Alec Gillis is a special effects guru who’s worked on some major projects, including Starship Troopers, the Alien franchise, and Death Becomes Her. He’s also collaborated with the likes of James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd, and creature FX legend Stan Winston (Aliens, Predator, Pumpkinhead). Prior to working on blockbuster films, Gillis started his career at Roger Corman’s New World Cinema, specifically Battle Beyond the Stars and Galaxy of Terror. In honor of Corman’s birthday, Gillis is partaking in Shout! TV’s Double Take series, which features celebrity guests hosting and curating themed double features. His episode and tribute to Corman airs on April 5.

We spoke with Gillis about his friendship with Corman and what he learned from the pioneering indie filmmaker. This interview was edited slightly for clarity.

Talk about your relationship to Roger Corman and working for New World Cinema.

Alec Gillis: I was very fortunate, at 19 years old, to get an interview to work on a movie called Battle Beyond the Stars. I interviewed with the visual effects department. I brought along a friend that I met a year earlier by the name of James Cameron. This was when he delivered books for the school district. It was that era. Roger was not at that initial meeting, but when we did finally get brought on and hired, we got to meet Roger. He sat behind a giant glass desk. He was a very imperious and intimidating character. He was very tall. He had a booming voice. He was warm enough but there was a wall there. I thought he was really impressive.

I’d then see him around the studio, which was in Venice, California. He bought an old lumber company that went out of business. You’d never know it was a special effects studio. He had prime real estate in Venice Beach. We were all talented up-and-comers that couldn’t believe our luck to be working on a movie, even if it was a knock-off of Star Wars.

Corman is one of the true godfathers of American independent films. He was also known for doing whatever he could to save a buck. Did that prove challenging in terms of the special effects department?

Alec Gillis: I didn’t know any better because I came from my own Super 8 movies in my mother’s garage. This was totally extravagant to me. It was the case for a lot of us. When you’re not in it for the money and you’re excited about any opportunity, it feels like an absolute playground.

Speaking of Roger’s creativity, he was an opportunist. I say that in a positive way. He had a gift for maximizing the assets. I remember once when we were shooting Battle Beyond the Stars we came in and stuff was rearranged on the set. Someone said to us that Roger was here this weekend. He was shooting another movie on the weekend for the Spanish market. He had a whole other movie on the weekends. [Laughs]. I always respected that. I can’t say that every Roger Corman movie was a great, or even a good movie, but there’s something about them. They were fun to work on, and they gave a lot of talented people a foot in the door. That’s part of why he’s so beloved.

What do you think younger filmmakers working today could learn from Corman?

Alec Gillis: In some ways, he’s kind of the model for all independent filmmakers. He wore a lot of hats. He could shoot things, direct things, produce things, and write things. That’s now what content creators are, right? They’re getting slicker and slicker and creating their own market. That’s that entrepreneurial spirit of not waiting around for someone to wave the magic wand. I think that’s great.

One of the things I wish I could personally do more of is to give new talent a break. In fact, I rearranged my garage recently, and I found a paystub from Battle Beyond the Stars. It’s from November 8, 1979. I made $203.81. That’s probably for an 80-hour workweek but thank God. It was the best film school in the world.

What can we expect from your involvement with Shout! TV’s Double Take Series?

Alec Gillis: I chose Battle Beyond the Stars and Galaxy of Terror because those are the two biggest Corman films I worked on. Galaxy of Terror was great. I’d take a quarter off from going to UCLA Film School and then go back to work. That was a great steppingstone for James Cameron as well. I’m going to talk about what it was like back then, what the circumstances were, and specifics about the movies.

Share one or two memories you have from working on those two Corman films.

Alec Gillis: Battle Beyond the Stars was my first exposure to a team of people who were similarly inexperienced. They said at Roger’s that you were either on your way up or on your way down. A few folks were at the ends of their careers. It was great having them around. It was unbridled enthusiasm. That’s something that’s gold on a production. I try to carry that with me now. I’ve been in the business now for 46 years. I still love it. I try to instill that on my crews. If you’re not excited about working on monster movies, then what gets you excited? What job are you going to have that you’re going to be really thrilled about?

What did you apply to later films that you learned on those Corman productions?

Alec Gillis: Battle Beyond the Stars was a great team. Bill Paxton was a carpenter on that film. Gale Anne Hurd was around, though not on that film. James Cameron was there. These are lifelong relationships, and I’m very grateful for that. Galaxy of Terror was my first experience on an exclusively monster-making crew. It taught me that you could literally pull things out of your ear, if you have enough talent, and roll with a lack of time and a lack of resources and not to fear that. That’s a big lesson from Roger. Sometimes, the lack of resources and the parameters are your friend. It can be better than having unlimited time.

What else can we look forward to from you?

Alec Gillis: We have our own Corman-like, indie film called Wellwood. It’s full of practical effects. We shot it on a budget and it’s out in the world now. You can stream it. On Instagram, we’re posting a bunch of behind-the-scenes stuff now.

The Shout! TV Double Take episode featuring Gillis will air on April 5. Double Take can be viewed on the brand new FAST Channel Shout! Movies as well as on Shout! TV, including Shout! TV app on Android, Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV; and the following digital streaming platforms – Samsung TV Plus, Local Now, Plex, Sling Freestream, Fawesome, LG Channels, available on LG Smart TVs, Fubo, Xumo Play, and LiveTVx, available on Google devices.