Steven Allan Spielberg, KBE (born December 18, 1946) is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer. In a career spanning over four decades, Spielberg’s films have touched on many themes and genres. Spielberg’s early sci-fi and adventure films sometimes centering on children, were seen as an archetype of modern Hollywood blockbuster filmmaking. In later years his films began addressing such issues as The Holocaust, slavery, war and terrorism.
Spielberg won the Academy Award for Best Director for 1993′s Schindler’s List and 1998′s Saving Private Ryan. Four of Spielberg’s films, Jaws (1975), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and Jurassic Park (1993), broke box office records, each becoming the highest-grossing film made at the time. To date, the unadjusted gross of all Spielberg-directed films exceeds $8.5 billion worldwide. Forbes magazine places Spielberg’s personal net worth at $3.0 billion. In 2006, Premiere listed him as the most powerful and influential figure in the motion picture industry. Time listed him as one of the 100 Most Important People of the Century. At the end of the twentieth century, Life named him the most influential person of his generation.
ET and Steven Spielberg
Trademark:
Uses powerful flashlights in dark scenes (Jurassic Park (1993); The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)). The outline of the beam is often made visible through dust, mist, or fog.
Frequently uses music by John Williams.
Often shows shooting stars (Jaws (1975)).
Onscreen performers staring, usually at something off camera.
He often uses images of the sun (Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Color Purple (1985), Empire of the Sun (1987), Saving Private Ryan (1998)).
His films often show children in some sort of danger.
Consistent references to World War II.
Frequent references to Disney films, music, or theme parks.
Frequently uses a piano as an element in key scenes (Schindler’s List (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Minority Report (2002)).
Important images, or characters, are often seen through the rear-view mirror of a car (Duel (1971) (TV), E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Jurassic Park (1993), Schindler’s List (1993), Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001)).
Frequently casts Tom Hanks, Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford, Frank Welker and Tom Cruise.
Protagonists in his films often come from families with divorced parents, with fathers portrayed as reluctant, absent or irresponsible, most notably in _E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)_ (Elliot’s mother is divorced and father is absent) and Catch Me If You Can (2002) (Frank Abagnale’s mother and father split early in the film). This reflects Spielberg’s own experience as a youth with his parents breaking up.
A common theme in many of his films is ordinary people who discover
something extraordinary – people, places, artifacts, creatures, etc. (Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)).
Since Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), all of his movies have featured visual effects (even those that were undetected) by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), the F/X house created by his friend George Lucas. The only exception has been The Terminal (2004), which had F/X work by Digital Imageworks.
Is credited for starting the summer blockbuster tradition with 1975′s first $100 million megahit, Jaws (1975).
Trivia:
Member of Theta Chi Fraternity (Zeta Epsilon Chapter, Long Beach State University). One of his fraternity brothers was Roger Ernest.
Received the Germany’s Cross of Merit with star for his sensible representation of Germany’s history in Schindler’s List (1993). [1998]
Jonathan Norman was sentenced to 25 years to life, for stalking Spielberg and threatening to rape him. [June 1998]
Chosen by Entertainment Weekly as the most powerful person in entertainment in 1997. [31 October 1997]
American Film Institute Life Achievement Award. [1995]
There are seven children in the Capshaw-Spielberg family: Theo Spielberg, who was adopted by Kate Capshaw before their marriage and later adopted by Spielberg, born in 1988, Sasha Spielberg, born on 14 May 1990, Sawyer Spielberg, born on 10 March 1992, their adopted daughter Mikaela George Spielberg, born on 28 February 1996, and Destry Allen Spielberg, born on 1 December 1996. Kate Capshaw’s daughter Jessica Capshaw, born in 1976, is from her previous marriage. Steven Spielberg’s son Max Spielberg, born in 1985, is from his previous marriage to Amy Irving.
Amy Irving gave birth to his son Max Spielberg on 13 June 1985.
He claims Richard Dreyfuss is his alter-ego.
Attended California State University, Long Beach after being turned down by USC Cinema school twice.
