Victor Salva

Victor Salva
Born	(1958-03-29) March 29, 1958 Martinez, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Film director, screenwriter
Years active	1986–present
Awards	Moxie! Award for Best Feature – Santa Monica Film Festival 1999 Rites of Passage

Victor Ronald Salva (born March 29, 1958) is an American filmmaker and convicted child molester. He has primarily worked in the horror genre, most notably as the writer-director of the commercially successful Jeepers Creepers (2001) and its sequels Jeepers Creepers 2 (2003) and Jeepers Creepers 3 (2017). Outside of horror, Salva wrote and directed the fantasy-drama film Powder (1995).

Salva's filmmaking career has been controversial due to his 1988 conviction for sexually abusing a 12-year-old actor who starred in his feature film debut Clownhouse (1989), along with possessing child pornography. This controversy has led to protests against his films, including a boycott of Powder organized by his victim.

Early life

Born in Martinez, California, Salva was raised as a Roman Catholic. His biological father abandoned the family and Salva stated that his stepfather was an alcoholic and physically abusive.

The adolescent Salva was very interested in horror and sci-fi; his favorite monster movie was Creature from the Black Lagoon and, in 1975, the local newspaper reported that Salva had sat through Jaws 55 times. By the time he graduated from high school, Salva had written and directed more than 20 short and feature films. To finance his filmmaking hobby, he often held two jobs during the week. Salva's family disowned him at 18 when he came out as gay to his mother and stepfather.

Career

Early career

In the mid-1980s, his 37-minute short film Something in the Basement (1986) took first place in the fiction category at the Sony/AFI Home Video Competition. A horror allegory about a young boy awaiting his brother's return from a bloody war, the highly acclaimed film went on to win several national awards (including a Bronze Plaque at the Chicago International Film Festival) and brought Salva to the attention of Francis Ford Coppola, who then produced Salva's first theatrical feature, Clownhouse (1989), which Salva again wrote and directed.

Child sexual abuse and child pornography

In 1988, Salva was convicted of sexual misconduct with one of Clownhouse's underage stars, who was 12 years old at the time, and videotaping one of the encounters in which he forced the victim to perform oral sex on him. Commercial videotapes and magazines containing child pornography were also found in his home. Salva pleaded guilty to lewd and lascivious conduct, oral sex with a person under fourteen, and procuring a child for pornography. He was sentenced to three years in state prison, of which he served 15 months. He completed his parole in 1992.

Later career

Salva's career took a hiatus after his release – he did not make another film for five years. He worked as a telemarketer during the week and wrote scripts during the weekend, supposedly delivering them to well-known producers while posing as a delivery boy.

His next film was The Nature of the Beast (1995), a direct-to-video mystery horror film which Salva wrote and directed. It starred Lance Henriksen and Eric Roberts. Salva based the film's characters on people he met in prison.

Salva next made his first big-studio picture, Powder (1995), the tale of an albino boy with special powers that make him an outcast. At the time of the film's release, Salva's conviction became known to the public when his victim came forward, calling for the film's boycott. Disney officials stated that they had been informed of Salva's crime only after production of Powder had begun. When asked about the controversy surrounding Powder, Salva said, "This has followed me around ever since it happened, but once people meet me the phantoms go away and they realize I made a stupid mistake, years ago. ... My past is going to follow me around for as long as people want to talk about it."

Salva next made Rites of Passage (1999), a coming-of-age thriller. The film depicts a homophobic father who unwittingly pushes his gay son into the arms of a psychotic killer.

In 2001, Salva wrote and directed Jeepers Creepers, which was a breakout hit and set a record for the largest Labor Day box-office ever.

Salva's next film after Jeepers Creepers 2 was Peaceful Warrior (2006), an adaptation of the semi-autobiographical book Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman. The film depicts the emotional and physical trials of a young gymnast and his awakening under the tutelage of a mysterious spiritual guide portrayed by Nick Nolte. He then returned to the horror-thriller and supernatural powers themes for his films Rosewood Lane (2011) and Dark House (2014).

In 2017, Salva wrote, directed, and produced the third installment of the Jeepers Creepers franchise, Jeepers Creepers 3. The release drew controversy for incorporating a character who was the victim of child molestation. Dialogue that suggested justification for the molestation was later cut from the film.

Salva described his films in 2001 as "atmospheric and macabre, with no happy endings, but not to be taken totally seriously".

Filmography

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer	Notes
1986	Something in the Basement	Yes	Yes	Yes	Short film
1989	Clownhouse	Yes	Yes	Yes
1995	The Nature of the Beast	Yes	Yes	No
1995	Powder	Yes	Yes	No
1999	Rites of Passage	Yes	Yes	No
2001	Jeepers Creepers	Yes	Yes	No
2003	Jeepers Creepers 2	Yes	Yes	No
2006	Peaceful Warrior	Yes	No	No
2011	Rosewood Lane	Yes	Yes	Yes
2014	Dark House	Yes	Yes	Yes
2017	Jeepers Creepers 3	Yes	Yes	Yes

External links

• Victor Salva at IMDb