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IMDbPro
Jack Sholder in Flic et rebelle (1989)

Biography

Jack Sholder

Edit

Overview

  • Born
    June 8, 1945 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
  • Height
    1.91 m

Biography

    • Known for The Hidden, Nightmare on Elm Street 2, and Alone in the Dark, Jack Sholder was born in Philadelphia where he studied to become a classical trumpet player. While still in high school, he performed under such conductors as Leopold Stokowski and Eugene Ormandy. After a year studying chemical engineering, he attended the University of Edinburgh and L'Université de Besançon and graduated from Antioch College with a degree in English literature. Sholder began his career as a film editor, working on the feature documentary King: From Montgomery to Memphis which was nominated for an Academy Award. He won an Emmy for his editing work on 3-2-1 Contact. After writing and directing several award-winning short films, Sholder directed Alone In The Dark, then wrote Where Are The Children starring Jill Clayburgh and directed Nightmare On Elm Street II. His next feature, The Hidden, won many awards including the Grand Prix at the Avoriaz Film Festival. Premiere Magazine called it "one of the ten most underrated films of the '80s." In 2004, Jack founded the Film & Television Production program at Western Carolina University where he was Professor and Director of the FTP program until 2017.
      - IMDb mini biography by: Jack Sholder
    • Known for The Hidden, Nightmare on Elm Street 2, and Alone in the Dark, Jack Sholder was born in Philadelphia where he studied to become a classical trumpet player. While still in high school, he performed under such conductors as Leopold Stokowski and Eugene Ormandy. After a year studying chemical engineering, he attended the University of Edinburgh and L'Université de Besançon and graduated from Antioch College with a degree in English literature. Sholder began his career as a film editor, working on the feature documentary King: From Montgomery to Memphis which was nominated for an Academy Award. He won an Emmy for his editing work on 3-2-1 Contact. After writing and directing several award-winning short films, Sholder directed Alone In The Dark, then wrote Where Are The Children starring Jill Clayburgh and directed Nightmare On Elm Street II. His next feature, The Hidden, won many awards including the Grand Prix at the Avoriaz Film Festival. Premiere Magazine called it "one of the ten most underrated films of the '80s." In 2004, Jack founded the Film & Television Production program at Western Carolina University where he was Professor and Director of the FTP program until 2017. Sholder has received Life Achievement Awards from FantaFestival Rome, Fantastic Fest, and the Grossman Film Festival.
      - IMDb mini biography by: Jack Sholder

Trivia

  • Couldn't direct the pool house scene in La Revanche de Freddy (1985) without laughing and had to pass the job on to an assistant
  • On the DVD commentary for Hidden (1987) he admitted that he had problems working with actor Michael Nouri.
  • Grew up in the Wynnefield section of Philly, went to Gompers and Beeber, and played the trumpet in school orchestras.
  • Played trumpet in orchestras conducted by Leopold Stokowski and Eugene Ormandy. Can be heard on soundtrack for 12 Days of Terror.
  • Has 2 sons, Oliver and Sam.

Quotes

  • (speaking about his film-making influences) I never set out to be Wes Craven, I set out to be Jean Renoir.
  • [Talking about his attitude towards violence in horror movies] I was never a hard-core slasher kind of guy...I never wanted to humiliate people or inflict pain just for the sake of inflicting pain, or do horrible effects just to see how gross I could possibly be. That never really interested me that much.
  • I've always had a cynical outlook on life. Odd things strike me as funny. I'm the sort of person who'd laugh at a funeral under the right circumstances.
  • [Talking about working with Robert Englund on "A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge"] One of the most brilliant things Wes did was cast Robert Englund because people always cast some lunk to play the killer ... whereas Robert Englund is not a big scary guy. He's a guy with an interesting, almost funny face, but he's a terrific actor. And Wes made that choice; it was a brilliant choice.
  • [Describing his state of mind before making 1982's "Alone in the Dark"] At that point I was getting into my early thirties, and when 25 came and passed and I hadn't made Citizen Kane yet, I was getting worried. I was really starting to wonder if I was ever going to get to make my feature. I'd worked as a film editor but I never really approached it as seriously as other people because I always felt I was going to direct a movie.

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