Most famous for the Nightmare on Elm Street and the Scream franchises, writer, producer and director Wes Eugene Craven, born in Cleveland, Ohio on August 2nd 1939 died on Sunday, after losing his battle with brain cancer.
The multi-talented Craven has a long list of achievements, be it as a director, producer, writer, editor and even as an actor. But he is most famous for his impact on the horror genre, starting in 1984 with Nightmare on Elm Street, a classic where Freddy Krueger haunts a group of teenagers in their dreams causing their deaths in real life, then in 1996 came his considerable success with Scream, the movie about a psychopath killer and his well-known mask.
In 1999 he was offered to work on Music of the Heart, starring Meryl Streep but he was afraid that his reputation would get in the way. In an interview Wes Craven said, “We had a very difficult time getting an audience into a theater on my name. In fact, we moved toward downplaying my name a lot on Music of the Heart. The more famous you are for making outrageous scary films, the crossover audience will say, ‘I don’t think so.’”
Despite all reservations, the movie earned Meryl Streep an Academy Award nomination for best actress.
Wes Craven was a genius in his genre and, till his death, worked on numerous movie and TV productions. Some might argue that, in recent years, he had lost his touch, but I believe he should be remembered and not judged, remembered for his great works of art that have made cinematic history.
