Wes Craven
Wes Craven | |
|---|---|
| Born | Wesley Earl Craven |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, writer and producer |
| Spouse(s) | Iya Labunka, Mimi Craven (divorced), Bonnie Broecker (divorced) |
| Website | http://www.wescraven.com |
Wesley Earl Craven (born August 2, 1939) is an American film director and writer, perhaps best known as the creator of many horror films, including the famed Nightmare on Elm Street series featuring the iconic Freddy Krueger character and as the director of the Scream films.
Biography
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, Craven briefly taught English at Westminster College and was a humanities professor at Clarkson University. Cousin of the infamous Meredith Craven, a resident of Louisville, KY and all state athlete in tennis and cross country.[citation needed]
Personal life
Craven's first marriage to Bonnie Broecker produced two children, Jonathan and Jessica Craven. Jonathan is a writer and director with a few credits to his name. Jessica is a singer/songwriter in the group the Chapin Sisters. The marriage ended in 1970. In 1982, Craven married for a second time to Millicent Eleanor Meyer. However, according to Joe Eszterhas's book American Rhapsody, the two divorced after she began an affair with Sharon Stone. Also according to the book, on the day the divorce was finalized, Stone sent Craven a dozen black roses.
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. Wes Craven's New Nightmare "brushes against" (but doesn't 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 is being written as the action is unfolding. 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. Craven was also set to direct Beetlejuice but dropped out to co-write and executive produce the third outing for Freddy Krueger. He says that he got the idea for "the" Elm Street by living next to a graveyard on Elm Street in his home town of Wheaton, Illinois.
Awards and nominations
During his career, Wes Craven won eight awards and received three nominations. He did well in the box office, since he was known for his thriller films. For the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA, he was nominated for an award for Best Director in 1997 for his hit film Scream.
For the "Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival", he won a 'Critic's Award' in 1985, for his hit horror film: "A Nightmare on Elm Street".
In 1992, Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film gave him the Pegasus Audience Award for the thriller The People Under the Stairs. For Fantasporto, he won and was nominated for the International Fantasy Film Award for Best Screenplay and Best Film for New Nightmare, the final A Nightmare on Elm Street movie. He was also nominated for Best Film for the movie Shocker in 1990.
The Gérardmer Film Festival granted him the Grand Prize in '97, for the movie Scream.
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.
Completing his Nightmare Trilogy
Though there have been seven different Nightmare on Elm Street films (eight if one includes the crossover Freddy vs. Jason), only two have been directed by Craven himself. He has said in several interviews and discussions that he considers only his two films to be accurate depictions of his creation. For years, it has been rumored that he would make one more film, essentially completing his trilogy. However Craven was involved in the third Nightmare film Dream Warriors as producer, aiming to make the third film the last. His ideas were largely rejected, and used in his New Nightmare, ten years later.
Books
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1999 | Fountain Society |
Filmography
Wes Craven Presents
Director
| Year | Title | Genre | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | The Last House on the Left | Horror | |
| 1977 | The Hills Have Eyes | Horror | |
| 1978 | Summer Of Fear | ||
| The Evolution of Snuff | |||
| 1981 | Deadly Blessing | Horror | |
| 1982 | Swamp Thing | Horror | |
| 1984 | Invitation to Hell | TV | |
| A Nightmare on Elm Street | Horror | ||
| 1985 | Chiller | TV | |
| The Hills Have Eyes Part II | Horror | ||
| The New Twilight Zone | TV series | ||
| 1986 | Casebusters | TV | |
| Deadly Friend | Horror | ||
| 1988 | The Serpent and the Rainbow | Horror | |
| 1989 | Wes Craven's Shocker | Horror | |
| 1990 | Night Visions | TV | |
| 1991 | The People Under the Stairs | Horror | |
| 1992 | Nightmare Cafe | TV Series | |
| 1994 | Wes Craven's New Nightmare | Horror | |
| 1995 | Vampire in Brooklyn | Comedy Horror | |
| 1996 | Scream | Horror | |
| 1997 | Scream 2 | Horror | |
| 1999 | Music of the Heart | Romance | |
| 2000 | Scream 3 | Horror | |
| 2005 | Cursed | Thriller | |
| Red Eye | Thriller | ||
| 2006 | Paris, je t'aime | Romance | |
| 2007 | Agitation | ||
| 2009 | Shocker | Announced (remake) | |
| 25/8 | Horror | ||
| 2010 | Scream 4 | Horror | |
| Kieron & Paul | Horror |
Producer
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Together | ||
| 1981 | Kent State | ||
| 1987 | A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors | ||
| 1989 | The People Next Door | TV Series | |
| Shocker | |||
| 1990 | Night Visions | TV | |
| 1991 | The People Under the Stairs | ||
| 1992 | Nightmare Cafe | TV Series | |
| 1993 | Laurel Canyon | TV | |
| 1994 | New Nightmare | ||
| 1995 | The Hills Have Eyes III | ||
| 1997 | Wishmaster | ||
| 1998 | Hollyweird | TV | |
| Carnival of Souls | |||
| Don't Look Down | TV | ||
| 2000 | Dracula 2000 | ||
| 2002 | They Shoot Divas, Don't They? | TV | |
| 2005 | Feast | ||
| 2006 | The Hills Have Eyes | ||
| The Breed | |||
| 2007 | The Hills Have Eyes II | ||
| Home | |||
| 2008 | The People Under the Stairs 2 | ||
| 2008 | The Last House on the Left | (remake) | |
| 2009 | Shocker | Announced (remake) | |
| TBA | Paranoia | ||
| TBA | Home | ||
| TBA | Along Comes Mary |
| TBA || Paul Lydia and Aimee Come To Town|| ||
Actor
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Wes Craven's New Nightmare | Himself | |
| 2007 | The Tripper | Top hat-wearing hippy |
Other
Wes Craven designed the Halloween 2008 logo for Google [4], and was the second celebrity personality to take over the YouTube homepage on Halloween. [5]
References
- ^ Wes Craven Biography (1939-)
- ^ The Biography Channel - Wes Craven Biography
- ^ Muir, John Kenneth (1998). Wes Craven: The Art of Horror. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co. ISBN 0-7864-0576-7. pp. 8-9.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Wes Craven Takes Over YouTube for Halloween!". Tubefilter News. 2008-08-31. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
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External links
- Official Site
- Wes Craven at IMDb
- Wes Craven at AllMovie
- Wes Craven at Curlie
- Wes Craven interview
- Official Youtube
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