Victor Salva
Encyclopedia
Victor Ronald Salva is an American
film director
, mostly of horror movies
. His body of work includes the films Powder
and Jeepers Creepers
.
Catholic
family in Martinez, California
. His biological father abandoned the family and Salva reports that the stepfather was often drunk and physically abusive
.
One of his favorite pastimes as a kid was watching Creature Features
on television and is a self-confessed "Jaws
baby".
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.
d 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
. Salva was sentenced to three years in prison. He served 15 months of the sentence before being paroled, and has registered as a sex offender.
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
, which opened up to mixed reviews. Salva has wrapped production on Rosewood Lane
in 2011, a thriller starring Rose McGowan
and Ray Wise
, and the next he will direct is Jeepers Creepers 3: Cathedral, the third and final film in the Jeepers Creepers franchise.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, mostly of horror movies
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
. His body of work includes the films Powder
Powder (film)
Powder is a 1995 film directed by Victor Salva, about a boy, nicknamed "Powder", with incredible intellect, telepathy, and paranormal powers. It stars Sean Patrick Flanery in the title role, with Jeff Goldblum, Mary Steenburgen, Bradford Tatum, Lance Henriksen, and Brandon Smith in supporting roles...
and Jeepers Creepers
Jeepers Creepers (2001 film)
Jeepers Creepers is a 2001 horror film written and directed by Victor Salva. The movie takes its name from the 1938 song "Jeepers Creepers" which is featured in the film.- Plot :...
.
Early life and career
Salva was born into a conservativeConservative Christianity
Conservative Christianity is a term applied to a number of groups or movements seen as giving priority to traditional Christian beliefs and practices...
Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
family in Martinez, California
Martinez, California
Martinez is a city and the county seat of Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 35,824 at the 2010 census. The downtown is notable for its large number of preserved old buildings...
. His biological father abandoned the family and Salva reports that the stepfather was often drunk and physically abusive
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
.
One of his favorite pastimes as a kid was watching Creature Features
Creature Features
Creature Features was a generic title for a genre of horror TV format shows broadcast on local U.S. television stations throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s...
on television and is a self-confessed "Jaws
Jaws (film)
Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...
baby".
In 1986, he made the low budget horror film Something in the Basement which attracted the attention of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
, who in turn helped Salva finance his first feature-length film, Clownhouse
Clownhouse
Clownhouse is a 1989 horror film written and directed by Victor Salva. It was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize in the dramatic category at the 1989 Sundance film festival.-Plot summary:...
(1989), and many subsequent films.
Criminal convictions
While directing Clownhouse, Salva, then 29, molested one of the film's actors, 12-year-old Nathan Forrest Winters. The sexual acts were videotapeVideotape
A videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
d by Salva, who pleaded guilty to one count of lewd and lascivious conduct, one count of oral copulation
Oral sex
Oral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
with a person under 14, and three counts of procuring child pornography
Child pornography
Child pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
. Salva was sentenced to three years in prison. He served 15 months of the sentence before being paroled, and has registered as a sex offender.
Career
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.Seven years after Clownhouse
Clownhouse
Clownhouse is a 1989 horror film written and directed by Victor Salva. It was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize in the dramatic category at the 1989 Sundance film festival.-Plot summary:...
, Salva made another film, The Nature of the Beast
The Nature of the Beast
The Nature of the Beast is a 1995 horror mystery film written and directed by Victor Salva. It stars Eric Roberts and Lance Henriksen.- Plot :The story is set in Southern California...
. In 1995, he directed the Disney-financed Powder
Powder (film)
Powder is a 1995 film directed by Victor Salva, about a boy, nicknamed "Powder", with incredible intellect, telepathy, and paranormal powers. It stars Sean Patrick Flanery in the title role, with Jeff Goldblum, Mary Steenburgen, Bradford Tatum, Lance Henriksen, and Brandon Smith in supporting roles...
. The subsequent media coverage of Salva's criminal history, and speculation as to why Disney would hire a convicted sex offender
Sex offender
A sex offender is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and by legal jurisdiction. Most jurisdictions compile their laws into sections such as traffic, assault, sexual, etc. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crimes of a...
, ensured that Salva would not make another film until 1999's Rites of Passage.
Salva wrote and directed the horror film Jeepers Creepers
Jeepers Creepers (2001 film)
Jeepers Creepers is a 2001 horror film written and directed by Victor Salva. The movie takes its name from the 1938 song "Jeepers Creepers" which is featured in the film.- Plot :...
