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Steven Allan Spielberg KBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born December 18, 1946) is an American
film directorA film director, or filmmaker is a person who directs the making or production of a film. Some also consider a film producer to be a filmmaker....
,
screenwriterScreenwriters or scenarists or scriptwriters are people in a film crew who write/create the screenplays from which films and television programs are made....
, and
film producerA film producer or movie producer is someone who creates the scenes and conditions for making movies. The producer initiates, co-ordinates, supervises and controls matters such as fund-raising, hiring key personnel and arranging for distributors...
. In a career of 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
blockbusterBlockbuster, as applied to film or theatre, denotes a very popular and/or successful production. The entertainment industry use was originally theatrical slang referring to a particularly successful play but is now used primarily by the film industry....
filmmaking. In later years his films began addressing such issues as
The HolocaustThe Holocaust , also known as The Shoah is the term generally used to describe the genocide of approximately six million European Jews during World War II, a program of systematic state-sponsored extermination by Nazi Germany,...
,
slaverySlavery is a form of forced labor in which people are considered to be the property of others. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive compensation...
,
warWar is a reciprocated, armed conflict, between two or more non-congruous entities, aimed at reorganising a subjectively designed, geo-politically desired result...
and
terrorismTerrorism is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion.At present, there is no internationally agreed definition of terrorism...
.
Spielberg won the Academy Award for Best Director for 1993's
Schindler's ListSchindler's List is a 1993 American drama film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand Polish Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the novel Schindler's Ark by...
and 1998's
Saving Private RyanSaving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 25 minutes, which depict the Omaha beachhead assault of June 6, 1944. Afterward,...
. Three of Spielberg's films,
JawsJaws is a 1975 American horror/thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel Jaws. The police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant great white shark by closing the beach, only to be overruled by the town...
(1975),
E.T. the Extra-TerrestrialE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Dee Wallace. It tells the story of Elliott , a lonely boy who befriends a friendly...
(1982), and
Jurassic ParkJurassic Park is a 1993 science fiction thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. The film centers on the fictional island of Isla Nublar, where scientists have created an amusement park of cloned dinosaurs...
(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.
ForbesForbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, Forbes magazine, is published fortnightly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published fortnightly, and Business Week...
magazine places Spielberg's personal net worth at $3.0 billion. In 2006,
PremierePremiere was an American and New York City-based film magazine published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., published between the years 1987 and 2007. The original version of the magazine, , was started in France in 1976 and is still being published there....
listed him as the most powerful and influential figure in the
motion picture industryThe film industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking: i.e. film production companies, film studios, cinematography, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post production, film festivals, distribution; and actors, film directors and other film...
.
TimeTime is an American newsmagazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong. As of 2009, Time no longer publishes a Canadian advertiser edition...
listed him as one of the
100 Most Important People of the CenturyThe Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century is a compilation of the 20th century's 100 most influential people, published in Time magazine in 1999....
. At the end of the twentieth century,
LifeLife generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
named him the most influential person of his generation.
Early life
Spielberg was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Jewish parents Leah Adler, a restaurateur and concert
pianistA pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers....
, and Arnold Spielberg, an electrical engineer involved in the development of computers. He spent his childhood in
Haddon Township, New JerseyHaddon Township is a Township in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 14,651....
and
Scottsdale, ArizonaScottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. As of 2007 the population of the city was 240,410. Scottsdale is regarded as an upscale tourist and shopping destination and as a representation of western American style...
, an upscale suburb of
PhoenixPhoenix is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the fifth most populous city in the United States...
. Throughout his early teens, Spielberg made amateur 8 mm "adventure" films with his friends, the first of which he shot at the Pinnacle Peak Patio restaurant in Scottsdale. He charged admission (25 cents) to his home films (which involved the wrecks he staged with his Lionel train set) while his sister sold popcorn.
He became a Boy Scout and in 1958, he fulfilled a requirement for the
photography merit badgeMerit badges are awards earned by youth members of the Boy Scouts of America , a U.S.-based organization, based on activities within an area of study by completing a list of periodically updated requirements. The purpose of the merit badge program is to allow Scouts to examine subjects to determine...
by making a nine-minute 8 mm film entitled
The Last Gunfight. Spielberg recalled years later to a magazine interviewer, "My dad's still camera was broken, so I asked the scoutmaster if I could tell a story with my father's movie camera. He said yes, and I got an idea to do a Western. I made it and got my merit badge. That was how it all started." At age 13, Spielberg won a prize for a 40-minute war film he titled "Escape to Nowhere." In 1963, at age 16, Spielberg wrote and directed his first independent film, a 140-minute
science fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction. It differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically-established or scientifically-postulated laws of nature...
adventure called
FirelightFirelight is a 1964 science fiction adventure film. It was written by Steven Spielberg at the age of 16 and he directed it on a budget of $500. The film was his first commercial success, was shown at a local cinema and generated a profit of $1. "I counted the receipts that night [...] and we...
(which would later inspire
Close Encounters). The film, which had a budget of US$500, was shown in his local
cinemaA movie theater, movie theatre, picture theatre, film theater or cinema is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
and generated a profit of $1. He also made several WWII films inspired by his father's war stories.
After his parents divorced, he moved to
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
with his father. His three sisters and mother remained in Arizona, where he attended
Passover SederThe Passover Seder is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. The seder is held on the evening of the 14th day of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar .-Overview:The Seder is an intergenerational family ritual prescribed according to Jewish law and based on...
s at the home of Zalman and Pearl Segal on an annual basis.{{Citation needed|date=June 2009}} Although he attended Arcadia High School in Phoenix, Arizona for three years, Spielberg ended up graduating from
Saratoga High SchoolSaratoga High School is a high school in Saratoga, California, United States, part of the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District. The school is jointly accredited by the California Department of Education and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Student enrollment averages...
in
SaratogaSaratoga is a city in Santa Clara County, California, USA. It is located on the west side of the Santa Clara Valley, directly west of San Jose, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 30,318 at the 2007 census....
, California in 1965. It was during this time Spielberg attained the rank of
Eagle ScoutEagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . Those who attain this rank are called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...
.
After moving to California, he applied to attend the film school at
University of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California is a private, nonsectarian, research university located in the University Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, USA...
School of Theater, Film and Television three separate times, but was unsuccessful due to his C grade average. He attended
California State University, Long BeachCalifornia State University, Long Beach is the largest campus of the California State University system and the second largest university in the state of California by enrollment...
. While attending Long Beach State in the 1960s, Spielberg became member of Theta Chi Fraternity. His actual career began when he returned to Universal studios as an unpaid, seven-day-a-week intern and guest of the editing department. After Spielberg became famous, USC awarded him an honorary degree in 1994, and in 1996 he became a
trusteeTrustee is a legal term for a holder of property on behalf of a beneficiary. A trust can be set up either to benefit particular persons, or for any charitable purposes : typical examples are a will trust for the testator's children and family, a pension trust , and a charitable trust...
of the university. In 2002, thirty-five years after starting college, Spielberg finished his degree via independent projects at CSULB, and was awarded a B.A. in Film Production and Electronic Arts with an option in Film/Video Production.
As an intern and guest of Universal Studios, Spielberg made his first short film for theatrical release, the 24 minute film
Amblin'Amblin' is a short film released in 1968. It is the first completed film shot by Steven Spielberg on 35mm. The film is a short love story set during the hippie era of the late '60s, about a young couple making their way through the desert to a paradisaical beach.-Plot:A young guy, carrying a...
in 1968. After Sidney Sheinberg, then the vice-president of production for Universal's TV arm, saw the film, Spielberg became the youngest director ever to be signed for a long-term deal with a major Hollywood studio (Universal). He dropped out of Long Beach State in 1969 to take up the television director contract at Universal Studios and began his career as a professional director.{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}} In 1969,
VarietyVariety is a weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the Daily...
announced that Spielberg would direct his first full length film, Malcolm Winkler, written by Claudia Salter, produced by John Orland, with Frank Price being the executive producer. However, because of the difficulty in casting the key male role, the film was not made.
During his early life, Spielberg suffered from numerous acts of anti-Semitic prejudice. He later said, "I was embarrassed, I was self-conscious, I was always aware I stood out because of my Jewishness." He also said, "In high school, I got smacked and kicked around. Two bloody noses. It was horrible."
Early career (1968–1975)
His first professional TV job came when he was hired to do one of the segments for the 1969 pilot episode of
Night GalleryNight Gallery is Rod Serling’s follow-up series to The Twilight Zone that aired on NBC from 1970 to 1973. Serling functioned both as the on-air host of Night Gallery and as a major contributor of scripts, although he did not have the same control of content and tone as he did on The Twilight...
. The segment, "Eyes," starred
Joan CrawfordJoan Crawford was an American actress in film, television and theatre. Starting as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway, Crawford was signed to a motion picture contract by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1925...
, and she and Spielberg were reportedly close friends until her death. The episode is unusual in his body of work, in that the camerawork is more highly stylized than his later, more "mature" films. After this, and an episode of
Marcus Welby, M.D.Marcus Welby, M.D. is a medical drama that aired on ABC from September 23, 1969 to July 29, 1976. It starred Robert Young as the title character, a family practitioner with a kind bedside manner, and was produced by David Victor and David J. O'Connell...
, Spielberg got his first feature-length assignment: an episode of
The Name of the GameThe Name of the Game is an American television series that ran from 1968 to 1971 on NBC, totaling 76 episodes of 90 minutes. The series rotated between three characters working at a large magazine company: a crusading reporter with People magazine — before there was a real-life People...
called "
L.A. 2017"L.A. 2017" was a 1971 episode of the television series The Name of the Game, written by Philip Wylie and directed by Steven Spielberg. Sometimes referred to as "Los Angeles: AD 2017" or "Los Angeles 2017," this was a science fiction piece, shot for only $375,000, about a publisher, Glenn Howard, ...
." This futuristic science fiction episode impressed Universal Studios and they signed him to a short contract. He did another segment on
Night Gallery and did some work for shows such as
Owen Marshall: Counselor at LawOwen Marshall: Counselor at Law is an American legal drama starring Arthur Hill. The series aired on ABC from 1971 to 1974. A two-hour pilot movie aired as a 1971 ABC Movie of the Week entry prior to the series run.-Synopsis:...
and
The Psychiatrist before landing the first series episode of
Columbo (previous episodes were actually TV films).
Based on the strength of his work, Universal signed Spielberg to do four TV films. The first was a
Richard MathesonRichard Matheson , is an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres...
adaptation called
Duel about a monstrous tanker truck which tries to run a small car off the road. Special praise of this film by the influential British critic
Dilys PowellElizabeth Dilys Powell was a British journalist, author and film critic.She was born into a middle class family in Bridgnorth, Shropshire. Her mother was Mary Jane Lloyd; her father, Thomas Powell, a bank manager...
was highly significant to Spielberg's career. Another TV film (
Something Evil) was made and released to capitalize on the popularity of
The ExorcistThe Exorcist is a 1973 U.S. horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl, and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her daughter through an exorcism conducted by two priests....
