Wes Craven

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, Red Eye and My Soul to Take.
==Early life==
Craven was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Caroline (née Miller) and Paul Eugene Craven.Wes Craven Biography (1939–) at filmreference.comhttp://birth-records.mooseroots.com/l/6325004/Wesley-Earl-Craven He was raised in a strict Baptist family.The Horror of Being Wes Craven 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.Muir, John Kenneth (1998). Wes Craven: The Art of Horror. Jefferson, South Carolina: McFarland & Co. ISBN 0-7864-0576-7. pp. 8–9.
Craven briefly taught English at Westminster College and was a humanities professor at Clarkson College of Technology (now Clarkson University) in Potsdam, New York. His first job in the film industry was as a sound editor for a post-production company in New York City.
==Directing and writing career==
Craven 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 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. In 1972 Wes Craven directed his first feature film The Last House on the Left.
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 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.
Craven had a major hand in launching superstar Johnny Depp's career by casting him in 1984's A Nightmare on Elm Street, Depp's first major film role.
Although known for directing horror/thriller films, he had 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 created Coming of Rage, a five-issue comic book series, with 30 Days of Night comic book writer Steve Niles. The series was released in digital form in 2014 by Liquid Comics with a print edition scheduled for an October 2015 debut.http://www.bleedingcool.com/2015/07/17/wes-cravens-coming-of-rage-finally-comes-to-print-from-steve-niles-and-francesco-biagini/
===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. 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, 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.
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.Movies Referenced in SCREAM He directed Scream 4.
==Awards and nominations==
During his career, Wes Craven was nominated for and won several awards, including the Saturn Award.
In 1977, he won the critic's award at the Sitges Film Festival for his film The Hills Have Eyes. The Gérardmer Film Festival granted him the Grand Prize in 1997 for Scream. In 2012, the New York City Horror Film Festival awarded Craven the Lifetime Achievement Award.
==Other work==
Craven designed the Halloween 2008 logo for Google and was the second celebrity personality to take over the YouTube homepage on Halloween.
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.
==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. Craven stated in interviews that the marriage dissolved after he discovered it "was no longer anything but a sham". In 2004, Craven married Iya Labunka; she frequently worked as a producer on Craven's films.
Craven was a birder; in 2010, he joined Audubon California's Board of Directors. His favorite films included Night of the Living Dead (1968), The Virgin Spring (1960), and Red River (1948).
==Death==
On August 30, 2015, Craven died of brain cancer at his home in Los Angeles. He was 76 years old.
==Books==
Year	Title
1999	Fountain Society
2013	Coming of Rage
== Filmography ==
Year	Film 	Director	(Executive)Producer	Writer	Cinematographer	Editor	Actor	Role 	Notes
1971	Together 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
1972	The Last House on the Left 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
1977	The Hills Have Eyes 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
1978	Stranger in Our House 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	TV movie
1978	The Evolution of Snuff 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
1978	Here Come the Tigers 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
1981	Deadly Blessing 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
1981	Kent State 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	TV movie
1982	Swamp Thing 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
1984	Invitation to Hell 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	TV movie
1984	A Nightmare on Elm Street 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
1985	Chiller 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	TV movie
1985	The Hills Have Eyes Part II 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
1985	The Twilight Zone 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	TV series, 5 episodes
1986	Deadly Friend 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
1986	Casebusters 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Episode of anthology TV series Disneyland
1987	A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
1988	The Serpent and the Rainbow 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
1989	The People Next Door 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	TV series, co-creator
1989	Shocker 	 	 	 	 	 	 	The neighbor 	
1990	Night Visions 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	TV movie
1991	The People Under the Stairs 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
1992	Nightmare Cafe 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	TV series
1993	Laurel Canyon 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
1993	Body Bags 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Pasty faced man in garage	Cameo
1994	Wes Craven's New Nightmare 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Himself 	
1995	Vampire in Brooklyn 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
1995	The Hills Have Eyes III 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	aka Mind Ripper
1995	The Fear 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Dr. Arnold
1996	Scream 	 	 	 	 	 	 	"Fred" (school janitor) 	Cameo
1997	Scream 2 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Doctor 	Cameo
1997	Wishmaster 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
1998	Hollyweird 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	TV movie
1998	Don't Look Down 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	TV movie
1998	Carnival of Souls 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	TV movie
1999	Music of the Heart 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2000	Scream 3 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Tourist 	Cameo
2000	Dracula 2000 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2001	Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Himself 	Cameo
2002	They Shoot Divas, Don't They? 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	TV movie
2002	They 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2003	Dracula II: Ascension 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2004	Tales from the Crapper 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Himself 	
2004	The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing	 	 	 	 	 	 	Himself 	
2005	Dracula III: Legacy 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2005	Cursed 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2005	Inside Deep Throat 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Himself 	
2005	Feast 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2005	Red Eye 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2006	Pulse 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Remake
2006	The Hills Have Eyes 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Remake
2006	The Breed 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2006	Paris, je t'aime 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Vampire's Victim 	Segment: Père-Lachaise
2007	The Hills Have Eyes 2 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Remake
2007	The Tripper 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Top hat-wearing hippy 	Cameo
2008	Diary of the Dead 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Radio voice 	Cameo
2009	The Last House on the Left 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Remake
2010	My Soul to Take 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2011	Scream 4 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Coroner at the Randalls 	Cameo
2011	Scream 4 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Coroner at the Randalls 	Deleted scene
2013	Castle (TV series) 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Himself 	Cameo
2013	Castle (TV series) 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Himself 	Episode: "Scared to Death"
2015	Scream (TV series) 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Executive producer 	
===Highest-grossing films===
 
This is a list of the top 10 highest-grossing films by Wes Craven; each has made at least $30 million. 
Rank	Title 	Lifetime gross (US$)
1 	Scream 	173,046,663
2 	Scream 2 	172,363,301
3 	Scream 3 	161,834,276
4 	Scream 4 	101,214,723
5 	Red Eye 	95,577,774
6 	The Hills Have Eyes (2006) 	69,623,713
7 	The Hills Have Eyes 2 	67,915,885
8 	The Last House on the Left (2009) 	45,286,228
9 	A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors	44,793,222
10 	The People Under the Stairs 	31,347,154
==References==
==External links==
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* Wes Craven interview
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Category:1939 births
Category:2015 deaths
Category:American male film actors
Category:American film directors
Category:American film producers
Category:American male screenwriters
Category:English-language film directors
Category:Horror film directors
Category:Johns Hopkins University alumni
Category:People from Cleveland, Ohio
Category:Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni
Category:Birdwatchers
Category:Deaths from brain tumor
Category:Cancer deaths in California