Farewell to Wes – Guest Blog: Patrick Lussier
I first met Wes on Nightmare Cafe, which he created and EPed. I edited “Aliens Ate My Lunch,” the episode he directed, about little aliens stealing cows for milk. It displayed his unique and bizarre sense of humor. And that humor shone through so many of his films, no matter how gruesome or horrific or whether there were kids learning to play violin. (Is there anything more horrific than that sound? Freddy’s claw on metal? I don’t think so.)
In light of his passing, I have been replaying so many moments from the years I was lucky enough to work with Wes, to be his friend and ally. Screenings that went great (New Nightmare test screening, the first Scream test screening where none of us were sure the movie worked until 2 minutes in when the Killer says, “I want to know who I’m looking at,” and 450 people gasped in unison), and ones that were a disaster (first New Nightmare screening for New Line where the sound fell off the machine and rolled across the film half-way through… UGH!). And Wes, no matter what, had a calm patience with the process, never gave up and always dove into the fray to make each moment (cinematic or otherwise) better.
From him I learned the basic rules for filmmaking: have a plan, share the plan because everyone on the crew deserves to know that there’s a plan to get them home at the end of each day, trust your gut and your actors, and first and foremost: tell the story. Be true to it however dark and unsettling it may become. The lives of those of us who worked with Wes are forever changed for the better because of the time we shared together.
— Patrick Lussier
With the tragic passing of Wes Craven, literally everyone in the industry has been reeling and expressing love for the man and his work. Several people have been writing in to Dread Central to ask if it would be cool to post their thoughts. So this Farewell to Wes feature will be their opportunity to share their feelings and their thoughts with you, the horror community.
Some will be long, some will be short, but all are important and will be featured with love and caring. It’s our honor to be able to do this for the man who gave us so very much.
Categorized:News