Attended Arcadia High School in Phoenix.
Awarded second annual John Huston Award for Artists Rights by the Artists Rights Foundation. [1995]
Co-founder (with Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen) of DreamWorks SKG.
He has one of the original Rosebud sleds from Citizen Kane (1941) in his house.
Godfather of Drew Barrymore and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Named Best Director of the 20th Century in an Entertainment Weekly on-line poll, substantially beating out runners-up Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick. [September 1999]
Born to Arnold Spielberg, a computer engineer, and Leah Adler, née Posner, a restaurateur and concert pianist.
Received the Distinguished Public Service Award, the U. S. Navy’s highest civilian honor, on Veterans Day 1999 for his work on the movie Saving Private Ryan (1998).
Sits on USC School of Cinema-Television’s Board of Councilors.
When he was a child, he sneaked onto the lot of Universal Studios during a tour and befriended an editor who showed him a few things about filmmaking.
Gwyneth Paltrow calls him Uncle Morty.
During filming of their episode of “Night Gallery” (1970), Spielberg gave Joan Crawford the gift of a single red rose in a Pepsi bottle. During an on-set conversation with Detroit Free Press reporter Shirley Eder, Crawford pointed out Spielberg and said, “Go interview that kid, because he’s going to be the biggest director of all time!” Crawford and Spielberg remained good friends until her death in 1977.
Awarded the honor of Knight of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in New Years Honours 2001 by Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to the British film industry. As a non-Commonwealth citizen, he will not be able to use the title. [December 2000]
States that the work of David Lean has had a profound effect on his career.
Spent five months developing the script for Rain Man (1988) with Ronald Bass, but had to commit to his handshake deal to direct Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Spielberg gave all of his notes to Barry Levinson.
Almost directed Big (1988) with Tom Hanks starring, but didn’t want to steal the thunder of his sister, Anne Spielberg, who co-wrote the script.
Personally offered the American Beauty (1999) script to Sam Mendes, who ended up winning the Academy Award for Best Director on the film, which was Mendes’s debut feature.
Flew Will Smith to his Hamptons home via helicopter to offer him the part in Men in Black (1997).
Often casts new actors based on their performances in other works. Rarely does auditions for major roles.
Was asked to approve use of the theme music from Jaws (1975) for Swingers (1996). When he saw a cut of the film, he saw Vince Vaughn, whom he chose to play Nick Van Owen in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997).
He is an Eagle Scout and was on an advisory board for the Boy Scouts of America. He left this position because he did not agree with the fact that the Boy Scouts of America discriminated against homosexuals.
Was directing a childbirth scene when he received a call that Amy Irving was giving birth to their son Max Spielberg.
According to the 2001 issue of Forbes’ “400 Richest People In America,” Spielberg’s fortune is $2.1 billion.
Was irked when footage from his movie Duel (1971) (TV) was used as stock footage in an episode of “The Incredible Hulk” (1978). But since Universal Studios owned the rights to both the The Incredible Hulk series and the film of Duel, taking legal action was not possible. However, he subsequently updated his contracts to include a clause that would protect his future material from being used as stock footage.
On May 31, 2002, graduated from California State University Long Beach with a bachelor’s degree in film and electronic arts. He had dropped out of college in 1968 to concentrate on his career, but during the 2000s fulfilled his remaining graduation requirements via independent projects, which required correspondence courses and several term papers. For Spielberg, the school waived its requirement that all senior film majors must submit a completed 12-minute short film, accepting Schindler’s List (1993) in its place. He donned cap and gown and marched in the commencement ceremony with his fellow graduates.
Received honorary doctor of humane letters degree from Yale University (27 May 2002).
When Spielberg received his undergraduate degree (about 35 years after he had first entered college), the orchestra played the theme from the “Indiana Jones” series of films as he walked up to and across the stage.
Owns the rights to the Stephen King novel “The Talisman”. As of 2002, the book has not been made into a film. He is now producing this film for release in 2007.
His father served in World War II in South East Asian Front.
