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Victor Salva

This talented, passionate and sensitive writer-director of films of the fantastic segued from obscurity to controversy literally overnight with the release of "Powder" (1995), his first major feature. Co-produced by Hollywood Pictures, a subdivision of Disney, and Caravan Pictures, this surprisingly sober and intelligent fable told the unusual story of a boy genius with snow-white skin and a strange relationship to electricity whose physical oddity becomes a lightning rod for intolerance in a small Texas town. Though the film boasted an extraordinary central performance from Sean Patrick Flanery (TV's "Young Indiana Jones") and outstanding support from Lance Henriksen, Jeff Goldblum and Mary Steenburgen, filmmaker Salva found himself unpleasantly in the spotlight when his 1987 conviction for a sex crime with a minor surfaced practically on the eve of his potential career breakthrough. (See "Notes" and "Milestones" for details on Salva's crime and punishment. Suffice it to say here that while many filmmakers have become intimately involved with their stars, rarely have the results been so tragic for all parties involved.) The second highest grossing film of its opening weekend, "Powder" was dismissed by many reviewers who seemed more put off by its seriousness than its maker's notoriety.