Professional Motion Picture Production and Distribution NEWS

NEW YORK - Zsa Zsa Gabor and Sonny Chiba reached the heights of low-budget filmmaking on Monday as they were among those selected by cinephiles around the world for the B-Movie Hall of Fame.

Chiba, the Japanese icon of martial arts flicks including "Gangster Cop" (1970) and "The Street Fighter" (1974), and Hungarian-born glamor girl Zsa Zsa Gabor, of such campy films as "The Girl in the Kremlin" (1957) and "The Queen of Outer Space" (1958), were among 10 artists and 10 films honored.

The seventh annual Hall of Fame voting was done at B-Movie Theater, a Web site (http:/www.b-movie.com) celebrating the art of low-budget film-making. Online voters were provided ballots listing 100 nominated films and 100 nominated artists.

Winning the most votes for an individual artist was actress Debbie Rochon, whose films include "Black Easter" (1994) and "Hellblock 13" (1999). Rochon hosted the 1999 inaugural B-movie film festival held each year in Syracuse, New York.

British writer and director Clive Barker, who created the long-running "Hellraiser" and "Candyman" series, received the second highest total.

Wes Craven's "The Last House on the Left," (1972) won the most votes for a movie. Others honored included "White Zombie" (1932) and "Curse of the Demon" (1957).

Other artists inducted included Larry "Buster" Crabbe, who played Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers in popular serials, and directors Sam Fuller, helmsman of high-powered dramas like "The Baron of Arizona" (1950) and "Shock Corridor" (1963), and Edgar G. Ulmer, who made "The Black Cat" (1934) and "Detour" (1945).

Source: Reuters