Last week we reported that Jeepers Creepers was entering production. Before filming could even begin in British Columbia, the film has already hit a snag. Deadline is reporting that Jeepers Creepers’ writer/director Victor Salva’s troubled past has come back to haunt him. Salva posted a casting notice on Breakdown Service for the film, which starts shooting next month. But when the Union of British Columbia Performers learned of the notice, they sent out an alert to talent agencies warning them of Salva’s sex offender status. Breakdown Service quickly removed the posting from their site.
“It has come to our attention that a casting breakdown has gone out for a feature film titled Jeepers Creepers III,” The Union of British Columbia Performs continued. ” and that the director of the film, Victor Salva, was convicted of sexual misconduct in 1988. The conviction allegedly resulted from misconduct involving a minor whom Mr. Salva was directing at the time. At this time we would like to remind our members and their agents that, under Article A2702 (Safety and Welfare of a Minor) of the BC Master Production Agreement, a preformer has the right to refuse work if they believe that the nature of the work is unsafe.”
Salva was convicted of oral copulation, producing child pornography and lewd and lascivious conduct with a 12-year-old boy in 1988. The victim starred in Salva’s first feature film Clownhouse at the time. He was sentenced to a three-year term and was released after only nineteen-months. After Salva’s release he went on to direct several films, including: Powder, Jeepers Creepers and Jeepers Creepers 2. The picture below is the actual mugshot taken at the time of arrest.
How Salva has been able to continue in the film industry is beyond me. In the film Powder, several of the actors were under the age of 18, but still he was hired to direct.
