Wes Craven

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Wes Craven
Born Wesley Earl Craven
August 2, 1939 (1939-08-02) (age 72)
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation Actor, film director, writer, producer
Years active 1971–present
Spouse Bonnie Broecker
(1964–69)
Mimi Craven (1984–87)
Iya Labunka (2004–present)
Website
http://www.wescraven.com

Wesley Earl "Wes" Craven (born August 2, 1939) is an American film director, writer, producer, actor, perhaps best known as the director of many horror films, particularly slasher films, including the famed A Nightmare on Elm Street, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors and Wes Craven's New Nightmare, featuring the iconic Freddy Krueger character, and the Scream series, featuring Ghostface. Some of his other films include, The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, The Serpent and the Rainbow, The People Under the Stairs, Vampire in Brooklyn, Red Eye, and My Soul to Take.

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[edit] Early life

Craven was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Caroline (née Miller) and Paul Craven.[1] He had a strict Baptist upbringing.[2] Craven earned an undergraduate degree in English and Psychology from Wheaton College in Illinois, and a masters degree in Philosophy and Writing from Johns Hopkins University.[3] Prior to landing his first job in the film industry as a sound editor for a post-production company in New York City, Craven briefly taught English at Westminster College and was a humanities professor at Clarkson College of Technology (now Clarkson University) in Potsdam, New York. He left the academic world for the more lucrative role of pornographic film director. In the documentary Inside Deep Throat, Craven says on camera he made "many X-rated films" under pseudonyms, learning his directing craft.[4] While his role in Deep Throat is undisclosed, most of his early known work involved writing, film editing or both. In 1972 Wes Craven directed his first feature film The Last House on the Left.

[edit] Directing and writing career

Craven's works tend to share a common exploration of the nature of reality. A Nightmare on Elm Street, for example, dealt with the consequences of dreams in real life. New Nightmare "brushes against" (but does not quite break) the fourth wall by having actress Heather Langenkamp play herself as she is haunted by the villain of the film in which she once starred. At one point in the film, we see on Wes Craven's word processor a script he has written, which includes the exact conversation he just had with Heather – as if the script was being written as the action unfolded. The Serpent and the Rainbow portrays a man who cannot distinguish between nightmarish visions and reality. In Scream, the characters frequently reference horror films similar to their situations, and at one point Billy Loomis tells his girlfriend that life is just a big movie. This concept was emphasized in the sequels, as copycat stalkers reenact the events of a new film about the Woodsboro killings occurring in Scream. Scream included a scene mentioning the well-known Richard Gere urban legend. Craven stated in interviews that he received calls from agents telling him that if he left that scene in, he would never work again.[5][6] He directed Scream 4. Craven was also set to direct Beetlejuice but dropped out to co-write and executive produce the third outing for Freddy Krueger. The "Elm Street" is located in Potsdam,[7] NY (a small town just south of the Canadian border).

Craven also frequently collaborates with Sean S. Cunningham in his filmography. In Craven's debut feature, The Last House on the Left, Cunningham served as producer. Later, in Craven's most famous film, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Cunningham directed one of the chase scenes, although uncredited. Their infamous characters, Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees, appeared together in the 2003 slasher film Freddy vs. Jason with Cunningham acting as producer, while screenwriter Victor Miller is credited as "Character Creator". Later, in The Last House on the Left remake, both Cunningham and Craven share production credits.[8]

Although known for directing horror/thriller films, he has worked on two that were outside this genre: the 1999 film Music of the Heart, and as one of the 22 directors in the 2006 collaboration Paris, je t'aime.

Craven is currently slated to helm the 3rd film in the Ring series, currently titled The Ring 3D. Recently Craven has signed on to adapt the vampire novel Fangland taking over from John Carpenter who has recently backed away from the project.

[edit] Awards and nominations

During his career, Wes Craven won nine cinematic awards and received three nominations.

In 1977, he won the 'Prize of the International Critics' Jury' in the "Sitges – Catalonian International Film Festival" for his film The Hills Have Eyes.

In 1985, his horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street won the 'Critic's Award' at the "Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival".

In 1992, the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film presented him the Pegasus Audience Award for the thriller The People Under the Stairs. His Fantasporto won the International Fantasy Film Award for Best Screenplay while the Best Film award went to his film Wes Craven's New Nightmare, the final A Nightmare on Elm Street film he directed. His Shocker was also nominated for Best Film in 1990.

The Gérardmer Film Festival granted him the Grand Prize in '97 for Scream.

He was nominated for Best Director for Scream at the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA, in 1997.

In 2006, he was honored at Spike TV's Scream with the Mastermind Award (the tribute was presented to him by Neve Campbell).

