From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wesley Earl "Wes" 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 A Nightmare on Elm Street and New Nightmare featuring the iconic Freddy Krueger character, the Scream films alongside The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, The Serpent and the Rainbow, The People Under the Stairs, Vampire in Brooklyn and Red Eye.

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 College of Technology (now Clarkson University) in Potsdam, NY.

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 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. Scream included a scene mentioning the well-known Richard Gere gerbil urban legend. Craven stated that he received calls from agents telling him that if he leaves that scene in, he would never work again.^[4][5] 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,^[6] 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 the producer of the movie is Cunningham. Later, in most famous Craven's film, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Cunningham directing one of chase scene, although he is uncredited. Their infamous character, Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees are reappear together in Freddy vs. Jason and Cunningham acts as producer while screenwriter Victor Miller credited as character creator. Later, in The Last House on the Left remake both Cunningham and Craven credit as producer in the film.

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 movie 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.

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.

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. 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. Craven will not participate in a remake of the original, scheduled for an April 2010 release.

Personal life

Craven's first marriage to Bonnie Broecker produced two children, Jonathan (born 1965) and Jessica Craven (born 1968). 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 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 his wife's lesbian affair, he has stated in interviews that the marriage dissolved after he discovered it "was no longer anything but a sham."^[7]

Books

Filmography

Wes Craven Presents

• They (2002)
• The Breed (2006)

Director

Producer

Actor

Trivia

Wes Craven designed the Halloween 2008 logo for Google,^[8] and was the second celebrity personality to take over the YouTube homepage on Halloween.^[9]

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.^[10]

References

External links

• Official Site
• Wes Craven at Allmovie
• Wes Craven at the Open Directory Project
• Wes Craven at the Internet Movie Database
• Wes Craven interview
• Official Youtube
• Wes Craven on Twitter

From Wikiquote

Wesley Earl Craven (born August 2, 1939, in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American film director and writer best known as the creator of many horror films, including the Nightmare on Elm Street feature film series.

Attributed

• "The first monster that must frighten the audience in a horror film is the filmmaker himself."

External links

Wikipedia has an article about:

Wes Craven