, then a major best-selling book which had not yet been released as a film. He fulfilled his contract by directing the TV film length pilot of a show called
Savage, starring
Martin LandauMartin Landau is an American film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the television series Mission: Impossible and Space: 1999 . He received a Golden Globe Award in 1969 for his performance in the former, playing the role of mission specialist Rollin Hand...
. Spielberg's debut theatrical feature film was
The Sugarland ExpressThe Sugarland Express is a 1974 American drama film starring Goldie Hawn and William Atherton. It is the first theatrical feature film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is about a husband and wife trying to outrun the law and was based on a true story. The event partially took place, the story is...
, about a married couple who are chased by police as the couple tries to regain custody of their baby. Spielberg's cinematography for the police chase was praised by reviewers, and
The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood Reporter is an American trade publication of the entertainment industry. During the last century it was one of the two major publications — the other being Variety. Today both newspapers cover what is now more broadly called the entertainment industry.- History :The Hollywood Reporter...
stated that "a major new director is on the horizon." However, the film fared poorly at the box office and received a limited release.
Studio producers Richard Zanuck and
David BrownDavid Brown is an Academy Award-winning American movie producer.Born in New York City, he is best known as the producing partner of Richard D. Zanuck. They were jointly awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1990 for their achievements...
offered Spielberg the director's chair for
JawsJaws is a 1975 American horror/thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel Jaws. The police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant great white shark by closing the beach, only to be overruled by the town...
, a
horror filmHorror films are movies that strive to elicit the emotions of fear, horror and terror from viewers. Their plots frequently involve themes of death, the supernatural or mental illness...
based on the
Peter BenchleyPeter Bradford Benchley was an American author, best known for his novel Jaws and its subsequent film adaptation, the latter co-written by Benchley and directed by Steven Spielberg...
novel about an enormous killer-shark. Spielberg has often referred to the grueling shoot as his professional crucible. Despite the film's ultimate, enormous success, it was nearly shut down due to delays and budget over-runs.
But Spielberg persevered and finished the film. It was an enormous hit, winning three
Academy AwardsThe Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers. The formal ceremony at which the awards are presented is...
(for editing, original score and sound) and grossing $470,653,000 worldwide at the box office. It also set the domestic record for box office gross, leading to what the press described as "Jawsmania." Jaws made him a household name, as well as one of America's youngest multi-millionaires, and allowed Spielberg a great deal of autonomy for his future projects. It was nominated for Best Picture and featured Spielberg's first of three collaborations with actor
Richard DreyfussRichard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of films, television and theater roles since the late 1960s. He is probably best known for his roles in the films Jaws, The Goodbye Girl, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Always, Mr...
.
Mainstream breakthrough (1975–1994)
Rejecting offers to direct
Jaws 2Jaws 2 is a 1978 horror thriller film and the first sequel to Steven Spielberg's Jaws . Directed by Jeannot Szwarc and starring Roy Scheider as Police Chief Martin Brody who must deal with another Great White Shark terrorizing the waters of Amity Island, a fictional seaside resort.Like the first...
,
King KongKing Kong is a 1976 American motion picture produced by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by John Guillermin. It is a remake of the 1933 classic King Kong, about how a giant ape is captured and imported to New York City for exhibition....
and
Superman, Spielberg and actor Richard Dreyfuss re-convened to work on a film about
UFOsUnidentified flying object is the popular term for any aerial phenomenon whose cause cannot be easily or immediately identified...
, which became
Close Encounters of the Third KindClose Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban and Cary Guffey. It tells the story of Roy Neary, an Indiana electrical lineman, whose life changes...
(1977). One of the rare films both written and directed by Spielberg,
Close Encounters was a critical and box office hit, giving Spielberg his first Best Director nomination from the Academy as well as earning six other
Academy AwardsThe Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers. The formal ceremony at which the awards are presented is...
nominations. It won Oscars in two categories (Cinematography,
Vilmos ZsigmondVilmos Zsigmond, A.S.C. is an Academy Award winning Hungarian-American cinematographer.-Biography:Zsigmond was born in Szeged, Hungary, the son of Bozena , an administrator, and Vilmos Zsigmond, a celebrated soccer player and coach. He studied cinema at the Academy of Drama and Film in Budapest....
, and a Special Achievement Award for Sound Effects Editing, Frank E. Warner). This second blockbuster helped to secure Spielberg's rise. His next film,
19411941 is a period comedy film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by friends Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It starred John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd and premiered in December 1979...
, a big-budgeted
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
farce wasn't nearly as successful and though it grossed over $92.4 million dollars worldwide (and did make a small profit for co-producing studios Columbia and Universal) it was seen as a disappointment, mainly with the critics. It has since become a
cult classicA cult film is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside of the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
thanks to television showings and home video releases.
Spielberg then revisited his
Close Encounters project and, with financial backing from Columbia Pictures, released
Close Encounters: The Special Edition in 1980. For this, Spielberg fixed some of the flaws he thought impeded the original 1977 version of the film and also, at the behest of Columbia, and as a condition of Spielberg revising the film, shot additional footage showing the audience the interior of the mothership seen at the end of the film (a decision Spielberg would later regret as he felt the interior of the mothership should have remained a mystery). Nevertheless, the re-release was a moderate success, while the 2001 DVD release of the film restored the original ending.
Next, Spielberg teamed with
Star WarsStar Wars is an epic space opera franchise initially conceived by George Lucas. The first film in the franchise was originally released on May 25, 1977, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, spawning two immediate sequels, released at three-year intervals...
creator and friend
George LucasGeorge Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, director and chairman of Lucasfilm Ltd. He is best known for being the creator of the epic sci-fi franchise Star Wars and joint creator of the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
on an action adventure film,
Raiders of the Lost ArkRaiders of the Lost Ark is a action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford...
, the first of the
Indiana JonesDr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. is a fictional adventurer, OSS agent, professor of archaeology, and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
films. The archaeologist and adventurer hero
Indiana JonesDr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. is a fictional adventurer, OSS agent, professor of archaeology, and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
was played by
Harrison FordHarrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. Ford is best known for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series...
(whom Lucas had previously cast in his
Star WarsStar Wars is an epic space opera franchise initially conceived by George Lucas. The first film in the franchise was originally released on May 25, 1977, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, spawning two immediate sequels, released at three-year intervals...
films as
Han SoloHan Solo, played by Harrison Ford, is a fictional smuggler and "reckless mercenary" in the Star Wars franchise. Introduced in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , Solo and his Wookiee first mate, Chewbacca , become involved in the Rebel Alliance against the evil Galactic Empire...
). The film was considered a homage to the cliffhanger serials of the Golden Age of Hollywood. It became the biggest film at the box office in 1981, and the recipient of numerous Oscar nominations including Best Director (Spielberg's second nomination) and Best Picture (the second Spielberg film to be nominated for Best Picture).
Raiders is still considered a landmark example of the action genre.
A year later, Spielberg returned to the science fiction genre with
E.T. the Extra-TerrestrialE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Dee Wallace. It tells the story of Elliott , a lonely boy who befriends a friendly...
. It was the story of a young boy and the alien whom he befriends, who was accidentally left behind by his people and is trying to get back home to outer space.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial went on to become the top-grossing film of all time.
E.T. was also nominated for nine Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director.
Between 1982 and 1985, Spielberg produced three high-grossing films:
Poltergeist (for which he also co-wrote the screenplay), a big-screen adaptation of
The Twilight ZoneTwilight Zone: The Movie is a 1983 film produced by Steven Spielberg as a theatrical version of The Twilight Zone, a 1950s and 60s TV series created by Rod Serling. It starred Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, Vic Morrow, Scatman Crothers, Kathleen Quinlan, and John Lithgow...
(for which he directed the segment "Kick The Can"), and
The GooniesThe Goonies is a 1985 American adventure-comedy film directed by Richard Donner. The screenplay was written by Chris Columbus from a story by executive producer Steven Spielberg...
(Spielberg, executive producer, also wrote the story on which the screenplay was based).
His next directorial feature was the
Raiders prequel
Indiana Jones and the Temple of DoomIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a 1984 adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second film in the Indiana Jones franchise, and prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark . After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone...
. Teaming up once again with Lucas and Ford, the film was plagued with uncertainty for the material and script. This film and the Spielberg-produced
GremlinsGremlins is an American comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante and released in 1984 by Warner Bros. It is about a young man who receives a strange creature named Gizmo as a pet, which then spawns other creatures who transform into small, destructive, evil monsters. This story was continued with...
led to the creation of the PG-13 rating due to the high level of violence in films targeted at younger audiences. In spite of this,
Temple of Doom is rated PG by the MPAA, even though it is the darkest and, possibly, most violent "Indy" film yet. Nonetheless, the film was still a huge blockbuster hit in 1984. It was on this project that Spielberg also met his future wife, actress
Kate CapshawKate Capshaw is an American actress. She is known for her role as Willie Scott in the film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and for her marriage to director Steven Spielberg ....
.
In 1985, Spielberg released
The Color PurpleThe Color Purple is a American period drama film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the eighth film directed by Spielberg and is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Alice Walker...
, an adaptation of
Alice WalkerAlice Malsenior Walker is an American author. She has written at length on issues of race and gender, and is most famous for the critically acclaimed novel The Color Purple for which she won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction....
's
Pulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by Hungarian-American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City....
-winning
novel of the same nameThe Color Purple is an acclaimed 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker. It received the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award...
, about a generation of empowered African-American women during depression-era America. Starring
Whoopi GoldbergWhoopi Goldberg is an American actress, comedienne, singer-songwriter, activist, and media personality....
and future talk-show superstar
Oprah WinfreyOprah Gail Winfrey is an American media personality, actress, television producer, literary critic and magazine publisher, best known for her self-titled, multi-award winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history...
, the film was a box office smash and critics hailed Spielberg's successful foray into the
dramaDrama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a collective...
tic genre.
Roger EbertRoger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter.He is known for his film review column and for two television programs Sneak Previews and Siskel & Ebert at the Movies, which he co-hosted for a combined 23 years with Gene Siskel...
proclaimed it the best film of the year and later entered it into his Great Films archive. The film received eleven Academy Award nominations, including two for Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey. However, much to the surprise of many, Spielberg did not get a Best Director nomination.
The Color Purple is the second of two Spielberg films not to be scored by
John WilliamsJohn Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career that spans six decades, Williams has composed many of the most famous film scores in Hollywood history, including Star Wars, Superman, Home Alone, the first three Harry Potter movies and all but two of Steven...
, the first being
Duel.
In 1987, as China began opening to the world, Spielberg shot the first American film in Shanghai since the 1930s, an adaptation of
J. G. BallardJames Graham Ballard was an English novelist and short story writer. He was a prominent member of the New Wave movement in science fiction, but his best-known books are the controversial Crash , an exploration of automobile-accident sexual fetishism, and the autobiographical novel Empire of the Sun...
's autobiographical novel
Empire of the SunEmpire of the Sun is a 1987 coming of age war film based on J. G. Ballard's semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. Steven Spielberg directed the film, which stars Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson and Nigel Havers...