Michael Kahn has edited all of Spielberg’s theatrical features since Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), their first collaboration. Kahn did not, however, edit E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) because he was editing Poltergeist (1982). E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) was edited by Carol Littleton.
According to the 2002 edition of Forbes’ “400 Richest People in America,” his fortune is estimated at $2.2 billion, a $100 million improvement over the 2001 estimate.
Ranked #1 in Premiere’s 2003 annual Hollywood Power List. It is the third time he received the top ranking (the others being in 1994 & 1995). He had ranked #6 in 2002.
In Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), the humans and aliens use music and computers to communicate. Spielberg’s father was a computer scientist and his mother was a musician. This fact was only recently pointed out to him on “Inside the Actors Studio” (1994) by host James Lipton and he was unsurprisingly delighted when he realised the connection.
Is set to produce a mini-series for HBO that will set out to debunk the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The mini-series, written by David Leland, will focus on the historical reality of life in 500 A.D., when Arthur was thought to be King and will have no round table, Merlin, Lancelot, Excalibur, or knights. Camelot itself will be shown to have been a simple Roman fort and Arthur, named Artos in the film, will be portrayed as a humble blacksmith whose forging skills win him the English throne. It was expected to air sometime in 2004. [2003]
The first film he directed that was not scored by John Williams was The Color Purple (1985), which was scored by Quincy Jones.
Was voted the 11th Greatest Director of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
In 1983, he lost the Best Picture Oscar to Gandhi (1982), directed by Richard Attenborough. He later went on to direct five cast members, as well as Attenborough, in his later movies: Amrish Puri in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984); Roshan Seth in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984); Richard Attenborough in Jurassic Park (1993); Ben Kingsley in Schindler’s List (1993), Nigel Hawthorne in Amistad (1997) and Martin Sheen in Catch Me If You Can (2002).
Has worked with four actors from the Hannibal Lecter film series, in reverse order to the order in which the Lecter films came out. The first one he worked with was Ralph Fiennes in Schindler’s List (1993), who went on to play Francis Dollarhyde in Red Dragon (2002). His next film was The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), with Julianne Moore, who played Clarice Starling in the third Lecter film, Hannibal (2001). After this, he made Amistad (1997), with Anthony Hopkins, who began playing Hannibal Lecter in the second film, The Silence of the Lambs (1991). After this he made Saving Private Ryan (1998), which featured Dennis Farina, who played Jack Crawford in the original Lecter film, Manhunter (1986).
When asked what are the films he’s made he would like to be remembered for, he said E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and Schindler’s List (1993).
Although close friend, George Lucas, has vowed to only shoot future movies digitally, Spielberg has been the most vocal film-maker of the opposing view: to continue shooting all of his movies on film. Other directors siding with Spielberg include Martin Scorsese and Oliver Stone.
According to his interview on the series “Inside the Actors Studio” (1994), his favorite curse word is “Rats!”
To date, has never provided a director’s commentary on any of his films DVDs. [2004]
In the 2004 edition of Forbes’ “400 Richest People in America”, his net worth is estimated at $2.6 billion, his highest showing yet. The only filmmaker ahead of him is his good friend George Lucas, whose worth is estimated at $3 billion.
Described One Froggy Evening (1955) as “the most perfect cartoon ever made”.
His longtime friend George Lucas originally wanted him to direct the third entry of the original Star Wars trilogy, Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) and Spielberg was eager to do so, but Lucas was unsuccessful in getting him the job because of his dispute with the Director’s Guild at the time.
When he used product placement in E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), he used Reese’s Pieces only because M & M’s parent company didn’t want their product associated with aliens and UFOs.
Directed nine actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Liam Neeson; Ralph Fiennes; Anthony Hopkins; Tom Hanks; Melinda Dillon; Whoopi Goldberg; Oprah Winfrey; Margaret Avery and Christopher Walken.
Wrote a letter to Polish writer/director Mira Hamermesh in appreciation of one of her films.
Graduated from Saratoga High School in Saratoga, California.
