Wes Craven: The Mr. Skin Interview

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Wed, Dec 5, 2007 at 12:00am CST
Author: Mr. Skin
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Wes Craven: The Mr. Skin Interview

"I believe the cinema is one of our principal forms of art. It is an incredibly powerful way to tell uplifitng stories that can move people to cry with joy and inspire them to reach for the stars."

Such words would provide food for thought under any circumstances, but they become especially intriguing when one considers that they were spoken by world-renowned horror-film maven Wes Craven.

Craven initially got the public howling with his indelible sex-crime-turned-brutal-revenge classic The Last House on the Left (1972) (Picture: 1). The former English professor then went on to create the immortal The Hills Have Eyes (1977) and he forever inflicted bad dreams on the world in the form of Freddy Krueger via A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) (Picture: 1).

In 1996 Craven deconstructed the scare templates he helped put into place with Scream.

Along the way, Craven has branched out into other thematic territories. He helmed the Meryl Streep educational drama Music of the Heart (1999), as well as a 2001 documentary about the final days of the Bill Clinton presidency.

The gentlemanly shriek-maker also contributed a lovely, decidedly non-horrific segment to the multi-director anthology Paris, je t'aime (2006) (Picture: 1) titled Pere Lachaise. It takes place in one of France's most storied graveyards and stars Rufus Sewell, Emily Mortimer, and the ghost of Oscar Wilde.

Wes Craven generously discussed Pere Lachaise with MrSkin.com.

What comes to mind when someone brings up Paris, je t'aime?

Wonderful actors, a fantastic setting, a supportive, sympathetic crew. Just a great experience.

How did you come to be involved in the project?

The producers called me. I was immediately up for a shoot in Paris, especially to do something different.

Then they said that they wanted me to shoot in a graveyard, and I thought, Oh, well . . . But I was still thrilled to do it.

And then when I was told I'd be writing the sequence as well, I was very, very happy. The producers told me, "Do what you want." And they stuck with me.

What was the writing process like?

Fast! I wrote the entire script in a single sitting. Initially it was about the grave of Jim Morrison.

Why did you change the focus to Oscar Wilde?

I failed to get any kind of legal clearance to use Jim Morrison!

Whoops!

Right! So then I changed the story to center on Edith Piaf. But we couldn't get any clearance for her either.

So then I was thinking about Oscar Wilde and one of his quotes: "The death of the heart is the ugliest death there is." I used that as a starting point and wrote the entire script in two hours.

How did that change the overall story?

The Morrison version focused on a Wall Street guy and a woman of the "muddy class." The guy ended up running naked through the cemetery, which is very Morrison.

The Piaf story was much more of an end-of-life story. It was very sad.

The final version is certainly heartfelt and moving, but I wouldn't call it exactly sad.

I agree. I had been thinking about the last years of Wilde's life, when he was really torn apart. He'd been through a mock trial and was just ruined for being gay. And yet he came through it with such strength. It goes back to that idea: "The death of the heart is the ugliest death there is."

The producers tried very hard to get the rights to use Morrison and Piaf. Ultimately I'm glad we ended up with Oscar Wilde.

I think everyone who sees the movie will think the same thing. What can we look forward to next from you?

It's too early to reveal too much, but one of my early films looks like it may be playing a major part in my life next year.