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Steven Spielberg
I’ve discovered I’ve got this preoccupation with ordinary people pursued by large forces.
— Steven Spielberg
GROWING up in Phoenix, Ariz., Steven Spielberg charged admission to his home movies while his sister sold popcorn. The introverted son of an emotionally remote electrical engineer father and an indulgent concert-pianist mother, he completed his first scripted amateur film — which was funded by proceeds from his tree-planting business — at the age of 12. A year later, he won a prize for a 40-minute war movie titled Escape to Nowhere. At 16, Spielberg’s ambitious 140-minute science-fiction production, Firelight, was shown in a local movie theater. In college (he studied film at Cal State after earning a B.A. in English), the Boy Wonder’s 24-minute short Amblin’ was screened at the Atlanta Film Festival — the film was well-received enough that it netted the 20-year-old neophyte a seven-year contract as a TV director with Universal-MCA.
Spielberg made his debut helming the pilot episode (which starred legendary screen queen Joan Crawford, no less) for the Rod Serling series Night Gallery, and further cut his teeth with episodes of such weekly series as Columbo and Marcus Welby, M.D., and with a handful of telefilms. One such movie, 1972’s Duel, which starred Dennis Weaver as a salesman menaced by a giant diesel truck, became an instant cult classic.
Spielberg’s first feature film, The Sugarland Express, released in 1974, won him the chance to direct Jaws, an adaptation of the Peter Benchley thriller about a great white shark that terrorizes a small New England beach community. Despite the fact that production on the film ultimately overran by an expensive 100 days (the greenhorn director had a disgruntled crew and a faulty automated shark on his hands), the $8.5 million pic grossed $260 million, effectively ushering in the modern age of summer movie blockbusters. Catapulted to Hollywood’s A-list, Spielberg followed up Jaws two years later with Close Encounters of the Third Kind: the revisionist sci-fi film not only garnered him a Best Director Oscar nomination, but it cemented his reputation as a visionary of pure cinematic technique.
But Spielberg followed Close Encounters with the disastrous 1941, which represented his first stab at comedy — and his first bona fide failure. He didn’t take long to regain his footing, both commercially and artistically. Teaming up with pal George Lucas (whose Star Wars came out the same year as Close Encounters, and made even more money), Spielberg concocted an escapist action-adventure picture inspired by the old matinee cliffhangers they had both enjoyed as kids. Detailing the adventures of a rugged archaeologist named Indiana Jones (played to perfection by Harrison Ford), Raiders of the Lost Ark earned Spielberg another Best Director Oscar nomination and made another mint at the box office. (The film spawned two successful sequels, both directed by Spielberg: 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and 1989’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.)
Legend has it that Spielberg whiled away his off-hours during the rigorous Raiders location shoot by weaving a plot for a personal little film about a suburban boy who befriends an earthbound alien. That heartstring-plucking yarn was realized as E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, which descended upon theaters in 1982. An instant classic and still the defining film of Spielberg’s landmark-filled career, the magical and exceedingly sentimental film surpassed even Lucas’ Star Wars to become one of the biggest domestic moneymakers of all time.
Further profiting as a producer of other directors’ hits (including Poltergeist, Back to the Future, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit?), Spielberg became one of the richest and most powerful players in Hollywood. In 1984, he created his own independent company, Amblin Entertainment, and the following year, reacting to criticism that he couldn’t make a serious adult picture, he tackled the daunting task of adapting to the screen Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple. Criticized for sentimentalizing the material (a standard critical sling aimed at most of Spielberg’s efforts), he was publicly embarrassed when the film pulled down 11 Oscar nominations, but not one for his direction. In a goodwill gesture, the Academy atoned for the snub by honoring Spielberg with the Irving G. Thalberg Award, in 1987.
Over the next few years, with the so-so performance of Always, Empire of the Sun and Hook, Spielberg’s Midas touch seemed to be failing him. His personal life was also in turmoil: he and his actress wife Amy Irving divorced, and he then married his Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom leading lady Kate Capshaw. Professionally, he came back with a double-whammy, in 1993, as Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List fully sated the needs of commerce and art. Jurassic Park, a $70 million, special effects-laden adaptation of the Michael Crichton dino disaster novel of the same name, grossed $100 million in nine days on its way to shattering E.T.’s box-office record, and Spielberg’s portrayal of kind-hearted Nazi Party member Oskar Schindler finally earned him long-awaited Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture. Based on Thomas Keneally’s Booker Prize-winning Holocaust novel, the stark black-and-white docudrama represented a bold departure for the master of escapist fare, and it garnered him the most respectful and laudatory notices of his career. New York Times critic Janet Maslin extolled Spielberg’s tour de force accomplishment: “Schindler’s List brings a preeminent pop mastermind together with a story that demands the deepest reserves of courage and passion.… With every frame, he demonstrates the power of the filmmaker to distill complex events into fiercely indelible images.” The director funneled his considerable earnings from the film — gains he called “blood money” — into the Righteous Persons Foundation, which grants money to a variety of projects impacting modern Jewish life.
