Wes Craven

Photo of Wes Craven

Biography

After emerging onto the filmmaking scene with the reviled revenge flick "Last House on the Left" (1972), Craven worked as an editor and unproduced screenwriter until his next film, "The Hills Have Eyes" (1977), a cult classic that helped establish a fan base that propelled his career forward. He continued along with several mid-level horror films before striking gold with "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984), which introduced the malevolent …
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Job Title

Actor, Director, Producer, Writer, Editor, Executive, Consultants & Advisors

Born

August 2, 1939

Career Milestones

2011

Returned to direct "Scream 4"

2010

Wrote and directed "My Soul to Take"

2009

Produced a remake of his film, "The Last House on the Left"

2007

Wrote and produced the sequal, "The Hills Have Eyes 2"

2006

Executive produced "Feast," the horror film that is a result of Project Greenlight's third season

2006

Wrote the screenplay for "Pulse," a remake of cult Japanese helmer Kiyoshi Kurosawa's "Kairo"

2006

Produced a remake of his 1977 film, "The Hills Have Eyes"; film was directed by Alexandre Aja

2005

Directed Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy in the thriller, "Red-Eye"

2005

Directed Christina Ricci in the thriller, "Cursed"

2000

Once again returned to direct "Scream 3"

1999

Directed first non-horror film, "Music of the Heart," starring Meryl Streep as music teacher and Violinist Roberta Guaspari-Tzavaras

1997

Directed the sequel, "Scream 2"

1996

Had box-office hit with the self-reflexive horror film, "Scream"

1994

Wrote and directed "Wes Craven's New Nightmare," where Freddy Krueger as a fictional movie villain, invades the real world

1992

Created the short-lived fantasy series, "Nightmare Cafe"; also wrote pilot and several episodes

1989

Executive produced the short-lived series, "The People Next Door"

1987

Provided story and co-wrote screenplay for "A Nightmare on Elm Street Part III: Dream Warriors"

1984

Wrote and directed the popular horror film, "A Nightmare on Elm Street"

1978

Directed first TV-movie, "Stranger in Our House" (NBC)

1977

Wrote, directed, and edited his second horror feature, "The Hills Have Eyes"

1972

Made feature directing and writing debut with "The Last House on the Left"; produced by Sean Cunningham

1971

Was an assistant producer on the documentary feature, "Together/Sensual Paradise"; first collaboration with Sean Cunningham

1971

First film as editor, "You've Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You'll Lose That Beat"

Left teaching and took a job as a messenger for a film post-production company in NYC