January 25, 1943 – August 26, 2017) was an American filmmaker, best known for his work in the horror film, horror genre. The British Film Institute cited Hooper as one of the most influential horror filmmakers of al ...
, Lloyd Kaufman
Stanley Lloyd Kaufman Jr. (born December 30, 1945) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. Alongside producer Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director of many of their featu ...
, Mary Lambert, John Landis
John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for directing comedy films such as ''The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977), ''Animal House, National Lampoon's Animal House'' (1978), The Blues Brothers (f ...
, Joe R. Lansdale, Bentley Little, H.P. Lovecraft, Joe Lynch, William Lustig, Peter Medak
Péter Medák (born 23 December 1937) is a Hungarians in the United Kingdom, Hungarian-British film and television director.
Early life
Born in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary, Hungary, he was the son of Elisabeth (née Diamounstein) and Gyula Med ...
, Lucky McKee
Edward Lucky McKee (born November 1, 1975) is an American director, writer, and actor, largely known for the 2002 cult film ''May''. He is best known for his work in horror films.
Life and career
McKee was born in Jenny Lind, California. He ha ...
, Kat O' Shea, Robert Rodriguez
Robert Anthony Rodriguez ( ; born June 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 ...
, Eli Roth
Eli Raphael Roth (born April 18, 1972) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. As a director and producer, he is most closely associated with the horror genre, namely splatter films, having directed the films ''Cabin Fev ...
, David Schow, and Tim Sullivan. It was created by Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network. Cohen's contribution was the segment '' Pick Me Up'', based on a short story by David Schow, who also wrote the teleplay
A teleplay is a screenplay or script used in the production of a scripted television program or series. In general usage, the term is most commonly seen in reference to a standalone production, such as a television film, a television play, or a ...
. It stars Fairuza Balk and Cohen regulars Laurene Landon and Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty (born April 5, 1941) is an American-Canadian actor. He received an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award for his role as a Nazi SS officer in the 1978 miniseries ''Holocaust'' and a Tony Award in 1974 for his performance in the ...
. ''Pick Me Up'' is the story of woman traveling on a bus that has broken down along a stretch of lonely two-lane blacktop. Enter two serial killers
A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone:
*
*
*
*
* (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...
: Wheeler (Moriarty), a driver who picks up hitchhikers with the sole intent of killing them – and – Walker (Warren Kole), a hitchhiker who accepts lifts in order to find ''his'' victims. The two killers pair up and inventively murder all the passengers on the bus, save for Stacia (Balk), who has since gone her own way. Stacia eventually winds up in the middle of a serial killer turf war, a war over which killer will get her first. ''Pick Me Up'' signaled a brief return to the director's chair for Cohen.
Josef Rusnak remade Cohen's '' It's Alive'' in 2009. Still awaiting a score on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the existing reviews are also very poor. Even Cohen admitted that the remake was dreadful and states: 'It's a terrible picture. It's just beyond awful'. Cohen offered his 1974 script but remarks that it was completely ignored: "I would advise anybody who likes my film to cross the street and avoid seeing the new enchilada."
Critical response
''It's Alive''
'' It's Alive'', the first part of Cohen's horror trilogy featuring a mutated baby that kills its prey when trapped or frightened, holds a rating of 67% on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, one of the highest ratings for his films. Focusing on the social context of the film at the time, ''The Film Journal'' points out that ''It's Alive'' "carries a potent mix of both suspense and social critique .. voking such taboo subjects as abortion as early as 1974." As well as being apt at providing 'suspense,' ''The Film Journal'' acknowledges Cohen's ability "to impart an intelligent nature to his otherwise pulpy horror films." ''Black Hole'' magazine opines that despite a lack of A-List
An A-list actor is a major movie star, or one of the most bankable actors in a film industry.
The A-list is part of a larger guide called ''The Hot List'', which ranks the bankability of 1,400 movie actors worldwide, and has become an industry ...
actors and special effects, ''It's Alive'' still manages to maintain the viewer's interest due to Cohen's "unique horror concept and a script rich in ideas." ''Black Hole'' nevertheless points out that " ile the drama is consistent, it's less successful as a seventies monster movie, and especially lacking now." Whereas '' Jaws'' (1975) revealed the shark slowly, Cohen's film "barely ever shows us the goods." The magazine does agree, however, that ''It's Alive'' was "a sufficiently powerful monster movie and hat
A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
audiences wanted more." ''Filmcritic'' draws attention to the humour element, especially the scenes where the Baby-Monster is rustling in the bushes, unseen, comparing it to the scene in '' Basket Case'' (1982) when that film's Baby-Monster is stuffed into a garbage sack after being cut away from its human twin. ''Basket Case'' is indeed a part of another – later – Baby-Monster horror trilogy. In short, ''Filmcritic'' says that Cohen's film should not be confused with art; and yet, it is "pretty scary stuff" that "manages a few neat tricks."