Buoyed by this unprecedented success, Spielberg joined forces in 1994 with fellow entertainment moguls David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg to form DreamWorks, a multimedia entertainment studio for the production of live-action and animated features, TV programming, music, and interactive software. Implementing the proven strategy of his 1993 dinosaur/triumph-of-the-human spirit one-two combo, Spielberg logged yet another record-busting success in 1997, with the back-to-back releases of the Jurassic Park sequel The Lost World and Amistad, a fact-based drama about an 1839 shipboard revolt by African slaves that spawned a legal battle in the United States. The latter film earned Spielberg a Best Director Golden Globe nomination. Summer 1998 witnessed the release of Saving Private Ryan, a harrowingly graphic WWII drama starring Tom Hanks and Matt Damon. When Oscar nominations were announced the following February, the film, Spielberg, and Hanks were listed among the contenders, but only Spielberg walked away with a statuette.
Since the mid-’80s, Spielberg has kept his hand in the TV realm, exec-producing the fantasy anthology NBC series Amazing Stories (1985-87), and the madly popular children’s animated series Tiny Toon Adventures (1990-95), Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs (1993-), and Steven Spielberg Presents Pinky and the Brain (1995-).
Occupation: Director, Mass-media phenomenon, Producer, Screenwriter
Date of Birth: December 18, 1946
Place of Birth: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Sign: Sun in Sagittarius, Moon in Scorpio
Relations: Wife: Kate Capshaw (actress); ex-wife: Amy Irving; kids: Max (with Irving); Sasha, Sawyer, Theo (adopted), Jessica (stepdaughter), Mikaela (adopted), Destry Allyn–all with Capshaw; goddaughter: Drew Barrymore
Education: California State College at Long Beach
Fan Mail: C/O Amblin Entertainment
100 Universal City Plaza Bungalow 477
Universal City, CA 91608
USA.
Steven Spielberg: Credits
MOVIES
Actor
A Century of Cinema — 1994
The Magical World of Chuck Jones — 1992
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade — 1989
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom — 1984
Blues Brothers — 1980
1941 — 1979
Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies — 1973
Director
Saving Private Ryan — 1998
Amistad — 1997
The Lost World: Jurassic Park — 1997
Schindler’s List — 1993
Jurassic Park — 1993
Hook — 1991
Always — 1989
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade — 1989
Empire of the Sun — 1987
Always — 1986
The Color Purple — 1985
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom — 1984
Twilight Zone–The Movie — 1983
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial — 1982
Raiders of the Lost Ark — 1981
1941 — 1979
Jaws — 1975
The Sugarland Express — 1974
Savage — 1972
Duel — 1971
Night Gallery — 1969
Executive Producer
The Mask of Zorro — 1998
Deep Impact — 1998
Men in Black — 1997
Twister — 1996
Balto — 1995
Innerspace — 1987
I Wanna Hold Your Hand — 1978
Producer
Saving Private Ryan — 1998
Amistad — 1997
Schindler’s List — 1993
Screenwriter
Schindler’s List — 1993
Close Encounters of the Third Kind — 1977
Other Movie Credits
We’re Back: A Dinosaur’s Story — 1993 (Co-Executive Producer)
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West — 1991 (Co-Producer)
Gremlins 2: The New Batch — 1990 (Co-Executive Producer)
Arachnophobia — 1990 (Co-Executive Producer)
Joe Versus the Volcano — 1990 (Co-Executive Producer)
Back to the Future Part III — 1990 (Co-Executive Producer)
Dad — 1989 (Co-Executive Producer)
Always — 1989 (Co-Producer)
Back to the Future Part II — 1989 (Co-Executive Producer)
Batteries Not Included — 1987 (Co-Executive Producer)
Empire of the Sun — 1987 (Co-Executive Producer)
An American Tail — 1986 (Co-Executive Producer)
The Money Pit — 1986 (Co-Executive Producer)
Young Sherlock Holmes — 1985 (Co-Executive Producer)
The Goonies — 1985 (Co-Executive Producer)
Back to the Future — 1985 (Co-Executive Producer)
The Color Purple — 1985 (Co-Producer)
Gremlins — 1984 (Co-Executive Producer)
Twilight Zone–The Movie — 1983 (Co-Producer)
