Roger Corman may be known to most as the premiere producer of some of the finest exploitation movies ever made, but to those in the know he is also one of the most important and influential figures in the entertainment industry. Many of Hollywood’s finest talents on both sides of the camera owe their careers in some part to the go-for-broke tutelage they were given by working for Corman, including filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Robert Towne, Peter Bogdanovich, and Ron Howard, and actors like Jack Nicholson, Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Bruce Dern, and Robert Englund. Corman is a legend, and that is the undisputed truth.

This summer Corman is bringing a catalog of over 400 films he produced and/or directed to the vast cybernetic landscape of the Internet as he launches Corman’s Drive-In, a YouTube channel that will offer up his films for viewing for a fee still yet to be determined.

The digital deal of the day is over at Amazon today is Death Race 2, which is available for rental for only $.99.

This deal is valid only for today, Wednesday, February 2, 2011, until midnight PST. Once you activate the rental through Amazon’s Video On Demand service, you’ll have access to the movie for 48 hours. If you’re interested in purchasing the digital version, the cost is $14.99.

Also, if you’d like to own a physical copy of the movie, the Blu-ray is available for 27.99 while the DVD is $18.49. Both editions are part of Amazon’s “Buy This DVD and Watch it Instantly” program: you get the film as a free digital rental you can watch immediately when your purchase the physical copy.

Universal Pictures and director Roel Reiné (The Marine 2, The Lost Tribe) have begun principle photography on Death Race 2, the new prequel to Paul W.S. Anderson’s 2008, Death Race.

The film started shooting on February 13th in Cape Town, South Africa and will become a member of Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s DVD Originals line, which just means straight to video.

The original was actually a remake of the 1975 film, Death Race 2000. The story is similar to that of Escape from New York, and it takes place in a dystopian future where a prison inmate is offered his freedom if he takes on the persona of Frankenstein — a legendary racer who recently perished — and can win five Death Races. These races are put on by the corporations who own the prisons, and they are aired as a futuristic reality show, which brings more viewers than any other show can ever dream of, and an unbelievable amount of income.

Death Race
Unrated Blu-ray Edition
Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson
Starring Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, Ian McShane, Joan Allen
Universal Home Entertainment
Release date: December 21, 2008

The suggestion that Hollywood is out of ideas seems more and more prevalent these days, especially with the proliferation of remakes. So it’s not surprising that a remake of a film from over 30 years ago isn’t going to have much originality. However, for a mindless action flick, Death Race isn’t bad. You really can’t think too much about this one or your head might start to hurt. It’s basically Twisted Metal: The Movie.

Jensen Ames (Jason Statham) is a former professional driver living in the United States after an economic collapse has changed everything about the way the country works. Prisons have become privately run businesses, one where life is expendable in the name of profits and entertainment. The Death Race is 3-part battle/race between prisoners shown on pay-per-view where participants can die but a five-time winner is promised their freedom. Jensen is framed for murder, sent to prison, and offered a place in the competition. Naturally, it’s not that simple, as the prison warden (played by Joan Allen) is conniving and manipulative to serve her own purposes.

Death Race
Unrated Edition
Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson
Starring Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, Ian McShane, Joan Allen, Natalie Martinez
Universal Home Entertainment
Released Date: December 21, 2008

Let’s get one thing out in the great wide open right off the bat: Death Race is not a good movie. It’s completely mindless and filled with over-the-top absurdities (when did the women’s prison get stocked with friggin’ supermodels?) dancing around a very “WWE Films Present” tone.

OK, now that that’s out of the way, I have to admit… Death Race is a pretty damn fun movie. Yes, I really just said that. No, I don’t get it either. Seriously, though, as obvious as it is that the movie won’t be scooping up a collection of Oscars, it’s not out there trying to look like it should be.

Death Race is about an ex race car driver (Jason Statham) who’s out trying to find work in the new great depression (surprisingly fitting) when his wife is murdered and he’s framed for the crime, setting this up to be one of them big, scary movie prisons. The Warden (Joan Allen) offers him the chance to take the place of their most popular (and now deceased) driver so they can make a lot of money off the name with their Internet sensation, the Death Race, where inmates race to the death and where if you win five events, you go free. Without much of a choice, he accepts the offer and attempts to find a way to pull it off.