, starring
John MalkovichJohn Gavin Malkovich is an American actor, producer and director. Over the last 25 years, Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures...
and a young
Christian BaleChristian Charles Philip Bale is an English actor. In addition to starring roles in big budget Hollywood films, he has long been heavily involved in films produced by independent producers and art houses....
. The film garnered much praise from critics and was nominated for several Oscars, but did not yield substantial box office revenues. Reviewer
Andrew SarrisAndrew Sarris is a U.S. film critic and a leading proponent of the auteur theory of criticism. He is generally credited with popularizing this theory in the Americas and coining the term "auteur theory" in his essay, "Notes on the Auteur Theory," which was inspired by critics writing in Cahiers du...
called it the best film of the year and later included it among the best films of the decade.
After two forays into more serious dramatic films, Spielberg then directed the third Indiana Jones film, 1989's
Indiana Jones and the Last CrusadeIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third film in the Indiana Jones franchise. Harrison Ford reprises the title role and Sean Connery plays Indiana's father, Henry Jones, Sr...
. Once again teaming up with Lucas and Ford, Spielberg also cast actor
Sean ConnerySir Thomas Sean Connery , best known as Sean Connery, is an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and BAFTA Award winning Scottish actor and producer....
in a supporting role as Indy's father. The film earned generally positive reviews and was another box office success, becoming the highest grossing film worldwide that year; its total box office receipts even topped those of Tim Burton's much-anticipated film
BatmanBatman is a 1989 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name, directed by Tim Burton. The film stars Michael Keaton in the title role, as well as Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl and Jack Palance...
, which had been the bigger hit domestically. Also in 1989, he re-united with actor
Richard DreyfussRichard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of films, television and theater roles since the late 1960s. He is probably best known for his roles in the films Jaws, The Goodbye Girl, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Always, Mr...
for the romantic comedy-drama
Always, about a daredevil pilot who extinguishes forest fires. Spielberg's first romantic film,
Always was only a moderate success and had mixed reviews.
In 1991, Spielberg directed
HookHook is a 1991 family fantasy film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins, Charlie Korsmo and Amber Scott. Hook acts as a sequel to Peter Pan's original adventures, focusing on a grown-up Peter who has forgotten his childhood...
, about a middle-aged
Peter PanPeter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
, played by
Robin WilliamsRobin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian.Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
, who returns to
NeverlandNeverland is a fictional world featured in the works of J. M. Barrie and those based on them. It is the dwelling place of Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys, and others...
. Despite innumerable rewrites and creative changes coupled with mixed reviews, the film made over $300 million worldwide (from a $70 million budget).
In 1993, Spielberg returned to the adventure genre with the film version of
Michael CrichtonJohn Michael Crichton or Michael Crichton was an American author, producer, director, screenwriter, and medical school graduate, best known for his work in the science fiction, medical fiction, and thriller genres. His books have sold over 150 million copies worldwide, and many have been adapted...
's novel
Jurassic ParkJurassic Park is a 1993 science fiction thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. The film centers on the fictional island of Isla Nublar, where scientists have created an amusement park of cloned dinosaurs...
, about a theme park with genetically engineered
dinosaur{{Otheruses}}{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}{{Otheruses}}{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}{{Taxobox|name = Dinosaurs|fossil_range = {{Fossil range|230|65|earliest=230|latest=0|PS=
Descendant taxon Aves survives to present.}}|image = field_dinos_2.jpg...
s. With revolutionary special effects provided by friend
George LucasGeorge Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, director and chairman of Lucasfilm Ltd. He is best known for being the creator of the epic sci-fi franchise Star Wars and joint creator of the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
's Industrial Light & Magic company, the film would eventually become the highest grossing film of all time (at the worldwide box office) with $914.7 million. This would be the third time that one of Spielberg's films became the highest grossing film ever.
Spielberg's next film,
Schindler's ListSchindler's List is a 1993 American drama film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand Polish Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the novel Schindler's Ark by...
, was based on the true story of
Oskar SchindlerOskar Schindler was a Sudeten German industrialist. He is credited with saving almost 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust by employing them in his enamelware and ammunitions factories, which were located in what is now Poland and the Czech Republic respectively.He is the subject of the novel...
, a man who risked his life to save 1,100 people from
The HolocaustThe Holocaust , also known as The Shoah is the term generally used to describe the genocide of approximately six million European Jews during World War II, a program of systematic state-sponsored extermination by Nazi Germany,...
.
Schindler's List earned Spielberg his first Academy Award for Best Director (it also won
Best PictureThe Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible...
). With the film a huge success at the box office, Spielberg used the profits to set up the
Shoah FoundationShoah foundations are organizations that are formed to further the remembrance of the Holocaust of World War II. There are currently two major foundations that are internationally active.-Major Shoah Foundations:...
, a
non-profit organizationA nonprofit organization is an organization that does not distribute its surplus funds to owners or shareholders, but instead uses them to help pursue its goals . Examples of NPOs include charities , trade unions, and public arts organizations...
that archives filmed testimony of
the HolocaustThe Holocaust , also known as The Shoah is the term generally used to describe the genocide of approximately six million European Jews during World War II, a program of systematic state-sponsored extermination by Nazi Germany,...
survivors. In 1997 the
American Film InstituteThe American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
listed it among the 10 Greatest American Films ever Made (#9) which moved up to (#8) when the list was remade in 2007.
Since 1997
In 1994, Spielberg took a hiatus from directing to spend more time with his family and build his new studio,
DreamWorksDreamWorks, LLC, also known as DreamWorks Pictures, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games, and television programming. It has produced or distributed more than ten films with box-office grosses...
, with partners
Jeffrey KatzenbergJeffrey Katzenberg is an American film producer and CEO of DreamWorks Animation. He is perhaps most famous for his period as studio chairman at The Walt Disney Company, and for producing the DreamWorks animated films Shrek, Shark Tale, Madagascar, Over the Hedge, Bee Movie, and Kung Fu...
and
David GeffenDavid Geffen is an American record executive, film producer, theatrical producer and philanthropist. Geffen is noted for creating Asylum Records in 1970 , and Geffen Records in 1980, along with his later role as one of the three founders of...
. In 1997, he helmed the sequel to 1993's
Jurassic Park with
The Lost World: Jurassic ParkThe Lost World: Jurassic Park is a science fiction thriller film, directed by Steven Spielberg. The film was produced by Bonnie Curtis, Kathleen Kennedy, Gerald R. Molen and Colin Wilson. The screenplay was penned by David Koepp, based on the 1995 novel The Lost World by Michael Crichton...
, which generated over $832 million worldwide despite mixed reviews, and was the second biggest hit of 1997 behind
James CameronJames Francis Cameron is a Canadian film director, producer and screenwriter. His writing and directing work includes The Terminator and Titanic. To date, his directorial efforts have grossed approximately US$1.1 billion domestically, unadjusted for inflation...
's
TitanicTitanic is a 1997 American romantic drama film directed, written, co-produced and co-edited by James Cameron about the sinking of the RMS Titanic. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson and Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater, two members of different social classes who fall in love aboard the...
(which topped the original
Jurassic Park to become the new recordholder for box office receipts).
His next film,
AmistadAmistad is a 1997 Steven Spielberg film based on the true story of a slave mutiny that took place aboard a ship of the same name in 1839, and the legal battle that followed...
, was based on a true story (like
Schindler's List), specifically about an African slave rebellion. Despite decent reviews from critics, it did not do well at the box office. Spielberg released
Amistad under DreamWorks Pictures, which issued all of his films from
Amistad until
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in May 2008 (see below).
In 1998, Spielberg re-visited
Close Encounters yet again, this time for a more definitive 137-minute "Collector's Edition" that puts more emphasis on the original 1977 release, while adding some elements of the previous 1980 "Special Edition," but deleting the latter version's "Mothership Finale," which Spielberg regretted shooting in the first place, feeling it should have remained ambiguous in the minds of viewers.
His next theatrical release in that same year was the
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
film
Saving Private RyanSaving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 25 minutes, which depict the Omaha beachhead assault of June 6, 1944. Afterward,...
, about a group of U.S. soldiers led by Capt. Miller (
Tom HanksThomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title role in Forrest Gump, Commander James...
) who try to find a soldier missing in France. The film was a huge box office success, grossing over $481 million worldwide and was the biggest film of the year at the U.S./domestic box office. Spielberg won his second Academy Award for his direction. The film's graphic, realistic depiction of combat violence influenced later war films such as
Black Hawk Down and
Enemy at the GatesEnemy at the Gates is a war film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, starring Jude Law, Joseph Fiennes and Ed Harris set during the Battle of Stalingrad in World War II....
. The film was also the first major hit for DreamWorks, which co-produced the film with
Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures Corporation is a Worldwide American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is the world's oldest existing American film studio; it is also the last...
(as such, it was Spielberg's first release from the latter that was not part of the
Indiana Jones series). Later, Spielberg and Hanks presented a TV mini-series based on
Stephen AmbroseStephen Edward Ambrose, Ph.D. was an American historian and biographer of U.S. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. He was a long time professor of history at the University of New Orleans.-Biography:...
's book
Band of Brothers. The ten-part HBO mini-series follows Easy Company of the
101st Airborne DivisionThe 101st Airborne Division — the "Screaming Eagles"— is a U.S. Army modular infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for action during the Normandy Landings and in the Battle of the Bulge...
's 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The series won a number of awards at the
Golden GlobesThe Golden Globe Awards are presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to recognize outstanding achievements in the entertainment industry, both domestic and foreign, and to focus wide public attention upon the best in motion pictures and television...
and the
EmmysThe Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards , Grammy Awards and Tony Awards .They are presented in various...
.
In 2001, Spielberg filmed fellow director and friend
Stanley KubrickStanley Kubrick was an American director, writer, producer, and photographer of films, who lived in England during most of the last 40 years of his career...
's final project,
A.I. Artificial Intelligence which Kubrick was unable to begin during his lifetime. A futuristic film about a humanoid
androidAn android is a robot or synthetic organism designed to look and act like a human. The word derives from ανδρός, the genitive of the Greek ανήρ anēr, meaning "man", and the suffix -eides, used to mean "of the species; alike" . Though the word derives from a gender-specific root, its usage in...
longing for love,
A.I. featured groundbreaking visual effects and a multi-layered, allegorical storyline, adapted by Spielberg himself.
Spielberg and actor
Tom CruiseThomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known by his screen name of Tom Cruise, is an American actor and film producer. Forbes magazine ranked him as the world's most powerful celebrity in 2006. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and won three Golden Globe Awards...
collaborated for the first time for the futuristic
neo-noirNeo-noir is a style often seen in modern motion pictures and other forms that prominently utilizes elements of film noir, but with updated themes, content, style, visual elements or media that were absent in films noir of the 1940s and 1950s.-History:The term Film Noir was coined by...
Minority ReportMinority Report is a science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg and loosely based on the short story "The Minority Report" by Philip K. Dick. It is set primarily in Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia in the year 2054, where "Precrime", a specialized police department, apprehends...