''God Told Me To''
'' God Told Me To'' a.k.a. ''Demon'' (1976), Cohen's science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
thriller, has a rating of 75% on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, making it Cohen's most successful directorial effort, critically. The film, in which a number of New York citizens embark on a killing spree because ''God Told Them To'', is called "one of his most ambitious movies" that is "cemented in an interesting idea" by ''QNetwork Entertainment'', who find Cohen's ideology of the existence of God interesting: "cynical at best" and "sacrilegious at worst." The magazine continues, however, to comment on Cohen's lack of patience and drive when completing his movies, regarding the end products as being "hastily thrown-together" and "a mosaic of scenes, rather than a satisfying whole." In conclusion ''QNetwork'' give the film an even 2 1/2 stars for being the "clumsiest and most entertaining schlock of the last 20 years." ''CinePassion'' online magazine simply states: " work of genius, in other words, possibly the Cohen joint that brims with the most all-pervasive invention and danger, as radical a Seventies 'incoherent text' as ''Taxi Driver
''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American neo-noir psychological drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. Set in a morally decaying New York City following the Vietnam War, it stars Robert De Niro as veteran Marine and ...
'' and a clear linchpin of ''The X-Files
''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...
''." The ''Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'' sees Cohen's incoherent text in a different light, likening the film to a cinematic version of the card game 52 Pickup: "the movie does achieve greatness in another way: this is the most confused feature-length film ..ever seen." But '' Time Out'' applauded Cohen for offering "the perfect existential anti-hero" in New York cop, Lo Bianco, in a film that "overflows with such perverse and subversive notions that no amount of shoddy editing and substandard camerawork can conceal tsunusual qualities" and that by " gging deep into the psyche of American manhood, it lays bare the guilt-ridden oppressions of a soulless society."
''Q: The Winged Serpent''
His fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures.
The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
horror '' Q'' a.k.a. ''Q: The Winged Serpent'' (1982) has a Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
rating of 61%. ''TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media
In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
'' praise Cohen for his intelligence, creativity and originality and further comment that ' ohensuccessfully combines a ''film noir'' crime story with a good old-fashioned ''giant monster'' movie' and that 'Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty (born April 5, 1941) is an American-Canadian actor. He received an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award for his role as a Nazi SS officer in the 1978 miniseries ''Holocaust'' and a Tony Award in 1974 for his performance in the ...
turns in a brilliant performance as Jimmy Quinn ... Horror author and movie critic, Kim Newman
Kim James Newman (born 31 July 1959) is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. He is interested in film history and horror fiction – both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's ''Dracula'' at the age of eleven & ...
, praises Cohen's plot originality and canny use of characters in ''Empire
An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
'', pointing out the director's use of an oddball as lead – Jimmy Quinn – who would ordinarily be a secondary character or warrant solely a cameo appearance; Newman also explains how Cohen has relegated all the usual plot devices – in movies such as ''King Kong'' – to the background. Alternatively, the ''Chicago Reader
The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The ''Reader'' has been ...
'', although viewing Cohen's monster movie as 'cheesy' and 'fun', ultimately condemns the movie as being 'curiously disengaged and sloppy'. ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', following the film's opening day at the Rivoli Theater, had just 'a few words – only a very few – about ''Q'', offering a brief neutral synopsis and a couple of quotes. '' Variety'' are more favourable, focusing on Cohen's 'wild' and 'bizarre' – albeit realistic – efforts: ''Q'' has great fun mixing realistic settings with political satire and a wild yarn'. They go on to say that the film belongs to both Moriarty and the Monster.
''The Stuff''
Cohen's science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
horror film and satirical
Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...
social commentary '' The Stuff'' (1985) garnered mixed reviews, often being compared to Jack Finney's '' The Body Snatchers'' novel and the 1958 film '' The Blob''. It has a moderate ''fresh'' rating of 73% on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
. The ''Apollo Movie Guide'' remarks that ''The Stuff'' works on a purely visceral level, and that it further achieves a tongue-in-cheek social parody of a society that cannot help buying into the latest craze. Although ''Apollo'' praised the juxtaposition of Cohen's clever screenplay and Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty (born April 5, 1941) is an American-Canadian actor. He received an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award for his role as a Nazi SS officer in the 1978 miniseries ''Holocaust'' and a Tony Award in 1974 for his performance in the ...
's performance, it states that the film is not a classic. It does, however, award the film a modest Apollo Rating of 77/100. The ''Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'', on the other hand, sees ''The Stuff'' as a widely ambitious movie that fails mainly due to distracting glitches and a lack of plausibility, specifically, "What we have here are a lot of nice touches in search of a movie." ''Chicago Sun-Times'' rating: 1 1/2 stars out of 5. ''Bloody Disgusting'' nevertheless awarded ''The Stuff'' 3 stars out of 5, pointing out both the good and the bad, " 's smart, it's relevant and it has some bad acting. t should beenjoyed for all the wrong and some of the right reasons that it is not just a horror movie, but a very honest and important movie as well."
Personal life
Cohen was married twice: to Janelle Webb, until their divorce in 1980; and then to Cynthia Costas, from 1994 until his death. He had two daughters.[ His sister Ronni Chasen was murdered on November 16, 2010 in a drive-by shooting in Beverly Hills.]
Death
On March 23, 2019, Cohen died from cancer at his home in Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...
, at age 82.
Filmography
Film
Writer only
Acting roles
Television
TV movies
TV series
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
Official website
*
Larry Cohen biography on (re)Search my Trash
Senses of Cinema Great Directors profile (profile by Tony Williams)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Larry
1936 births
2019 deaths
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American screenwriters
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American screenwriters
American male screenwriters
City College of New York alumni
Deaths from cancer in California
Film directors from New York City
Film producers from New York (state)
American horror film directors
People from Riverdale, Bronx
Screenwriters from New York (state)
Writers from the Bronx
Jewish American film people
American television show creators