Wes Craven

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Wes Craven
Wes Craven 2010.jpg
Craven in 2010
Born Wesley Earl Craven
(1939-08-02)August 2, 1939
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Died Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death Brain cancer
Occupation Director, writer, producer, actor
Years active 1971–2015
Spouse(s) Bonnie Broecker (m. 1964; div. 1969)
Mimi Craven (m. 1984; div. 1987)
Iya Labunka (m. 2004; his death 2015)
Children 2, including Jonathan
Website www.wescraven.com

Wesley Earl "Wes" Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, writer, producer, and actor known for his work on horror films, particularly slasher films.

He was best known for creating the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise featuring the Freddy Krueger character, directing the first installment and Wes Craven's New Nightmare, and co-writing A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors with Bruce Wagner.

Craven also directed all four films in the Scream series, and co-created the Ghostface character. Some of his other films include The Hills Have Eyes, The Last House on the Left, The People Under the Stairs, Red Eye, The Serpent and the Rainbow, and Vampire in Brooklyn.

On August 30, 2015, Craven died of brain cancer, at the age of 76, at his home in Los Angeles.

Early life

Craven was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Caroline (née Miller) and Paul Eugene Craven.[1][2] He was raised in a strict Baptist family.[3] Craven earned an undergraduate degree in English and Psychology from Wheaton College in Illinois and a master's degree in Philosophy and Writing from Johns Hopkins University.[4]

Craven briefly taught English at Westminster College and was a humanities professor at Clarkson College of Technology (later named Clarkson University) in Potsdam, New York.[5] He additionally taught at Madrid-Waddington High School in Madrid, New York.[6] During this time, he purchased a used 16mm film camera and began making short movies. When his friend Tom Chapin informed him of a messenger position at a New York City post-production company run by his brother, future folk-rock star Harry Chapin, Craven moved to Manhattan.[6] His first creative job in the film industry was as a sound editor for Chapin's firm.[5]

Recalling his early training, Craven said in 1994, "Harry was a fantastic film editor and producer of industrials. He taught me The Chapin Method [of editing]: 'Nuts and bolts! Nuts and bolts! Get rid of the - - - !' " Craven afterward became the firm's assistant manager, and broke into film editing with You've Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You'll Lose That Beat (1971).[6]

Directing and writing career

Craven left the academic world for the more lucrative role of pornographic film director.[7] In the documentary Inside Deep Throat, Craven says on camera he made "many hard core X-rated films" under pseudonyms. While his role in Deep Throat is undisclosed, most of his early known work involved writing, film editing or both.[7] Wes Craven's first feature film as director was The Last House on the Left which was released in 1972.[5]

Craven frequently collaborated with Sean S. Cunningham. In Craven's debut feature, The Last House on the Left, Cunningham served as producer. Later, in Craven's best-known film, A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Cunningham directed one of the chase scenes, although uncredited.[5] Their characters, Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees, appeared together in the slasher film Freddy vs. Jason (2003) with Cunningham acting as producer, while screenwriter Victor Miller is credited as "Character Creator". Later, in The Last House on the Left remake (2009), both Cunningham and Craven share production credits.[8]

Craven had a hand in launching actor Johnny Depp's career by casting him in A Nightmare on Elm Street, Depp's first major film role.[9]

Although known for directing horror/thriller films, he had worked on two films which are outside this genre: Music of the Heart (1999), and as one of the 22 directors responsible for Paris, je t'aime (2006).[7]

Craven created Coming of Rage, a five-issue comic book series, with 30 Days of Night comic book writer Steve Niles.[10] The series was released in digital form in 2014 by Liquid Comics with a print edition scheduled for an October 2015 debut.[10]

Film style

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.[11] 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.[12] At one point in the film, the audience sees 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.[12]

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 (Woodsboro being the fictional town where Scream is set) killings occurring in Scream.[5] Scream included a scene mentioning a Richard Gere urban legend.[13] Craven stated in interviews that he received calls from agents telling him that if he left that scene in, he would never work again.[14][15] The last film that he directed before his death was Scream 4.[7]