, based upon the sci-fi short story written by
Philip K. DickPhilip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist whose published work during his lifetime was almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian...
about a Washington, D.C., police captain who has been foreseen to murder a man he has not yet met. The film received strong reviews with the review tallying website
Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films. The name derives from the historical cliché of throwing tomatoes and other produce at stage performers if a performance was particularly bad.- History :...
reporting that 199 out of the 217 reviews they tallied were positive. The film was praised as a futuristic homage to
film noirFilm noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as stretching from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
, with its intelligent premise and "whodunit" structure. The film earned over $358 million worldwide.
Roger EbertRoger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter.He is known for his film review column and for two television programs Sneak Previews and Siskel & Ebert at the Movies, which he co-hosted for a combined 23 years with Gene Siskel...
, who named it the best film of 2002, praised its breathtaking vision of the future as well as for the way Spielberg blended
CGIComputer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
with live-action.
Spielberg's 2002 film
Catch Me If You CanCatch Me If You Can is a 2002 comedy-drama crime film based on the life of Frank Abagnale Jr., who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars by posing as a Pan American World Airways pilot, a Georgia doctor and Louisiana attorney and parish prosecutor...
is about the daring adventures of a youthful con artist (played by
Leonardo DiCaprioLeonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer whose career rose with his role in the television sit-com Growing Pains....
). It earned
Christopher WalkenChristopher Walken is an American actor of stage and screen. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New York, Batman Returns, True Romance, Catch Me If You Can,...
an Academy Award nomination for
Best Supporting ActorPerformance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
. The film is known for
John WilliamsJohn Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career that spans six decades, Williams has composed many of the most famous film scores in Hollywood history, including Star Wars, Superman, Home Alone, the first three Harry Potter movies and all but two of Steven...
' score and its unique
title sequenceA title sequence is the method by which cinematic films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound...
. It was a hit both commercially and critically.
Spielberg collaborated again with
Tom HanksThomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title role in Forrest Gump, Commander James...
along with
Catherine Zeta-JonesCatherine Zeta Jones is a Welsh actress, currently based in the United States. She began her career on stage at an early age. After starring in a number of UK and US television films and small roles in films, she came to prominence with roles in Hollywood movies such as The Phantom, The Mask of...
and
Stanley TucciStanley Tucci, Jr. is an American actor, writer, film producer and film director.-Early life:Tucci, an Italian American, was born in Peekskill, New York, the son of Joan , a retired secretary and writer, and Stanley Tucci, Sr., a retired high school art teacher...
in 2004's
The TerminalThe Terminal is a comedy-drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones. It is about a man trapped in a terminal at JFK International Airport when he is denied entry into the United States and at the same time cannot return to his native country due to a...
, a warm-hearted comedy about a man of Eastern European descent who is stranded in an airport. It received mixed reviews but performed relatively well at the box office. In 2005,
EmpireEmpire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
magazine ranked Spielberg number one on a list of the greatest film directors of all time.
Also in 2005, Spielberg directed a modern adaptation of
War of the WorldsWar of the Worlds is a live action science fiction film adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel of the same name, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp. It stars Tom Cruise as Ray Ferrier, a dock worker estranged from his wife and children and living separately from them...
(a co-production of Paramount and DreamWorks), based on the H. G. Wells book of the same name (Spielberg had been a huge fan of the book and the original 1953 film). It starred
Tom CruiseThomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known by his screen name of Tom Cruise, is an American actor and film producer. Forbes magazine ranked him as the world's most powerful celebrity in 2006. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and won three Golden Globe Awards...
and
Dakota FanningHannah Dakota Fanning , better known simply as Dakota Fanning, is an American actress. Fanning's breakthrough performance was in I Am Sam in 2001. As a child actress, she appeared in high-profile films such as Man on Fire, War of the Worlds, and Charlotte's Web...
, and, as with past Spielberg films, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) provided the
visual effectsVisual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot...
. Unlike
E.T. and
Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which depicted friendly alien visitors,
War of the Worlds featured violent invaders. The film was another huge box office smash, grossing over $591 million worldwide.
Spielberg's film
MunichMunich is a 2005 historical fiction film about the Israeli government's secret retaliation after the 1972 Munich massacre of Israeli Olympic athletes by Black September terrorists. The film stars Eric Bana and was co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg...
, about the events following the 1972
Munich MassacreThe Munich massacre is an informal name for events occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, when members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and eventually murdered by Black September, a militant group with ties to Yasser Arafat’s Fatah organization.By the end of...
of Israeli athletes at the Olympic Games, was his second film essaying Jewish relations in the world (the first being
Schindler's ListSchindler's List is a 1993 American drama film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand Polish Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the novel Schindler's Ark by...
). The film is based on
Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist TeamVengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team is a book, first published in 1984, by George Jonas describing part of Israel's Operation Wrath of God, the Israeli assassination campaign launched after the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre....
, a book by Canadian journalist
George JonasGeorge Jonas is a Hungarian-born Canadian writer. He is the author of 15 books, including Vengeance , the story of an Israeli operation to assassinate the terrorists responsible for the 1972 Munich massacre. The book became the basis of two films, the Sword of Gideon and Munich .-Personal...
{{ndash}} a book whose veracity has been largely questioned by journalists. The film received strong critical praise, but underperformed at the U.S. and world box-office; it remains one of Spielberg's most controversial films to date. Munich received five Academy Awards nominations, including Best Picture, Film Editing, Original Music Score (by John Williams), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Director for Spielberg. It was Spielberg's sixth Best Director nomination and fifth Best Picture nomination.
Spielberg directed
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which wrapped filming in October 2007 and was released on May 22, 2008. This was his first film not to be released by DreamWorks since 1997. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, and has performed very well in theaters. As of June 30 2008,
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has grossed $315 million domestically, and over $786 million worldwide.
Production credits
Since the mid-1980s Spielberg has increased his role as a film producer. He headed up the production team for several cartoons, including the Warner Brothers hits
Tiny Toon AdventuresSteven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures, usually referred to as Tiny Toon Adventures, is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. It began production as a result of Warner Bros. reinstating its animation...
,
AnimaniacsSteven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. and produced by Amblin Entertainment. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven Spielberg and Warner Bros. Animation during...
,
Pinky and the BrainPinky and the Brain are cartoon characters who have starred in the American animated television series Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, and Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain....
,
ToonsylvaniaToonsylvania is an animated television series, which ran from 1998 to 1999 on FOX's Saturday morning cartoon block in its first season, then was moved to Tuesday afternoons from 1999 until its cancellation in 2000...
, and
Freakazoid!Freakazoid! is an American animated television series, produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation that aired for two seasons from September 9, 1995 to June 1 1997. Then, after cancellation, reruns aired on Cartoon Network until March 8, 2003...
, for which he collaborated with
Jean MacCurdyJean MacCurdy is an American-born longtime animation/children's programming professional, best known for having worked at Hanna-Barbara, and for having presided over the Warner Bros...
and
Tom RueggerTom Ruegger is an American animation writer, producer, and director. He was once an executive producer/creative director for Warner Bros Animation...
. Due to his work on these series, in the official titles, most of them say, "Steven Spielberg presents" as well as making numerous cameos on the shows. Spielberg also produced the
Don BluthDonald Virgil Bluth is an American animator and independent studio owner. He is best known for his departure from the Walt Disney Company in 1979 and his subsequent directing of animated classics such as The Secret of Nimh , An American Tail ,The Land Before Time , and All Dogs Go to Heaven , as...
animated features,
An American TailAn American Tail is a 1986 animated film produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, and directed by Don Bluth, originally released in movie theatres on November 21, 1986...
and
The Land Before TimeThe Land Before Time is a 1988 theatrical animated film, directed by Don Bluth , and executive-produced by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Originally released by Universal Studios and Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, it features anthropomorphic dinosaurs living in a somewhat fantasy-based...
. He was furthermore, for a short time, the executive producer of the long-running medical drama
ERER is an American medical drama series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 1994 to April 2009. It is set primarily in the emergency room of fictional County General Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment in...
. In 1989, he brought the concept of
The DigThe Dig is a graphical adventure game developed by LucasArts and released in 1995, and a novel based on the game written by Alan Dean Foster...
to
LucasArtsLucasArts Entertainment Company LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
. He contributed with the project from that time to 1995 when the game was released. He also collaborated with software publishers
Knowledge AdventureKnowledge Adventure, Inc. is a maker of educational software including the Adiboo and JumpStart series of grade-based and subject-based titles, such as My First Encyclopedia. It was established in the late 1980s in Los Angeles, then later merged with another large education software firm, Davidson...
on the multimedia game
Steven Spielberg's Director's ChairSteven Spielberg's Director's Chair is a simulation game created and published by Knowledge Adventure for Windows and Macintosh. It was released in 1996 in the United States of America...
, which was released in 1996. Spielberg appears, as himself, in the game to direct the player. Spielberg was branded for a Lego Moviemaker kit, the proceeds of which went to the Starbright Foundation.
In 1993, Spielberg acted as executive producer for the highly anticipated television series
seaQuest DSVseaQuest DSV is an American science fiction television series created by Rockne S. O'Bannon. It originally aired on NBC between 1993 and 1996. In its final season, it was renamed seaQuest 2032....
; a science fiction series set "in the near future" starring
Roy ScheiderRoy Richard Scheider was an American actor. He was best known for his role as police chief Martin Brody in Jaws, as choreographer and film director Joe Gideon in All That Jazz, and as detective Buddy Russo in The French Connection. Scheider's final performance is to be released posthumously in the...
(who Spielberg had directed in
Jaws) and
Jonathan BrandisJonathan Gregory Brandis was an American actor, director, and screenwriter.- Early life and career :...
akin to
Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation is a science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Created about 21 years after the original Star Trek, and set in the 24th century about 80 years after the orginal series, the program features a new crew and a new...
that aired on Sundays at 8:00 p.m. on
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
. While the first season was moderately successful, the second season did less well. Spielberg's name no longer appeared in the third season and the show was cancelled mid way through the third season.
Spielberg served as an uncredited executive producer on
The HauntingThe Haunting is a 1999 remake of the 1963 horror film of the same name. Both films are based on the novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, published in 1959. The Haunting was directed by Jan de Bont; the main actors are Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Owen Wilson and Lili Taylor...
,
The Prince of EgyptThe Prince of Egypt is a 1998 American animated film, the first traditionally animated film produced and released by DreamWorks. The story follows the life of Moses from his birth, through his childhood as a prince of Egypt, and finally to his ultimate destiny to lead the Hebrew slaves out of...
,
ShrekShrek is a computer-animated American comedy film, directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, and starring the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow. Based on William Steig's 1990 fairy tale picture book Shrek!, the film was produced by DreamWorks Animation...
, and
EvolutionEvolution is a 2001 comedy sci-fi movie directed by Ivan Reitman. It is based on a story by Don Jakoby, who converted it into a screenplay along with David Diamond and David Weissman. The movie was originally written as a serious horror science fiction film, until director Ivan Reitman re-wrote...
. In 2005, he served as a producer of
Memoirs of a GeishaMemoirs of a Geisha is a 2005 film adaptation of the novel of the same name, produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment and Spyglass Entertainment and by Douglas Wick's Red Wagon Productions. It was directed by Rob Marshall. It was released in the United States on December 9, 2005 by...
