Director Victor Salva, a Convicted Child Pornographer, Reportedly Wrote Creepy Stepdad Plotline for New Movie
LatestIn 1988, director Victor Salva was convicted of lewd or lascivious acts upon a child, using a child under 14 in pornography, and oral copulation. He served 15 months of a three-year sentence, according to the AP. The victim in these convictions was Nathan Forrest Winters, whom Salva directed in 1989’s Clownhouse. Winters recently said that Salva molested him for six years, starting when he was six years old. (Note: In a 1995 San Francisco Chronicle article, Winters’s mom, Rebecca Winters reportedly described “the four years of sexual abuse her son suffered.”) Nathan Forrest Winters also alleged that he wasn’t Salva’s only victim.
Salva went on to direct the 1995 movie Powder, distributed by Disney’s Buena Vista. Salva’s convictions prompted outcry upon that movie’s release, with calls for a boycott; Winters’s mother told the San Francisco Chronicle, “We’ve been through hell.” Roger Birnbaum of Caravan Pictures, which produced Powder, said at the time, “He paid for his crime, he paid his debt to society.” Salva said in a statement, “How deeply I regret my actions… I paid for my mistakes dearly. Now, nearly 10 years later, I am excited about my work as a film maker and look forward to continuing to make a positive contribution to our society.” When contacted by the AP regarding Salva’s past, Disney spokesman John Dreyer retorted: “What’s the point, other than you want to make headlines?”
As the controversy continued, Variety reported anonymous Powder crew members’ accounts of Salva’s on-set conduct:
The knowledge made some crew members wary of Salva’s behavior on the set, and one tried to warn minors to stay away from Salva. Two crew members said Salva hung around minors, employed as extras. The children were invited to sit in the director’s chair, and Salva frequently lunched with them, the crew members said.
Powder went on to gross $30.8 million at the domestic box office, an equivalent of $60 million today when adjusted for inflation.