(2001) and its sequel Jeepers Creepers II
Jeepers Creepers II
Jeepers Creepers 2 is a 2003 horror film written and directed by Victor Salva, produced by American Zoetrope, Capitol Films, Myriad Pictures and distributed by United Artists, a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer division. The film is a sequel to the 2001 horror film Jeepers Creepers.-Plot:The story begins 4 days...
(2003).
In 2006, he directed Peaceful Warrior
Peaceful Warrior
Peaceful Warrior is a 2006 drama film starring Scott Mechlowicz, Nick Nolte, and Amy Smart. Released on June 2, 2006, it is based on the novel Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman.The film is set in U.C. Berkeley but is shot elsewhere...
, which opened up to mixed reviews. Salva has wrapped production on Rosewood Lane
Rosewood Lane (film)
Rosewood Lane is a 2011 thriller-horror film written and directed by Victor Salva, and stars Rose McGowan. The film's story revolves around when radio talk show psychiatrist, moves back to her hometown, she takes notices of her neighborhood paper boy's unusual behavior...
in 2011, a thriller starring Rose McGowan
Rose McGowan
Rose Arianna McGowan is an actress and singer. She is known for her role as Paige Matthews in The WB Television Network supernatural drama series Charmed. She played Ann-Margret alongside Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Elvis Presley in the CBS mini-series Elvis...
and Ray Wise
Ray Wise
Raymond Nicolas "Ray" Wise is an American actor, known for his roles as Leland Palmer in Twin Peaks, as Leon C. Nash, right-hand henchman to villain Clarence Boddicker in the science fiction classic RoboCop, and recently as the Devil in the CW television series Reaper.-Life and career:Wise was...
, and the next he will direct is Jeepers Creepers 3: Cathedral, the third and final film in the Jeepers Creepers franchise.
Filmography
- 2013: Jeepers Creepers 3: Cathedral
- 2012: "Rosewood Lane"
- 2006: Peaceful WarriorPeaceful WarriorPeaceful Warrior is a 2006 drama film starring Scott Mechlowicz, Nick Nolte, and Amy Smart. Released on June 2, 2006, it is based on the novel Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman.The film is set in U.C. Berkeley but is shot elsewhere...
- 2003: Jeepers Creepers IIJeepers Creepers IIJeepers Creepers 2 is a 2003 horror film written and directed by Victor Salva, produced by American Zoetrope, Capitol Films, Myriad Pictures and distributed by United Artists, a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer division. The film is a sequel to the 2001 horror film Jeepers Creepers.-Plot:The story begins 4 days...
- 2001: Jeepers CreepersJeepers Creepers (2001 film)Jeepers Creepers is a 2001 horror film written and directed by Victor Salva. The movie takes its name from the 1938 song "Jeepers Creepers" which is featured in the film.- Plot :...
- 1999: Rites of Passage
- 1995: The Nature of the BeastThe Nature of the BeastThe Nature of the Beast is a 1995 horror mystery film written and directed by Victor Salva. It stars Eric Roberts and Lance Henriksen.- Plot :The story is set in Southern California...
- 1995: PowderPowder (film)Powder is a 1995 film directed by Victor Salva, about a boy, nicknamed "Powder", with incredible intellect, telepathy, and paranormal powers. It stars Sean Patrick Flanery in the title role, with Jeff Goldblum, Mary Steenburgen, Bradford Tatum, Lance Henriksen, and Brandon Smith in supporting roles...
- 1989: ClownhouseClownhouseClownhouse is a 1989 horror film written and directed by Victor Salva. It was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize in the dramatic category at the 1989 Sundance film festival.-Plot summary:...
- 1986: Something in the Basement
External links
- Media reports archive related to the director's sexual molestation of a child actor and his films PowderPowder (film)Powder is a 1995 film directed by Victor Salva, about a boy, nicknamed "Powder", with incredible intellect, telepathy, and paranormal powers. It stars Sean Patrick Flanery in the title role, with Jeff Goldblum, Mary Steenburgen, Bradford Tatum, Lance Henriksen, and Brandon Smith in supporting roles...
and Jeepers CreepersJeepers Creepers (2001 film)Jeepers Creepers is a 2001 horror film written and directed by Victor Salva. The movie takes its name from the 1938 song "Jeepers Creepers" which is featured in the film.- Plot :... - Victor Salva's entry at Florida Sex Offender Registry