, an adaptation of the best-selling novel by
Arthur GoldenArthur Golden is the writer of the bestselling novel Memoirs of a Geisha.A member of the Ochs-Sulzberger family , Golden was educated at the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee...
, a film he was previously attached to as director. In 2006 Spielberg co-executive produced with famed filmmaker
Robert ZemeckisRobert Lee "Bob" Zemeckis is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Zemeckis first came to public attention in the 1980s as the director of the comedic time-travel Back to the Future films as well as the live-action/animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit , though in the 1990s he...
a CGI children's film called
Monster HouseMonster House is an Academy Award-nominated American 2006 computer animated fantasy film released on July 21, 2006. Executive produced by Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg, this is the first time since Back to the Future Part III that both have been involved together. It is the very first time...
, marking their first collaboration together since 1990's
Back to the Future Part IIIBack to the Future Part III is a 1990 film and the third and final installment of the Back to the Future trilogy. The film is a science fiction western, using the time travel premise of the series to take Marty McFly and Dr. Emmett Brown back to the Old West of 1885.-Plot:The story continues from...
. He also teamed with
Clint EastwoodClinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American actor, film director, film producer and composer. He has received five Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award and five People's Choice Awards—including one for Favorite All-Time Motion Picture Star.Eastwood is...
for the first time in their careers, co-producing Eastwood's
Flags of Our FathersFlags of Our Fathers is a American war film directed, co-produced and scored by Clint Eastwood and written by William Broyles, Jr. and Paul Haggis...
and
Letters from Iwo Jimais a 2006 war film, directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood, starring Ken Watanabe and Kazunari Ninomiya. The film portrays the Battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers and is a companion piece to Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers, which depicts the same battle from the...
with
Robert LorenzRobert Lorenz is an Academy Award-nominated producer, best known for his collaborations with Clint Eastwood. He has produced Mystic River , Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima with Eastwood...
and Eastwood himself. He earned his twelfth Academy Award nomination for the latter film as it was nominated for Best Picture. Spielberg served as executive producer for
DisturbiaDisturbia is a American thriller film directed by D.J. Caruso and executive produced by Ivan Reitman. It is an updated version of Alfred Hitchcock's classic film Rear Window...
and the
Transformers live action film with
Brian GoldnerBrian Goldner is the chief executive officer of the American toy company Hasbro.-Early life:Goldner's father Norman came from Utica, New York, while his mother Marjorie grew up in Mississippi. They married in 1961 after she came north to work for UNICEF, and settled in Huntington...
, an employee of
HasbroHasbro is a U.S.-based, multinational toy and boardgame company. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States. The majority of its products, however, are manufactured overseas.-History:In 1923, two brothers—Henry...
. The film was directed by
Michael BayMichael Benjamin Bay is an American film director and producer. Bay is best known for making large-budget action films, such as Armageddon, The Rock, Pearl Harbor, Bad Boys, Bad Boys II, Transformers, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and producing remakes of horror movies such as Friday The...
and written by
Roberto OrciRoberto Gaston Orci is a Mexican film and television producer and screenwriter. His credits include Star Trek, The Legend of Zorro, Mission: Impossible III, Transformers, and Alias. He is the creator alongside with J.J...
and
Alex KurtzmanAlex Kurtzman is an American film and television screenwriter and producer.-Early life:Kurtzman was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, where he met his high school friend and long time collaborator Roberto Orci...
, and Spielberg continues to collaborate on the sequels, including
Transformers: Revenge of the FallenTransformers: Revenge of the Fallen is an American science fiction action film released on June 19, 2009 in the United Kingdom and June 24, 2009 in North America, and was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on October 20, 2009. It is the sequel to 2007's Transformers and the second film in the live action...
.
Other major television series Spielberg produced were
Band of Brothers and
TakenTaken, also known as Steven Spielberg Presents Taken is a science fiction miniseries which first aired on the Sci-Fi Channel in 2002 and won an Emmy award for Outstanding Miniseries...
. He was an executive producer on the critically acclaimed 2005 TV miniseries
Into the WestInto the West is a 2005 miniseries produced by Steven Spielberg and Dreamworks, with six two-hour episodes . The series was first broadcast in the U.S. on Turner Network Television on six consecutive Fridays starting on June 10, 2005...
which won two Emmy awards, including one for
Geoff ZanelliGeoff Zanelli is a composer working primarily in the medium of film music. His early career was notable for scoring additional music on roughly 30 film scores written by Hans Zimmer, Harry Gregson-Williams, John Powell, Klaus Badelt and Steve Jablonsky including each film in the Pirates of the...
's score.
In 2007, Steven Spielberg and
Mark BurnettMark Burnett is a British television producer. He is known for introducing competition based reality television as a genre to the United States.-Career:...
co-produced
On the LotOn the Lot is a short-lived reality show competition produced by Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett. The show, which aired on Fox, featured filmmakers competing in weekly elimination competitions, with the ultimate prize of a million dollar development deal at DreamWorks...
an ill-fated TV reality show about filmmaking.
Acting credits
Steven Spielberg had cameo roles in
The Blues BrothersThe Blues Brothers is a 1980 musical comedy directed by John Landis and starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues, characters developed from a musical sketch on the NBC variety series Saturday Night Live. It features musical numbers by R&B and soul singers James Brown,...
,
GremlinsGremlins is an American comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante and released in 1984 by Warner Bros. It is about a young man who receives a strange creature named Gizmo as a pet, which then spawns other creatures who transform into small, destructive, evil monsters. This story was continued with...
,
Vanilla SkyVanilla Sky is a 2001 American psychological thriller movie which has been variously characterized by published film critics as "an odd mixture of science fiction, romance, and reality warp", "part Beautiful People fantasy, part New Age investigation of the Great Beyond", a "love story, a struggle...
, and
Austin Powers in GoldmemberAustin Powers in Goldmember, released in 2002, is the third film of the Austin Powers series starring Mike Myers in the title role. The movie was directed by Jay Roach, and co-written by Mike Myers and Michael McCullers. Myers also plays the roles of Dr. Evil, Goldmember and Fat Bastard...
, as well as small uncredited cameos in a handful of other films. He also made numerous cameo roles in the Warner Brothers cartoons he produced, such as Animaniacs, and even made reference to some of his films.
Involvement in video games
Other than films, Spielberg has also revealed an interest in video games. In 2005 the director signed with
Electronic ArtsElectronic Arts is an international developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers responsible...
to collaborate on three games including a currently unnamed action game and a puzzle game for the
WiiThe is a home video game console released by Nintendo. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of both...
called
Boom BloxBoom Blox is a puzzle video game for the Wii console, mobile devices and N-Gage 2.0 developed by EA Los Angeles in conjunction with film director Steven Spielberg. The game was released on May 6, 2008, in North America and on May 9, 2008, in Europe...
. Previously, he was involved in creating the scenario for the adventure game
The DigThe Dig is a graphical adventure game developed by LucasArts and released in 1995, and a novel based on the game written by Alan Dean Foster...
. He is also the creator of the
Medal of HonorMedal of Honor is the name of a series of first-person shooter games set in World War II. The first game was developed by DreamWorks Interactive and published by Electronic Arts in 1999 for the PlayStation game console...
series by
Electronic ArtsElectronic Arts is an international developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers responsible...
. He was also credited in the special thanks section of the 1998 video game Trespasser.
Upcoming projects
Spielberg is planning a motion capture film trilogy based on
The Adventures of TintinThe Adventures of Tintin is a series of comic strips created by Belgian artist Hergé, the pen name of Georges Remi . The series first appeared in French in Le Petit Vingtième, a children's supplement to the Belgian newspaper on 10 January 1929...
, with
Peter JacksonPeter Robert Jackson, CNZM is a New Zealand filmmaker, producer and screenwriter, best known for The Lord of the Rings trilogy adapted from the novel by J. R. R. Tolkien...
. He will direct the first film
The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, which will be released by 2011 due to the necessary computer animation, while Jackson will direct the second which Spielberg will produce. The two will co-direct a third. Afterwards, Spielberg is expected to film an
Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery...
biopicA biographical motion picture—often shortened to biopic—is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most...
, titled
Lincoln, starring
Liam NeesonWilliam John "Liam" Neeson, OBE is an Irish actor, who has been a U.S. citizen since 2009. He is well known for his roles as Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Alfred Kinsey in Kinsey and Aslan in The...
, with a script by
Tony KushnerTony Kushner is an American playwright and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1992 for his play, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, and co-authored with Eric Roth the screenplay for the 2005 film, Munich.-Early years:Kushner was born in Manhattan, New York...
. He is also directing and producing the film
Interstellar, and adapting
Old Boyis a manga series written by Garon Tsuchiya and illustrated by Nobuaki Minegishi.In 2003, it was adapted into the award winning Korean film Oldboy by South Korean director Park Chan-wook...
(with
Will SmithWillard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. is an American actor, film producer and rapper. He has enjoyed success in music, television and film. Newsweek has called him the most powerful actor on the planet...
),
Ghost in the Shellis a Japanese multimedia franchise composed of manga, animated films, anime series, video games and novels. It focuses on the activities of the fictional counter-terrorist organization Public Security Section 9 in a futuristic, cyberpunk Japan....
and
ChockyChocky is a science fiction novel by John Wyndham, first published in 1968 by Michael Joseph.. The BBC produced a radio adaption by John Tydeman in 1967. In 1984 a children's television drama based on the novel was shown on ITV in the UK.-Plot summary:...
.
Another upcoming project is a miniseries which he will produce with
Tom HanksThomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title role in Forrest Gump, Commander James...
and
Gary GoetzmanGary Michael Goetzman is an American film and television producer, and is perhaps best known as co-founder of Playtone with Tom Hanks. Born in Los Angeles, Goetzman began his career as a child actor...
, titled
The PacificThe Pacific is a World War II television drama miniseries, produced by HBO, Seven Network Australia and Dreamworks, which is currently in production. It is similar, although unrelated, to Band of Brothers...
. The miniseries will cost $250 million and will be a 10-part war miniseries in conjunction with the Australian
Seven NetworkThe Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by the Seven Media Group. It dates back to 2 December 1970, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Sydney and Melbourne. It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
. The project is centered on the battles in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Writer
Bruce McKennaBruce C. McKenna is a television and movie writer. He wrote the sixth episode of the television series Band of Brothers, entitled "Bastogne", and is currently adapting Arthur C. Clarke's novel Rendezvous with Rama for the screen...
, who penned several installments of the first miniseries (
Band of Brothers), is the head writer. Filming is expected to begin in August 2008 and will continue for a year, with locations mostly in Australia, to include Far North
QueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia that occupies the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
,
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital city and most populous city of the State of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne city centre is the anchor of the larger geographical area and statistical division known as the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area – of which Melbourne is...
, and the
Northern TerritoryThe Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
. Producers have chosen to base the series at Melbourne's Central City Studios. He is also producing two untitled Fox TV series, one focusing on fashion, another on time-travellers from World War II.