Awards and nominations

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Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Wes Craven

During his career, Wes Craven was nominated for and won several awards, including the Saturn Award.[16]

In 1977, he won the critic's award at the Sitges Film Festival for his film The Hills Have Eyes.[17] The Gérardmer Film Festival granted him the Grand Prize in 1997 for Scream.[18] In 2012, the New York City Horror Film Festival awarded Craven the Lifetime Achievement Award.[19]

Other work

Craven designed the Halloween 2008 logo for Google[20] and was the second celebrity personality to take over the YouTube homepage on Halloween.[21]

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's.[22]

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.[5] Jessica was a singer/songwriter in the group the Chapin Sisters. The marriage ended in 1970. In 1982, Craven married a woman who would become known professionally as actress Mimi Craven. The two later divorced, with Wes Craven stating in interviews that the marriage dissolved after he discovered it "was no longer anything but a sham".[23] In 2004, Craven married Iya Labunka; she frequently worked as a producer on Craven's films.[24]

Craven was a birder; in 2010, he joined Audubon California's Board of Directors.[24] His favorite films included Night of the Living Dead (1968), The Virgin Spring (1960) and Red River (1948).[25]

Death and legacy

On August 30, 2015, Craven died of brain cancer, at the age of 76, at his home in Los Angeles.[12][26] The 10th episode of Scream was dedicated in his memory.[27]

Books

Year Title
1999 Fountain Society[28]
2013 Coming of Rage[29]

Filmography

Year Film Director (Executive)
Producer		 Writer Cinematographer Editor Actor Role Notes
1971 Together
NoN
1972 The Last House on the Left
NoN
NoN
NoN
1977 The Hills Have Eyes
NoN
NoN
NoN
1978 Stranger in Our House
NoN
 TV movie
The Evolution of Snuff
NoN
Here Come the Tigers
NoN
1981 Deadly Blessing
NoN
NoN
Kent State
NoN
 TV movie
1982 Swamp Thing
NoN
NoN
1984 Invitation to Hell
NoN
 TV movie
A Nightmare on Elm Street
NoN
NoN
1985 Chiller
NoN
 TV movie
The Hills Have Eyes Part II
NoN
NoN
The Twilight Zone
NoN
 TV series, 5 episodes
1986 Deadly Friend
NoN
Casebusters
NoN
 Episode of anthology TV series Disneyland
1987 A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
NoN
NoN
1988 The Serpent and the Rainbow
NoN
1989 The People Next Door
NoN
NoN
 TV series, co-creator
Shocker
NoN
NoN
NoN
NoN
 The neighbor
1990 Night Visions
NoN
NoN
NoN
 TV movie
1991 The People Under the Stairs
NoN
NoN
NoN
1992 Nightmare Cafe
NoN
NoN
 TV series
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
 aka Mind Ripper
The Fear
NoN
 Dr. Arnold
1996 Scream
NoN
NoN
 "Fred" (school janitor) Cameo
1997 Scream 2
NoN
NoN
NoN
 Doctor
Wishmaster
NoN
1998 Hollyweird
NoN
 TV movie
Don't Look Down
NoN
NoN
Carnival of Souls
NoN
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
They
NoN
2003 Dracula II: Ascension
NoN
2004 Tales from the Crapper
NoN
 Himself
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing
NoN
2005 Dracula III: Legacy
NoN
Cursed
NoN
Inside Deep Throat
NoN
 Himself
Feast
NoN
Red Eye
NoN
2006 Pulse
NoN
 Remake
The Hills Have Eyes
NoN
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
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
2013 Castle (TV series)
NoN
 Himself Cameo
Episode: "Scared to Death"
2015 Scream (TV series)
NoN
 Executive producer Season 1
The Girl in the Photographs
NoN

References

  1. ↑ Wes Craven Biography (1939–) at filmreference.com
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ The Horror of Being Wes Craven
  4. ↑ Muir, John Kenneth (1998). Wes Craven: The Art of Horror. Jefferson, South Carolina: McFarland & Co. ISBN 0-7864-0576-7. pp. 8–9.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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