Victor Salva
| Victor Salva | |
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 Mugshot of Salva in 2000 |
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| Born | Victor Ronald Salva March 29, 1958 Martinez, California, United States |
| Occupation | Film director |
| Years active | 1986 – present |
| Notable work(s) | Powder Jeepers Creepers |
| Awards | Moxie! Award for Best Feature – Santa Monica Film Festival 1999 Rites of Passage |
Victor Ronald Salva[1] (born March 29, 1958) is an American film director. He is best known for directing the films Powder and Jeepers Creepers.
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Early life [edit]
Salva was born into a conservative Catholic family in Martinez, California. His biological father abandoned the family and Salva reports that the stepfather was often drunk and physically abusive.[2]
One of his favorite pastimes as a child was watching Creature Features on television and is a self-confessed "Jaws baby".
Early career [edit]
In 1986, he made the low budget horror film Something in the Basement which attracted the attention of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, who in turn helped Salva finance his first feature-length film, Clownhouse (1989), and many subsequent films.[2]
Clownhouse and criminal conviction [edit]
While directing Clownhouse, Salva, then 29, molested one of the film's actors, 12-year-old Nathan Forrest Winters. The sexual acts were videotaped by Salva, who pleaded guilty to one count of lewd and lascivious conduct, one count of oral copulation with a person under 14, and three counts of procuring child pornography.[1] Salva was sentenced to three years in prison. He served 15 months of the sentence before being paroled,[2] and is registered as a sex offender.
Later career [edit]
After being released from prison, Salva had a series of odd jobs, while trying to get hired as a film director, living off some financial support given to him by Coppola.[2]
Seven years after Clownhouse, Salva made another film, The Nature of the Beast. In 1995, he directed the Disney-financed Powder. The subsequent media coverage of Salva's criminal history, and speculation as to why Disney would hire a convicted sex offender, ensured that Salva would not make another film until 1999's Rites of Passage.
Salva wrote and directed the horror film Jeepers Creepers (2001) and its sequel Jeepers Creepers II (2003).
In 2006, he directed Peaceful Warrior,[2] which opened up to mixed reviews. In 2011, Salva filmed Rosewood Lane, a thriller starring Rose McGowan and Ray Wise.[3]
Filmography [edit]
- 2013: Jeepers Creepers 3: Cathedral
- 2012: Haunted
- 2011: Rosewood Lane
- 2006: Peaceful Warrior
- 2003: Jeepers Creepers II
- 2001: Jeepers Creepers
- 1999: Rites of Passage
- 1995: The Nature of the Beast
- 1995: Powder
- 1989: Clownhouse
- 1986: Something in the Basement
References [edit]
- ^ a b "California Registered Sex Offender Profile – Victor Salva". Megan's Law – California Sex Offender Registry. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e Patrick Goldstein. "Victor Salva's horror stories". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Fear the Paperboy(!) on Rosewood Lane".
External links [edit]
- Victor Salva at the Internet Movie Database
- Media reports archive related to the director's sexual molestation of a child actor and his films Powder and Jeepers Creepers
- Victor Salva's entry at Florida Sex Offender Registry
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