He may also work with
Spike LeeShelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He also teaches film at New York University and Columbia University...
on adapting the African novel "Things Fall Apart" which was written by
Chinua AchebeChinua Achebe , born Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe on 16 November 1930, is a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor and critic. He is best known for his first novel, Things Fall Apart , which is the most widely read book in modern African literature.Raised by Christian parents in the Igbo village of Ogidi...
, with Lee set to direct.
In 19 May 2009 Steven Spielberg has bought the rights to the life of the Reverend Martin Luther King. Spielberg will be involved not only as producer but also as a director.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/5351278/Steven-Spielberg-to-direct-Martin-Luther-King-film.html
In August 2009 it was announced that he is to direct a remake of 1950
James StewartJames Maitland "Jimmy" Stewart was an American film and stage actor, best known for his self-effacing persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
classic
HarveyHarvey is a 1950 film based on Mary Chase's Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name, directed by Henry Koster, and starring James Stewart and Josephine Hull. The story is about a man whose best friend is a "pooka" named Harvey—in the form of a six-foot, three-and-one-half-inch tall rabbit.-...
, the tale of a man who claims his best friend is a giant invisible rabbit.
In August 2009, rumors also appeared suggesting that Spielberg is in active negotiations with Microsoft in a possible deal to take up the Halo Movie based on
Stuart BeattieStuart Beattie is an Australian screenwriter. He attended Knox Grammar School, in Sydney, Australia, where his mother, Sandra, was a languages teacher, and later Charles Sturt University in Bathurst.-Selected filmography:*Joey...
's original script, after 20th Century Fox's dropout from Peter Jackson's project in 2006.
Actor
Shia LaBeoufShia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor, voice actor, and comedian.LaBeouf began his comedy career when he was 10 years old, and then launched his acting career in 1998 at the age of 12. He became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens, also appearing...
has stated that the director is fascinated by the video game
BioShockBioShock is a first-person shooter video game, developed by 2K Boston/2K Australia—previously known as Irrational Games—designed by Ken Levine. It was released for the Windows operating system and Xbox 360 video game console on August 21, 2007, in North America, and three days later in Europe and...
, suggesting he may become involved in a forthcoming film adaptation {{Citation needed|date=October 2009}}.
Director Michael Bay announced that the third Transformers film produced by Spielberg is set to be released in 2011.
Themes
{{Original research|section|date=May 2009}}
Spielberg's films often deal with several recurring themes. Most of his films deal with ordinary characters searching for or coming in contact with extraordinary beings or finding themselves in extraordinary circumstances. This is especially evident in the
Indiana JonesDr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. is a fictional adventurer, OSS agent, professor of archaeology, and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
series. In an
AFIThe American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
interview in August 2000 Spielberg commented on his interest in the possibility of extra terrestrial life and how it has influenced some of his films. Spielberg described himself as feeling like an alien during childhood, and his interest came from his father, a
science fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction. It differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically-established or scientifically-postulated laws of nature...
fan, and his opinion that aliens would not travel light years for conquest, but instead curiosity and sharing of knowledge.
A strong consistent
themeA broad idea, message, or lesson that is conveyed by a work. The message may be about life, society, or human nature. Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas and may be implied rather than stated explicitly...
in his family-friendly work is a childlike, even naïve, sense of wonder and faith, as attested by works such as
Close Encounters of the Third KindClose Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban and Cary Guffey. It tells the story of Roy Neary, an Indiana electrical lineman, whose life changes...
,
E.T. the Extra-TerrestrialE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Dee Wallace. It tells the story of Elliott , a lonely boy who befriends a friendly...
,
HookHook is a 1991 family fantasy film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins, Charlie Korsmo and Amber Scott. Hook acts as a sequel to Peter Pan's original adventures, focusing on a grown-up Peter who has forgotten his childhood...
, and
A.I. Artificial Intelligence. According to Warren Buckland, these themes are portrayed through the use of low height camera tracking shots, which have become one of Spielberg's directing trademarks. In the cases when his films include children (
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,
Empire of the SunEmpire of the Sun is a 1987 coming of age war film based on J. G. Ballard's semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. Steven Spielberg directed the film, which stars Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson and Nigel Havers...
,
Jurassic ParkJurassic Park is a 1993 science fiction thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. The film centers on the fictional island of Isla Nublar, where scientists have created an amusement park of cloned dinosaurs...
, etc.), this type of shot is more apparent, but it is also used in films like
MunichMunich is a 2005 historical fiction film about the Israeli government's secret retaliation after the 1972 Munich massacre of Israeli Olympic athletes by Black September terrorists. The film stars Eric Bana and was co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg...
,
Saving Private RyanSaving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 25 minutes, which depict the Omaha beachhead assault of June 6, 1944. Afterward,...
,
The TerminalThe Terminal is a comedy-drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones. It is about a man trapped in a terminal at JFK International Airport when he is denied entry into the United States and at the same time cannot return to his native country due to a...
,
Minority ReportMinority Report is a science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg and loosely based on the short story "The Minority Report" by Philip K. Dick. It is set primarily in Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia in the year 2054, where "Precrime", a specialized police department, apprehends...
, and
AmistadAmistad is a 1997 Steven Spielberg film based on the true story of a slave mutiny that took place aboard a ship of the same name in 1839, and the legal battle that followed...
. If one views each of his films, one will see this shot utilized by the director, notably the water scenes in
Jaws are filmed from the low-angle perspective of someone swimming. Another child oriented theme in Spielberg's films is that of loss of innocence and coming-of-age. In
Empire of the Sun, Jim, a well-groomed and spoiled English youth, loses his innocence as he suffers through World War II China. Similarly, in
Catch Me If You CanCatch Me If You Can is a 2002 comedy-drama crime film based on the life of Frank Abagnale Jr., who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars by posing as a Pan American World Airways pilot, a Georgia doctor and Louisiana attorney and parish prosecutor...
Frank naively and foolishly believes that he can reclaim his shattered family if he accumulates enough money to support them.
The most persistent theme throughout his films is tension in parent-child relationships. Parents (often fathers) are reluctant, absent or ignorant. Peter Banning in
Hook starts off in the beginning of the film as a reluctant married-to-his-work parent who through the course of his film regains the respect of his children. The notable absence of Elliott's father in
E.T., is the most famous example of this theme. In
Indiana Jones and the Last CrusadeIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third film in the Indiana Jones franchise. Harrison Ford reprises the title role and Sean Connery plays Indiana's father, Henry Jones, Sr...
, it is revealed that Indy has always had a very strained relationship with his father, who is a professor of medieval literature, as his father always seemed more interested in his work, specifically in his studies of the Holy Grail, than in his own son, although his father does not seem to realize or understand the negative effect that his aloof nature had on Indy (he even believes he was a good father in the sense that he taught his son "self reliance," which is not how Indy saw it). Even
Oskar SchindlerOskar Schindler was a Sudeten German industrialist. He is credited with saving almost 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust by employing them in his enamelware and ammunitions factories, which were located in what is now Poland and the Czech Republic respectively.He is the subject of the novel...
, from
Schindler's ListSchindler's List is a 1993 American drama film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand Polish Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the novel Schindler's Ark by...
, is reluctant to have a child with his wife.
MunichMunich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg...
depicts Avner as man away from his wife and newborn daughter. There are of course exceptions; Brody in
JawsJaws is a 1975 American horror/thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel Jaws. The police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant great white shark by closing the beach, only to be overruled by the town...
is a committed family man, while John Anderton in
Minority ReportMinority Report is a science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg and loosely based on the short story "The Minority Report" by Philip K. Dick. It is set primarily in Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia in the year 2054, where "Precrime", a specialized police department, apprehends...
is a shattered man after the disappearance of his son. This theme is arguably the most autobiographical aspect of Spielberg's films, since Spielberg himself was affected by his parents' divorce as a child and by the absence of his father. Furthermore to this theme, protagonists in his films often come from families with divorced parents, most notably
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (protagonist Elliot's mother is divorced) and
Catch Me If You CanCatch Me If You Can is a 2002 comedy-drama crime film based on the life of Frank Abagnale Jr., who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars by posing as a Pan American World Airways pilot, a Georgia doctor and Louisiana attorney and parish prosecutor...
(Frank Abagnale's mother and father split early on in the film). Little known also is Tim in
Jurassic ParkJurassic Park is a 1993 science fiction thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. The film centers on the fictional island of Isla Nublar, where scientists have created an amusement park of cloned dinosaurs...
(early in the film another, secondary character mentions Tim and Lex's parents' divorce). The family often shown divided is often resolved in the ending as well. Following this theme of reluctant fathers and father figures, Tim looks to Dr. Alan Grant as a father figure. Initially, Dr. Grant is reluctant to return those paternal feelings to Tim . However, by the end of the film, he has changed, and the kids even fall asleep with their heads on his shoulders.
Most of his films are generally optimistic in nature. Critics frequently accuse his films of being overly sentimental, though Spielberg feels it's fine as long as it is disguised. The influence comes from directors
Frank CapraFrank Russell Capra was an American film director and a creative force behind a number of films of the 1930s and 1940s, including It Happened One Night , Mr. Deeds Goes to Town , You Can't Take It With You , Mr...
and
John FordJohn Ford was an American film director of Irish heritage famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach and The Searchers and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
.
Contemporaries
In terms of casting and production itself, Spielberg has a known penchant for working with actors and production members from his previous films. For instance he has cast
Richard DreyfussRichard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of films, television and theater roles since the late 1960s. He is probably best known for his roles in the films Jaws, The Goodbye Girl, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Always, Mr...
in several films:
JawsJaws is a 1975 American horror/thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel Jaws. The police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant great white shark by closing the beach, only to be overruled by the town...
,
Close Encounters of the Third KindClose Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban and Cary Guffey. It tells the story of Roy Neary, an Indiana electrical lineman, whose life changes...
, and
Always. Spielberg has also cast
Harrison FordHarrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. Ford is best known for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series...
for several of his films from small roles, as the headteacher in a cut scene from
E.T. the Extra-TerrestrialE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Dee Wallace. It tells the story of Elliott , a lonely boy who befriends a friendly...
as well as in leading role in the
Indiana JonesDr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. is a fictional adventurer, OSS agent, professor of archaeology, and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
films. Although Spielberg directed him only once (in
Raiders of the Lost ArkRaiders of the Lost Ark is a action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford...
, for which he voiced many of the animals), veteran voice actor
Frank WelkerFranklin W. "Frank" Welker is a veteran American actor, who specializes in voice acting. He is responsible for a broad spectrum of character voices and other vocal effects that have appeared over the last 40 years in American television and motion pictures.Welker is listed as number one on the...
has lent his voice in a number of productions Spielberg has executively produced from
GremlinsGremlins is an American comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante and released in 1984 by Warner Bros. It is about a young man who receives a strange creature named Gizmo as a pet, which then spawns other creatures who transform into small, destructive, evil monsters. This story was continued with...
to its sequel
Gremlins 2: The New BatchGremlins 2: The New Batch is a 1990 American comedy horror film, and a sequel to Gremlins . It was directed by Joe Dante and written by Charles S. Haas, with creature designs by Rick Baker...
