Categories | Lawsuits & Litigation Article

The Real Creeper Behind Jeepers Creepers

January 12th, 2017 • Lawsuits & Litigation • 3 minute read
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Author Sara E. Teller

The Real Creeper Behind Jeepers Creepers

Jeepers Creepers III has been set to release sometime in 2017, but exact dates remain a mystery.  The film will complete a trilogy of the horror flicks which follow a monster-like creature who terrorizes teens in rural parts of the country.  The first film released in 2001, with the sequel premiering in 2003.  Much anticipated "number three" follows Trish Jenner (played by actress Gina Phillips), now all grown up and a mother to a teen-aged son who she dreams is hunted down by the Creeper.  Remembering the awful fate of her younger brother, Darry (played by Justin Long), she becomes determined to find the creature and put an end to his sick games.  The film has been set to go in front of cameras for nearly seven years now, but the cast and crew claim funding has been an issue.  

Image Courtesy of AlchetronImage Courtesy of Alchetron

Following his release, Salva re-entered the entertainment world, directing Disney's Powder in 1995.  Winters publicly protested the release of the film and the irony of Salva's connection with a brand geared toward making children's dreams come true.  His efforts did not halt the film's release, however, and Salva's conviction was evidently brushed under the rug, making possible the beginnings of the Jeepers Creepers horror legacy.  However, Salva's skeletons surfaced once again after he posted a casting notice on Breakdown Services in 2015 asking for an eighteen year old girl to play Addison, Trish's daughter in Jeepers Creepers III, whose sleazy stepfather pursued at just thirteen, forcing the family to relocate.  The notice was posted seeking talent in the British Columbia area, but the character description raised red flags, opening the wounds of Salva's past.  Upon confirming the allegations of the director's criminal history, the website first sent the following to readers:“It has recently come to our attention that a casting breakdown has gone out for a feature film entitled Jeepers Creepers III, 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 & Welfare of a Minor) of the BC Master Production Agreement, a performer has the right to refuse work if they believe that the nature of the work is unsafe.”The disclaimer met with an unsettling response among British Columbia performers and the site ultimately chose to remove the post altogether.  Since this incident, specifics of the film's progress have been shrouded in secrecy, but according to cast members, everything is still a go as long as funding can be secured and a 2017 release should be anticipated.  As they say in the industry, the show must go on.

Sources

The Real Life Child Molestation Behind Jeepers Creepers Will Chill You to the BoneJeepers Creepers 3 Coming In 2017 
Sara E. Teller

About Sara E. Teller

Sara is a credited freelance writer, editor, contributor, and essayist, as well as a novelist and poet with nearly twenty years of experience. A seasoned publishing professional, she's worked for newspapers, magazines and book publishers in content digitization, editorial, acquisitions and intellectual property. Sara has been an invited speaker at a Careers in Publishing & Authorship event at Michigan State University and a Reading and Writing Instructor at Sylvan Learning Center. She has an MBA degree with a concentration in Marketing and an MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, graduating with a 4.2/4.0 GPA. She is also a member of Chi Sigma Iota and a 2020 recipient of the Donald D. Davis scholarship recognizing social responsibility. Sara is certified in children's book writing, HTML coding and social media marketing. Her fifth book, PTSD: Healing from the Inside Out, was released in September 2019 and is available on Amazon. You can find her others books there, too, including Narcissistic Abuse: A Survival Guide, released in December 2017.

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