Overview (2)

Mini Bio (1)

Trade Mark (3)



Frequently works with Ray Wise

Often references classic monster movies in his films.



Indulges in his navel fetish by having several close-up shots of his male actor's bellybuttons (Sean Patrick Flanery in Powder (1995), Jason Behr in Rites of Passage (1999), Justin Long in Jeepers Creepers (2001), and Al Santos in Jeepers Creepers 2 (2003)).



Trivia (9)

Has been making films since the age of 12.



Is a convicted child molester. In 1988 he confessed to five felony counts of sexual relations with a 12-year-old boy who he videotaped in sexual situations. Salva spent a year in state prison for the crimes.



Grew up in San Francisco.





In 1995, the boy he molested (then in his 20s) publicly boycotted the film Powder (1995) to bring attention to Salva's sexual misdeeds, which contributed to the film's less-than-stellar box office.



Grew up watching Creature Features (1971) on TV. This sparked his early interest in the horror/thriller genre.

His biological father abandoned the family and Salva stated that his stepfather was often drunk and physically abusive.



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



By the time he graduated from high school, he had written and directed more than 20 short and feature films,to finance his filmmaking hobby, he often held two jobs during the week.



Personal Quotes (3)

[on his films] Atmospheric and macabre, with no happy endings, but not to be taken totally seriously.





[on Powder (1995)] [It] contains many of my thoughts from my time in prison in its subtext. It was a terrible time for me, enduring the constant taunts. I often felt like Flanery's [ Sean Patrick Flanery ] albino character. My power did not come from within myself, though; my close friend Francis [ Francis Ford Coppola ] gave me that power. He visited me weekly, we discussed my crimes. Francis helped me to accept my past . . . which is certainly powerful!

Prison is a very dark place. When you go in, you literally walk -- naked -- under a sign that says, 'Abandon hope all ye who enter here.' You're really thrown on the garbage pile of humanity. It was a very humbling lesson to learn that there were people who belonged in prison and that I had to count myself among them. [Interview with Patrick Goldstein, 2006]