, as well as
The Land Before TimeThe Land Before Time is a 1988 theatrical animated film, directed by Don Bluth , and executive-produced by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Originally released by Universal Studios and Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, it features anthropomorphic dinosaurs living in a somewhat fantasy-based...
(and lending his voice to its sequels which Spielberg had no involvement in),
Who Framed Roger RabbitWho Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Steven Spielberg and based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?. It was released by Walt Disney Pictures, under the Touchstone banner and co-produced by Amblin Entertainment...
, and television shows such as Tiny Toons,
AnimaniacsSteven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. and produced by Amblin Entertainment. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven Spielberg and Warner Bros. Animation during...
, and
SeaQuest DSVseaQuest DSV is an American science fiction television series created by Rockne S. O'Bannon. It originally aired on NBC between 1993 and 1996. In its final season, it was renamed seaQuest 2032....
. Recently Spielberg has used the actor
Tom HanksThomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title role in Forrest Gump, Commander James...
on several occasions and has cast him in
Saving Private RyanSaving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 25 minutes, which depict the Omaha beachhead assault of June 6, 1944. Afterward,...
,
Catch Me If You CanCatch Me If You Can is a 2002 comedy-drama crime film based on the life of Frank Abagnale Jr., who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars by posing as a Pan American World Airways pilot, a Georgia doctor and Louisiana attorney and parish prosecutor...
, and
The TerminalThe Terminal is a comedy-drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones. It is about a man trapped in a terminal at JFK International Airport when he is denied entry into the United States and at the same time cannot return to his native country due to a...
. Spielberg also has collaborated with
Tom CruiseThomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known by his screen name of Tom Cruise, is an American actor and film producer. Forbes magazine ranked him as the world's most powerful celebrity in 2006. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and won three Golden Globe Awards...
twice on
Minority ReportMinority Report is a science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg and loosely based on the short story "The Minority Report" by Philip K. Dick. It is set primarily in Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia in the year 2054, where "Precrime", a specialized police department, apprehends...
and
War of the WorldsWar of the Worlds is a live action science fiction film adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel of the same name, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp. It stars Tom Cruise as Ray Ferrier, a dock worker estranged from his wife and children and living separately from them...
. Spielberg has also cast
Shia LaBeoufShia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor, voice actor, and comedian.LaBeouf began his comedy career when he was 10 years old, and then launched his acting career in 1998 at the age of 12. He became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens, also appearing...
in four films:
Transformers,
Eagle EyeEagle Eye is a 2008 action/thriller film directed by D. J. Caruso and starring Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan. The two portray a young man and a single mother who are brought together and coerced by an anonymous caller into carrying out a plan by a possible terrorist organization...
,
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and
Transformers: Revenge of the FallenTransformers: Revenge of the Fallen is an American science fiction action film released on June 19, 2009 in the United Kingdom and June 24, 2009 in North America, and was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on October 20, 2009. It is the sequel to 2007's Transformers and the second film in the live action...
. Spielberg prefers working with production members with whom he has developed an existing working relationship. An example of this is his production relationship with Kathleen Kennedy who has served as producer on all his major films from
E.T. the Extra-TerrestrialE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Dee Wallace. It tells the story of Elliott , a lonely boy who befriends a friendly...
to the recent
MunichMunich is a 2005 historical fiction film about the Israeli government's secret retaliation after the 1972 Munich massacre of Israeli Olympic athletes by Black September terrorists. The film stars Eric Bana and was co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg...
. Other working relationships include
Allen DaviauAllen Daviau, A.S.C. is a five-time Academy Award nominated American cinematographer.-Selected Filmography:*Amblin *Close Encounters of the Third Kind *E.T...
, a childhood friend and cinematographer who shot the early Spielberg film
Amblin'Amblin' is a short film released in 1968. It is the first completed film shot by Steven Spielberg on 35mm. The film is a short love story set during the hippie era of the late '60s, about a young couple making their way through the desert to a paradisaical beach.-Plot:A young guy, carrying a...
and most of his films up to
Empire of the SunEmpire of the Sun is a 1984 novel by J. G. Ballard which was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Like Ballard's earlier short story, "The Dead Time" , it is essentially fiction but draws extensively on Ballard's experiences in World War II.Ballard later wrote a sequel, entitled The...
;
Janusz KamińskiJanusz Zygmunt Kamiński, ASC , better known as Janusz Kamiński, is a Polish cinematographer and film director. He has photographed all of Steven Spielberg's films since 1993's Schindler's List.-Early life and career:...
who has shot every Spielberg film since
Schindler's ListSchindler's List is a 1993 American drama film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand Polish Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the novel Schindler's Ark by...
(see List of film director and cinematographer collaborations); and the film editor
Michael KahnMichael Kahn is a widely recognized film editor. His credits range from TV's Hogan's Heroes to feature films directed by George C. Scott and Steven Spielberg, with whom he has had an extended, notable collaboration over more than thirty years...
who has edited every single film directed by Spielberg from
Close Encounters to
Munich (except
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial). Most of the DVDs of Spielberg's films have documentaries by Laurent Bouzereau.
A famous example of Spielberg working with the same professionals is his long time collaboration with
John WilliamsJohn Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career that spans six decades, Williams has composed many of the most famous film scores in Hollywood history, including Star Wars, Superman, Home Alone, the first three Harry Potter movies and all but two of Steven...
and the use of his musical scores in all of his films since
The Sugarland ExpressThe Sugarland Express is a 1974 American drama film starring Goldie Hawn and William Atherton. It is the first theatrical feature film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is about a husband and wife trying to outrun the law and was based on a true story. The event partially took place, the story is...
(except
The Color PurpleThe Color Purple is a American period drama film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the eighth film directed by Spielberg and is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Alice Walker...
and
Twilight Zone: The MovieTwilight Zone: The Movie is a 1983 film produced by Steven Spielberg as a theatrical version of The Twilight Zone, a 1950s and 60s TV series created by Rod Serling. It starred Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, Vic Morrow, Scatman Crothers, Kathleen Quinlan, and John Lithgow...
). One of Spielberg's trademarks is his use of music by John Williams to add to the visual impact of his scenes and to try and create a lasting picture and sound of the film in the memories of the film audience. These visual scenes often uses images of the sun (e.g.
Empire of the Sun,
Saving Private RyanSaving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 25 minutes, which depict the Omaha beachhead assault of June 6, 1944. Afterward,...
, the final scene of
Jurassic ParkJurassic Park is a 1993 science fiction thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. The film centers on the fictional island of Isla Nublar, where scientists have created an amusement park of cloned dinosaurs...
, and the end credits of
Indiana Jones and the Last CrusadeIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third film in the Indiana Jones franchise. Harrison Ford reprises the title role and Sean Connery plays Indiana's father, Henry Jones, Sr...
(where they ride into the sunset)), of which the last two feature a Williams score at that end scene. Spielberg is a contemporary of filmmakers
George LucasGeorge Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, director and chairman of Lucasfilm Ltd. He is best known for being the creator of the epic sci-fi franchise Star Wars and joint creator of the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
,
Francis Ford CoppolaFrancis Ford Coppola is an Italian-American film director, producer and screenwriter. Away from showbusiness, Coppola is also a vintner, magazine publisher and hotelier. He is a graduate of Hofstra University where he studied theatre. He earned an M.F.A. in film directing from the UCLA Film School...
,
Martin ScorseseMartin Marcantonio Luciano Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. He is the founder of the World Cinema Foundation, a recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award for his contributions to the cinema and has won awards from the Oscars, Golden Globe,...
,
John MiliusJohn Frederick Milius is an American screenwriter, director, and producer of motion pictures.-Life:Milius was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Elizabeth and William Styx Milius, who was a shoe manufacturer. Milius attempted to join the Marine Corps in the late 1960's, but was rejected due...
, and
Brian De PalmaBrian De Palma is an American film director. In a career spanning over forty years, he is probably best known for his suspense and thriller films, including such box office successes as Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Scarface, Carlito's Way, The Untouchables, and Mission: Impossible.Throughout the 1970s...
, collectively known as the "Movie Brats." Aside from his principal role as a director, Spielberg has acted as a producer for a considerable number of films, including early hits for
Joe DanteJoseph James "Joe" Dante is an American film director and producer of films generally with humorous and scifi content....
and
Robert ZemeckisRobert Lee "Bob" Zemeckis is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Zemeckis first came to public attention in the 1980s as the director of the comedic time-travel Back to the Future films as well as the live-action/animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit , though in the 1990s he...
.
Marriages and children
From 1985 to 1989 Spielberg was married to actress
Amy IrvingAmy Davis Irving is an American actress, known for her roles in the films Crossing Delancey, The Fury, Carrie and Yentl as well as acclaimed roles on Broadway and off-Broadway...
. In their 1989 divorce settlement, she received $100 million from Spielberg after a judge controversially vacated a
prenuptial agreementA prenuptial agreement, antenuptial agreement, or premarital agreement, commonly abbreviated to prenup or prenupt, is a contract entered into prior to marriage or civil union by the people intending to marry...
written on a napkin. Their divorce was recorded as the third most costly celebrity divorce in history. Following the divorce, Spielberg and Irving shared custody of their son, Max Samuel.
Spielberg subsequently developed a relationship with actress
Kate CapshawKate Capshaw is an American actress. She is known for her role as Willie Scott in the film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and for her marriage to director Steven Spielberg ....
, whom he met when he cast her in
Indiana Jones and the Temple of DoomIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a 1984 adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second film in the Indiana Jones franchise, and prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark . After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone...
. They married on October 12, 1991. Capshaw is a convert to
JudaismJudaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts...
. They currently move among their four homes in Pacific Palisades, California;
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
;
East Hampton, NYThe Village of East Hampton is an incorporated village in Suffolk County, New York within the Town of East Hampton, on the South Fork of eastern Long Island...
; and
Naples, FloridaNaples is a city in Collier County, Florida, USA. As of 1 July 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 21,653. Naples is a principal city of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated total population of 315,839 on 1 July 2007...
.
There are seven children in the Spielberg-Capshaw family:
- Jessica Capshaw
Jessica Capshaw is an American actress, perhaps best known for her role as attorney Jamie Stringer on the ABC legal drama The Practice and as pediatric attending Dr...
(b. August 9, 1976) - daughter from Kate Capshaw's previous marriage to Robert Capshaw
- Max Samuel Spielberg (b. June 13, 1985) - son from Spielberg's previous marriage to actress Amy Irving
Amy Davis Irving is an American actress, known for her roles in the films Crossing Delancey, The Fury, Carrie and Yentl as well as acclaimed roles on Broadway and off-Broadway...
- Theo Spielberg (b. 1988) - son adopted by Capshaw before her marriage to Spielberg, who later adopted him .
