Victor Salva: when Disney hired a convicted paedophile
Over the years, Disney has been involved in several polarising controversies that have shaped the company’s global image. From accusations about bribing the Academy for Oscar wins to political backlash against some of its recent as well as historical creative choices, Disney fans have often found themselves divided.
One particularly bizarre incident took place in the 1990s when Disney hired Victor Salva to direct a new project called Powder. Initially gaining a local reputation for being a cinephile, Salva earned Francis Ford Coppola’s admiration, who funded his 1989 feature Clownhouse. What Coppola didn’t know was that Salva was using his position of power to sexually abuse actor Nathan Forrest Winters, who was 12 years old at the time.
After a police investigation, it was discovered that not only had Salva filmed his crimes, but he also possessed a significant collection of child pornography. According to Winters, who opened up about the case in a documentary, Salva began sexually abusing him when he was seven after an extended period of grooming. Despite the heinous nature of his crimes, the director has routinely dismissed what happened as a “mistake”.
During an interview, he said: “I’ve never made any effort to hide what happened. I served my time, I’ve tried to learn and move on. I knew making Powder for Disney was like throwing gasoline on the fire, a very volatile combination that was going to erupt at some point. This has followed me around ever since it all happened, but once people meet me, the phantoms kind of go away, and they realise I just made a stupid mistake years ago.”
When Salva’s involvement with Powder first started garnering backlash before its release, Disney claimed that they had no knowledge about the director’s previous conviction when they made the decision to give him a contract. Not just that, some studio executives insisted that the movie was part of Salva’s rehabilitation process and that his criminal history should not be taken into account.
Producer Roger Birnbaum told the LA Times: “I sympathise with the pain these people have gone through, but the man is trying to do good now. If he has something to contribute to society, and it happens to be in film, let him do that. The movie and the incident that occurred eight to ten years ago are not related, and it would be a shame if the movie was not allowed to stand on its own… A movie is not made by one person.”
Although it was a financial success, Salva’s criminal past has formed the central part of Powder’s legacy in popular culture. Since then, he has notably worked on the Jeepers Creepers franchise which was financially supported by Francis Ford Coppola.
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