Ranked #2 on Premiere’s 2005 Power 50 List, behind only Peter Jackson. Had the same ranking in 2004, behind Pixar bosses John Lasseter and Steve Jobs.
Though he has directed 9 actors in Oscar-nominated performances, to date he has never directed an Oscar-winning performance.
Ranked #1 in Empire (UK) magazine’s “The Greatest directors ever!” (2005).
Has been Honorary Member of the Society of Operating Cameramen (SOC) since 1995 and received the Governors Award “for his contributions in the advancement of the use of the motion picture camera”.
He has always been very protective of his name. If his company is working on a film and he feels it is not up to his standards, he will remove his name as a producer.
Aside from producing The Goonies (1985), he also directed at least one scene in the movie.
In the 2005 edition of Forbes’ “400 Richest People in America”, his net worth is estimated at $2.7 billion, a $100 million improvement over 2004 (due mostly to his share of the DreamWorks Animation public stock offering). He, and good friend George Lucas (net worth: $3.5 billion) are the only filmmakers on the list.
In December, he, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen sold DreamWorks SKG to Paramount Pictures Corporation for $1.6 billion.
Once screened Lawrence of Arabia (1962) with director David Lean, who gave Spielberg a “live director’s commentary”, as Spielberg put it. Spielberg said that it was one of the best moments of his life, learning from a true master. Consequently, Spielberg stated that it helped him make better pictures and that commentary directly influenced every movie he has made since.
His ten favourite films of all time are: Fantasia (1940); Citizen Kane (1941); A Guy Named Joe (1943); It’s a Wonderful Life (1946); The War of the Worlds (1953); Psycho (1960); Lawrence of Arabia (1962); 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968); The Godfather (1972) and La nuit américaine (1973).
Has an estimated fortune of $2.8 billion ($2,800,000,000), according to the “Los Angeles Business Journal”. The size of his fortune him the 14th richest person in the Los Angeles area and likely the wealthiest producer-director in the world (with only his friend George Lucas coming close).
His iconic character “E.T.” from E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) is ranked #26 on Premiere Magazine’s 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
Is the most represented filmmaker on the American Film Institute’s 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time, with five films on the list and three in the top ten. They are: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) at #58; The Color Purple (1985) at #51; Saving Private Ryan (1998) at #10; E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) at #6 and Schindler’s List (1993) at #3.
Ranked #6 in the Power Rankings and #1 in the Money Rankings on Forbes’ 2006 Celebrity 100 List, with earnings of $332 million. Most of those earnings were from the 2005 sale of DreamWorks to Paramount Pictures.
Ranked #4 on Premiere’s 2006 “Power 50″ list. Had ranked #2 in 2005.
Interviewed in “Directors Close Up: Interviews with Directors Nominated for Best Film by the Directors Guild of America”, ed. by Jeremy Kagan, Scarecrow Press, 2006.
In 1996, he purchased Clark Gable’s Oscar (which he won for It Happened One Night (1934)) to protect it from further commercial exploitation and gave it back to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, commenting that he could think of “no better sanctuary for Gable’s only Oscar than the Motion Picture Academy”.
On 14 December 2002 he bought Bette Davis’ Oscar, which she won for Dangerous (1935), at a Sotheby’s auction in New York to return it to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The statuette was among the memorabilia sold by the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain, which has emerged from bankruptcy protection.
On 19 July 2001 he purchased Bette Davis’ Oscar statuette, which she won for Jezebel (1938), at a Christie’s auction and returned it to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Early in his career, while working for Universal Studios, he was asked to give a tour to a special guest who had just sold the film rights to one of his books to the studio. That guest was Michael Crichton, who later worked with Spielberg on Jurassic Park (1993).
Both live-action adaptations of “The Incredible Hulk” have references to his films. The first used stock footage from Duel (1971) (TV). In the 2003 film by Ang Lee (Hulk (2003)), the impact of the Hulk hitting the ground causes ripples to form in nearby bodies of water, just as the Tyrannosaur does in Jurassic Park (1993).