[edit] Other work

Craven designed the Halloween 2008 logo for Google,[9] and was the second celebrity personality to take over the YouTube homepage on Halloween.[10]

Craven had a letter published in the July 19, 1968 edition of Life magazine, praising that periodical's coverage of contemporary rock music, in particular Frank Zappa.[11]

[edit] Personal life

Craven's first marriage to Bonnie Broecker produced two children, Jonathan Craven (born 1965) and Jessica Craven (born 1968). Jonathan is a writer and director with a few credits to his name. Jessica was a singer/songwriter in the group the Chapin Sisters. The marriage ended in 1970. In 1982, Craven married Millicent Eleanor Meyer. However, the two divorced, according to Joe Eszterhas's book American Rhapsody, after she began an affair with actress Sharon Stone. Also according to the book, on the day the divorce was finalized, Stone sent Craven a dozen black roses. Although Craven has never publicly commented on Meyer's lesbian affair, he has stated in interviews that the marriage dissolved after he discovered it "was no longer anything but a sham."[12] As of 2010, he was married to Iya Labunka.[13]

Craven is a birder and in 2010 became a member of Audubon California's Board of Directors.[13]

[edit] Books

Year Title
1999 Fountain Society

[edit] Filmography

Year Film Director Producer Writer Editor Actor Role Notes
1971 Together
NoN
1972 The Last House on the Left
NoN
NoN
NoN
1973 It Happened in Hollywood
NoN
NoN
 King's Litter Bearer
1975 The Carhops
NoN
Angela, The Fireworks Woman
NoN
NoN
NoN
NoN
 The Fireworks Man
1976 Thunder Buns
NoN
NoN
 Photographer
Honey Pie
NoN
Sweet Cakes
NoN
NoN
 Photographer
1977 Hot Cookies
NoN
The Hills Have Eyes
NoN
NoN
NoN
1978 Stranger in Our House
NoN
 TV Movie
1981 Deadly Blessing
NoN
NoN
NoN
Kent State
NoN
1982 Swamp Thing
NoN
NoN
1984 Invitation to Hell
NoN
A Nightmare on Elm Street
NoN
NoN
1985 Chiller
NoN
The Hills Have Eyes Part II
NoN
NoN
The NEW Twilight Zone
NoN
 TV Show
1986 Deadly Friend
NoN
Casebusters
NoN
 TV Movie
1987 A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
NoN
NoN
1988 The Serpent and the Rainbow
NoN
1989 The People Next Door
NoN
 TV Show
Shocker
NoN
NoN
NoN
NoN
 The neighbour
1990 Night Visions
NoN
NoN
 Anthology Series
1991 The People Under the Stairs
NoN
NoN
NoN
1992 Nightmare Cafe
NoN
NoN
1993 Laurel Canyon
NoN
Body Bags
NoN
 Pasty faced man in garage Cameo
1994 Wes Craven's New Nightmare
NoN
NoN
NoN
NoN
 Himself
1995 Vampire in Brooklyn
NoN
The Hills Have Eyes III
NoN
1996 Scream
NoN
NoN
 "Fred" (School Janitor/Freddy Look-a-like) Cameo
1997 Scream 2
NoN
NoN
NoN
 Doctor
Wishmaster
NoN
1998 Hollyweird
NoN
 TV Movie
Don't Look Down
NoN
Carnival of Souls
NoN
1999 Music of the Heart
NoN
2000 Scream 3
NoN
NoN
 Tourist Cameo
Dracula 2000
NoN
2001 Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
NoN
 Himself Cameo
2002 They Shoot Divas, Don't They?
NoN
 TV Movie
2004 Tales from the Crapper
NoN
 Himself
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing
NoN
2005 Cursed
NoN
Inside Deep Throat
NoN
 Himself
Feast
NoN
Red Eye
NoN
2006 The Hills Have Eyes
NoN
 Remake
The Breed
NoN
Paris, je t'aime
NoN
NoN
NoN
 Vampire's Victim Segment: Père-Lachaise
2007 The Hills Have Eyes 2
NoN
NoN
 Remake
Agitation
NoN
The Tripper
NoN
 Top hat-wearing hippy Cameo
2008 Diary of the Dead
NoN
 Radio voice
2009 The Last House on the Left
NoN
 Remake
2010 My Soul to Take
NoN
NoN
NoN
2011 Scream 4
NoN
NoN
NoN
 Coroner at the Randalls Cameo
deleted scene

[edit] References

  1. ^ Wes Craven Biography (1939–)
  2. ^ The Biography Channel – Wes Craven Biography
  3. ^ Muir, John Kenneth (1998). Wes Craven: The Art of Horror. Jefferson, South Carolina: McFarland & Co. ISBN 0-7864-0576-7. pp. 8–9.
  4. ^ http://www.radfordreviews.com/cgi-bin/rview.cgi?rm=mode2&type=article&name=ALookInsideDeepThroat
  5. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20021003142223/http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Boulevard/7811/screamreferences.html
  6. ^ Steve Simels (September 5, 1997). "Slashed and Burned". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,289310,00.html. 
  7. ^ Biography for Wes Craven at the Internet Movie Database
  8. ^ "'Scream IV' Officially Greenlit with Wes Craven Attached". http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/19559. 
  9. ^ "Wes Craven Carves Google Logo". http://www.comicmix.com/news/2008/10/31/wes-craven-carves-google-logo. 
  10. ^ "Wes Craven Takes Over YouTube for Halloween!". Tubefilter News. August 31, 2008. http://news.tubefilter.tv/2008/10/30/wes-craven-takes-over-youtube-for-halloween/. Retrieved November 11, 2008. 
  11. ^ Life Magazine, July 19, 1968
  12. ^ [1]
  13. ^ a b Frost, G (May 28, 2010). "Director Wes Craven joins Audubon California's Board of Directors". Audublog. Audubon California. http://www.audublog.org/?p=3931. Retrieved April 3, 2011. 

[edit] External links

Films directed by Wes Craven
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
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