Poltergeist — 1982 (Co-Producer)
Poltergeist — 1982 (Co-Screenwriter)
Continental Divide — 1981 (Co-Executive Producer)
Used Cars — 1980 (Co-Executive Producer)
TV
Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toons’ Night Ghoulery — 1995 (Special; executive producer)
The American Film Institute Salute to Steven Spielberg — 1995 (Honoree)
Family Dog — 1994 (Series; executive producer)
Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toons Adventures Spring Break Spe — 1994 (Special; executive producer)
Class of ‘61 — 1993 (Movie; executive producer)
Here’s Looking at You, Warner Brothers — 1993 (Host)
Nova — 1993 (”The Real Jurassic Park” episode)
SeaQuest DSV — 1993 - 1997 (Series; Executive producer)
Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs — 1993 - 1997 (Series; executive producer)
Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My S — 1993 (Special; executive producer)
Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures — 1990 - 1997 (Series; executive producer)
Amazing Stories — 1985 - 1987 (Series; creator, executive producer, directed episodes)
Savage — 1973 (Movie; director)
Something Evil — 1972 (Movie; performer, director)
Columbo — 1971 (Series; director)
Duel — 1971 (Movie; director)
Night Gallery — 1971 (Series; director)
The Psychiatrist — 1971 (Series; director)
Spielberg, Steven Allen Web sites
Mr. Showbiz Celebrities: Steven Spielberg Profile audio video chat games
Photo, bio, news, and credits.
http://mrshowbiz.go.com/people/stevenspielberg/
Last reviewed by ccrowe21
Scruffles’ Steven Spielberg Directory
This page was designed to bring the works and life of Steven Spielberg closer to his fans.
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/2158/main.html
Last reviewed by tlpretender
Lost World
Official site for the Jurassic Park sequel with movie information and fun ways to find related links on the Web.
http://www.lost-world.com/
Last reviewed by Lady_Tasha
Memoirs of a Geisha commerce
Arthur Golden’s book is being adapted by Columbia Pictures and will be directed by Steven Spielberg. Includes book and author information.
http://www.spe.sony.com/movies/memoirsofageisha/
Last reviewed by SurfLearn
MTV’s GameWorks audio video
Take a virtual stroll through GameWorks. Look at the menu. Get tips on the hottest new games. Shockwave plug-in and Quicktime viewer strongly recommended.
http://www.gameworks.com/
Last reviewed by eegoo
Survivors of the Shoah
Founded by Steven Spielberg in 1994, the Visual History Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to videotaping and archiving interviews of Holocaust survivors all over the world.
http://www.vhf.org/
Last reviewed by ydowling
Dlaor’s Steven Spielberg Page
Filmography and biography of the director Steven Spielberg
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/7839/
Scruffles’ Steven Spielberg Directory
Find background information, links, and scripts for Steven Spielberg’s films.
http://www.geocities.com/~scruffles/main.html
Spielberg Cult
If your life has been wanting for lack of an apparently great Steven Spielberg page written in Portuguese, this site should save you from certain ennui.
http://Spielberg-Cult.home.ml.org
Steven Spielberg Database, The
Comprehensive breakdown of all the director’s feature films, including production notes, articles, interviews and some scripts. Site in French and English.
http://www.multimania.com/spielbrg/
Last reviewed by SurfLearn
Steven Spielberg Directory, The
Access articles, project news and a Jurassic Park-sized media section.
http://hometown.aol.com/Hender67/
Last reviewed by SurfLearn
Steven Spielberg Homepage
Find news, information, pictures, trivia, and links dedicated to the films of Steven Spielberg.
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/6807/
Photo Gallery:
Topics: Actor, Celebrities, Director, Producer, Screenwriter
Tags: Atlanta Film Festival, Dennis Weaver, Director, Escape to Nowhere, Hollywood, Joan Crawford, Lost World, Mass-media phenomenon, Producer, science-fiction production, Screenwriter, scripted amateur film, Thalberg Award, Thomas Keneally, Universal-MCA
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