Wes Craven, acclaimed horror movie director, dies at 76

Hollywood has lost another creative mind in the form of Wes Craven, who lost his battle against brain cancer this Sunday, August 30. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 76-year-old writer, producer, and director passed away at his home in Los Angeles, surrounded by his family, including wife Iya Labunka.

Craven's prolific 45-year career in the film industry brought massive successes via "A Nightmare on Elm Street" in 1984, the "Scream" films, "The Hills Have Eyes", and "The Last House" on the Left, among others.

The Hollywood Reporter credits Wes Craven for discovering the talents of Johnny Depp (who the director found while casting "A Nightmare on Elm Street"), Sharon Stone (whose first starring role was in" Deadly Blessing" in 1981), and Bruce Willis, whose first featured role was in an episode of "The Twilight Zone" back in the 1980s.

Craven, who was once a professor, told Filmmaker Magazine of his dreams of creating films, "I was almost 34, and I was teaching, with the idea that I wanted to be a novelist or a short story writer. That was going just nowhere, and I had two kids right away.

"When I got out of graduate school I had seen maybe three films in the theater, because I came out of a religious background. I moved to a small town in upstate New York to teach humanities, and there was a little art theater in the town showing European films. It just knocked me off my chair, the imagination and everything…guys like Bergman and Fellini really appealed to me and the idea of filmmaking just somehow rang my bell."

English writer and film director Clive Barker remembered Craven, telling the L.A. Times, "From the first time we met Wes was a friend, generous in his support of my work and wonderfully witty when talking about the deceits and nonsenses he'd faced as he fought for his unique cinematic vision. Wes was a gentle iconoclast, a man whose sudden absence from the world has left me sad beyond words but grateful to have known him while he was with us."

The Wrap reports that Rose McGowan, who worked with Craven on the first "Scream" film in 1996, said via Twitter, "Thank you for being the kindest man, the gentlest man, and one of the smartest men I've known. Please say there's a plot twist."

Sarah Michelle Gellar shared the issue of Entertainment Weekly featuring herself and her Scream 2 co-stars, writing, "A flashback to the time I got the chance to be directed by the great #wescraven For a man that made scary films, he was the kindest most gentle soul. Today the world mourns a great filmmaker, but an even better person #ripwescraven #Scream2"

Actor Jamie Kennedy, who also appeared in the "Scream" films series, likewise tweeted, "I [would] have no career if it were not for WES CRAVEN. Thank you for believing in me and giving me a chance."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Craven said, "I think it is an extraordinary opportunity and gift to be able to make films in general...I can see that I give my audience something. I can see it in their eyes, and they say thank you a lot. You realize you are doing something that means something to people."