Though he frequently works with Tom Hanks, Hanks is not, as of 2006, involved in Spielberg’s biopic about Abraham Lincoln, even though he is descended from the family of Lincoln’s mother, Nancy Hanks.
Owns one of the largest gun collections on the East Coast. He shoots, but only privately.
Awarded Kennedy Center Honors in 2006, with Dolly Parton, Smokey Robinson, Zubin Mehta, and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
According to Teri Garr, Spielberg told her on a set that one of his favorite movies is Viva Las Vegas (1964), starring Elvis Presley.
Is of Hungarian descent, which explains his surname, coming from the Austrian city where his ancestors lived.
Considered directing Memoirs of a Geisha (2005).
He, George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola presented Martin Scorsese with his first ever award for Best Director, for The Departed (2006).
Is a huge fan of the actors Steve Martin, Bill Murray and Robin Williams. He is also proud to admit they are good friends of his.
Was offered the opportunity to direct California Split (1974), but job went to Robert Altman.
Was originally set to direct Cape Fear (1991). He later recommended Martin Scorsese for the job and personally called the director, letting him know that this was a commercial film that had potential to be a hit, which would exercise more power for Scorcese to make his films.
Attended the funeral of Princess Diana with friends Richard Attenborough, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and Tom Hanks. [September 6, 1997]
Went to the same college, CSULB as Frank Miranda.
Was originally in talks to direct The Mask of Zorro (1998) but later only produced it.
Burt Reynolds film “White Lightning” (1973) was originally slated to be Spielberg’s first theatrical feature and he spent months on pre-production.
Robbie Williams mentions him in his song “I Will Talk and Hollywood Will Listen”.
2007- Ranked #2 on EW’s The 50 Smartest People in Hollywood.
Is a fan of “Doctor Who” (1963).
In 2007, Forbes estimated his earnings for the year 2006 to be $110 million.
Is a fan of video games and says that their development is intriguing to him.
His dog Elmer starred in several of his films including Jaws (1975) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).
Owns homes in Pacific Palisades, California; New York City; East Hampton, New York; and Naples, Florida.
Pulled out of his role as advisor to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, reacting to the Chinese government’s inaction over the genocide in Darfur (February 2008).
Is a fan of the works of Carl Barks, and cites them as a big inspiration on his storytelling.
Dated actress Valerie Bertinelli in the late ’70s.
Turned down the opportunity to direct Deep Impact (1998) and The Mask of Zorro (1998) to work on Saving Private Ryan (1998).
Steven Spielberg receiveing Philadelphia'’s 2009 Liberty Medal
Served on the Board for the Institute for the Study of Women in Men in Society for USC. Hosted events for the intellectual society at his screening room and offices on the Universal lot in the late 1980s.
In the 5th edition of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (edited by Steven Jay Schneider), 8 of Spielberg’s films are listed: Jaws (1975), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), The Color Purple (1985), Jurassic Park (1993), Schindler’s List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998).
When Spielberg accepted the Cecil B. DeMille award at the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards he expressed his gratitude to DeMille for helping him come to love filmmaking in the first place, describing his earliest childhood memory of going to see DeMille’s The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) with his father. “I think my fate was probably sealed that day in 1952″, he said, recalling how the train wreck scene in that film inspired first a keen interest in electric train sets and eventually his passion for film.
Is an excellent shot with a shotgun. Actor Shia LaBeouf once said about his shooting, “He’s an Olympic shot. The hand-eye co-ordination of that man is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. If he weren’t a great director, he could be one of our greatest snipers”.
Worked with both father and son Brolin actors. He worked with James Brolin in Catch Me If You Can (2002), and Josh Brolin in The Goonies (1985) and “Into the West” (2005).
Is one of 7 directors to win the Golden Globe, Director’s Guild, BAFTA, and Oscar for the same movie, winning for Schindler’s List (1993). The other directors to achieve this are ‘Mike Nichols (I)’ for The Graduate (1967), Milos Forman for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), Richard Attenborough for Gandhi (1982), Oliver Stone for Platoon (1986), Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain (2005), and Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire (2008).
