American International Pictures movies starred many established actors in principal or cameo roles, such as Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester, Peter Lorre, and Vincent Price, as well as others who later became household names, including Don Johnson, Nick Nolte, Diane Ladd, and most notably Jack Nicholson.

A number of actors shunned or overlooked by most of Hollywood during the 1960s and 1970s, such as Bruce Dern and Dennis Hopper, also found work in one or more of Arkoff's productions.

[5][6] Arkoff's 1992 autobiography was titled Flying Through Hollywood by the Seat of my Pants: From the Man who Brought You I was a Teenage Werewolf and Muscle Beach Party.

[7][8] In 2000, Arkoff was featured alongside former collaborators including Roger Corman, Dick Miller and Peter Bogdanovich in the documentary SCHLOCK!

[citation needed] The formula—or, more accurately, the checklist—forms an acronym of his surname, and it identifies the content elements that should be considered and included in a movie, especially in a low-budget production:[9]