- Sasha Rebecca Spielberg (b. May 14, 1990, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
)
- Sawyer Avery Spielberg (b. March 10, 1992, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
)
- Mikaela George (b. February 28, 1996) - adopted with Kate Capshaw
- Destry Allyn Spielberg (b. December 1, 1996)
{{hidden|Genealogy (adoptions in
Italics)|
{{familytree/start}}
{{familytree | | | | | | | | | | | | | BC |-|-| AS |-|v|-| LA |-|-| BA | | | | | | | | | | | | | BC= Bernice Colner|AS=Arnold Spielberg|LA=Leah Posner|BA=Bernie Adler}}
{{familytree | | | | | | | |,|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|^|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.| | | | | | }}
{{familytree | AI |-|v|-| SS |-|v|-| KC |-|v|-| RC | | AS |-|-| DO | | SS2 | | NS | | AI=
Amy IrvingAmy Davis Irving is an American actress, known for her roles in the films Crossing Delancey, The Fury, Carrie and Yentl as well as acclaimed roles on Broadway and off-Broadway...
|SS=Steven Spielberg|KC=
Kate CapshawKate Capshaw is an American actress. She is known for her role as Willie Scott in the film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and for her marriage to director Steven Spielberg ....
|RC=Robert Capshaw|AS=
Anne SpielbergAnne Spielberg is a screenwriter and the sister of film director Steven Spielberg.She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1949. After working for her brother's production company, Amblin Entertainment, she co-wrote the movie Big in 1988, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for...
|DO=Danny Opatoshu|SS2=Sue Spielberg|NS=Nancy Spielberg}}
{{familytree | |,|-|-|'| |,|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|.| |`|-|-|.| | | | | | | | | }}
{{familytree | MSS | | | TC | | MG | | DAS | | | JC | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | MSS=Max Samuel Spielberg|TC=
Theo Capshaw(adopted)|SS=Sasha Spielberg|SS2=Sawyer Spielberg|MG=
Mikaela George(adopted)|DAS=Destry Allyn Spielberg|JC=Jessica Capshaw}}
{{familytree/end}}
}}
Starbright
In 1991 Steven Spielberg co-founded Starbright with Randy Aduana– a foundation dedicated to improving sick children's lives through technology-based programs focusing on entertainment and education. In 2002 Starbright merged with the Starlight Foundation forming what is now today – Starlight Children's Foundation.
Politics
- Spielberg generally supports U.S. Democratic Party
The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...
candidates. He has donated over $800,000 for the Democratic party and its nominees. He has been a close friend of former President Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the third-youngest president; only Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy were younger when entering office...
and worked with the President for the USA Millennium celebrations. He directed an 18-minute film for the project, scored by John WilliamsJohn Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career that spans six decades, Williams has composed many of the most famous film scores in Hollywood history, including Star Wars, Superman, Home Alone, the first three Harry Potter movies and all but two of Steven...
and entitled The American Journey. It was shown at America's Millennium Gala on December 31, 1999, in the National MallThe National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service, and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...
at the Reflecting PoolThe Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is the largest of Washington, D.C.'s reflecting pools. Located directly east of the Lincoln Memorial, it is a long, rectangular pool visible in many photographs of the Washington Monument. It is lined by walking paths and shade trees on both sides...
at the base of the Lincoln MemorialThe Lincoln Memorial is an American memorial built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and was dedicated on May 30, 1922. The architect was Henry Bacon, the sculptor of the main statue was Daniel Chester French,...
in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
.
- Spielberg resigned as an advisory board member of his local boy scout council in 2001 because of his disapproval of the BSA's
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over four million youth members in its age-related divisions...
anti-homosexuality stance.
- Spielberg joined Jeffrey Katzenberg
Jeffrey Katzenberg is an American film producer and CEO of DreamWorks Animation. He is perhaps most famous for his period as studio chairman at The Walt Disney Company, and for producing the DreamWorks animated films Shrek, Shark Tale, Madagascar, Over the Hedge, Bee Movie, and Kung Fu...
and Haim SabanHaim Saban is a television and media proprietor. With an estimated net worth of 2.8 billion USD, he is ranked by Forbes as the 102nd richest person in America.-Personal life:...
in endorsing the re-election of Hollywood friend Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian American bodybuilder, actor, businessman, and politician, currently serving as the 38th Governor of the state of California....
, the RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties. In the U.S...
Governor of CaliforniaThe Governor of California is the highest executive authority in the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual "State of the State" addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced.The position was...
, on August 7, 2006.
- On February 20, 2007, Spielberg, Katzenberg, and David Geffen
David Geffen is an American record executive, film producer, theatrical producer and philanthropist. Geffen is noted for creating Asylum Records in 1970 , and Geffen Records in 1980, along with his later role as one of the three founders of...
invited Democrats to a fundraiserA fundraiser is an event or campaign whose primary purpose is to raise money for a cause. See also: fundraising. A fundraiser can also be an individual or company whose primary job is to raise money for a specific charity or non-profit organization...
for Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office, as well as the first president born in Hawaii...
,. But on June 14, 2007, Spielberg endorsed Hillary Rodham ClintonHillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving within the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she served as First Lady of...
(D-NY) for President. While Geffen and Katzenberg supported Obama, Spielberg was always a supporter of Hillary Clinton. However Spielberg directed a video for Obama at the DNC in August 2008 and attended Obama's inauguration.
- In February 2008, Spielberg pulled out of his role as advisor to the 2008 Beijing Olympics in response to the Chinese government's inaction over the War in Darfur. Spielberg said in a statement that "I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue business as usual." It also said that "Sudan's government bears the bulk of the responsibility for these on-going crimes, but the international community, and particularly China, should be doing more.." The International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an organization based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas on 23 June 1894. Its membership consists of the 205 National Olympic Committees....
respected Spielberg's decision, but IOC president Jacques RoggeJacques Rogge, Count Rogge is a Belgian sports functionary. He is the eighth and current president of the International Olympic Committee .-Biography:...
admitted in an interview that "[Spielberg] certainly would have brought a lot to the opening ceremony in terms of creativity." Spielberg's statement drew criticism from Chinese officials and state-run media calling his criticism "unfair." Academy Award-nominated Chinese director Zhang YimouZhang Yimou is an internationally acclaimed Chinese filmmaker and former cinematographer, and one of the best known of the Fifth Generation of Chinese film directors. He made his directorial debut in 1987 with the film Red Sorghum...
ultimately directed the ceremonies, to wide international acclaim.
- In September 2008, Spielberg and his wife offered their support to same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is a term used to describe a legally or socially recognized marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Other terms used to describe this type of recognition include gay marriage or gender-neutral marriage.Same-sex marriage is a civil rights,...
, by issuing a statement following their donation of $100,000 to the "No on Proposition 8" campaign fund, a figure equal to the amount of money Brad PittWilliam Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. He has been cited as one of the world's most attractive men, a label that entices the media to report on his off-screen life...
donated to the same campaign less than a week prior.
Hobbies
Spielberg is an avid film buff and when not shooting a picture, he will indulge in "movie orgies," watching many over a single weekend. He sees almost every major summer blockbuster in theaters if not preoccupied and enjoys most of them; "If I get pleasure from anything, I can't think of it as dumb or myself as shallow [...] I'll probably go late to that movie and go, 'What the dickens was everybody complaining about, that wasn't so bad!'"
Since playing
PongPong is one of the earliest arcade video games, and is a tennis sports game featuring simple two-dimensional graphics. The aim is to defeat an opponent—either computer-controlled or a second player—by earning a higher score. The game was originally manufactured by Atari Incorporated , who released...
while filming
JawsJaws is a 1975 American horror/thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel Jaws. The police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant great white shark by closing the beach, only to be overruled by the town...
in 1974, Spielberg has been an avid video gamer. He owns a
WiiThe is a home video game console released by Nintendo. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of both...
, a
PlayStation 3The PlayStation 3 is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment, and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series...
and
Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft, and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles....
, and enjoys playing
first-person shooterFirst-person shooter is a video game genre which centers the gameplay around gun- and projectile weapon-based combat through the first person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits...
s such as the
Medal of HonorMedal of Honor is the name of a series of first-person shooter games set in World War II. The first game was developed by DreamWorks Interactive and published by Electronic Arts in 1999 for the PlayStation game console...
series (which he created) and
Call of Duty 4: Modern WarfareCall of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a first-person shooter video game, developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360...
. He has also criticized the use of
cut sceneA cut scene is a sequence in a video game over which the player has little or no control, often breaking up the gameplay and used to advance the plot, present character development, and provide background information, atmosphere, dialogue and clues...
s in games, calling them intrusive, and feels making story flow naturally into the gameplay is a challenge for future game developers.
Stalking
In 2001, Spielberg was
stalkedStalking is a term used to describe unwanted attention by individuals to others. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation. The word "stalking" is used, with some differing meanings, in psychology and psychiatry and also in some legal jurisdictions as a term for a criminal...
by conspiracy theorist and former social worker
Diana NapolisDiana Louisa Napolis, also known by her on-line pseudonym Karen Curio Jones or more often simply Curio, is an American former social worker...
, who accused him along with actress
Jennifer Love HewittJennifer Love Hewitt is an American actress, voice actress, and singer-songwriter. Hewitt began her acting career as a child by appearing in television commercials and the Disney Channel series Kids Incorporated...
of controlling her thoughts through "cybertronic" technology and being part of a
satanic conspiracySatanic ritual abuse refers to a moral panic that originated in the United States in the 1980s, spreading throughout the country and eventually to many parts of the world, before subsiding in the late 1990s...
against her. Napolis was
committedInvoluntary commitment is the practice of using legal means or forms as part of a mental health law to commit a person to a mental hospital, insane asylum or psychiatric ward against their will and/or over their protests. In some juridictions , it was once known as the "restraint of the insane"...
for a year in a state hospital before pleading guilty to stalking and released on probation with a condition that she have no contact with either Spielberg or Hewitt.
Spielberg was a target of the
2002 white supremacist terror plotDuring the 2002 white supremacist terror plot, a pair of white supremacists planned to bomb a series of institutions associated with African American and American Jewish communities.-Crime:...
.
Achievements
Spielberg is a winner of three Academy Awards. He has been nominated for six Academy Awards for the category of Best Director, winning two of them (
Schindler's ListSchindler's List is a 1993 American drama film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand Polish Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the novel Schindler's Ark by...
and
Saving Private RyanSaving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 25 minutes, which depict the Omaha beachhead assault of June 6, 1944. Afterward,...
), and seven of the films he directed were up for the
Best PictureThe Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible...
Oscar (
Schindler's List won). In 1987 he was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award for his work as a creative producer.
Drawing from his own experiences in
ScoutingScouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, so that they may play constructive roles in society....
, Spielberg helped the
Boy Scouts of AmericaThe Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over four million youth members in its age-related divisions...
develop a merit badge in cinematography. The badge was launched at the 1989
National Scout JamboreeThe national Scout jamboree is a gathering, or jamboree of thousands of members of the Boy Scouts of America, usually held every four years and organized by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Referred to as "the Jamboree", "Jambo", or NSJ, Scouts from all over the nation and world...
which Spielberg attended, personally counseling many boys in their work on requirements.
That same year, 1989, was the release of
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The opening scene shows a teenage Indiana Jones in
scout uniformThe Uniform and insignia of the Boy Scouts of America gives a Scout visibility and creates a level of identity within both the unit and the community. The uniform is used to promote equality while showing individual achievement...
bearing the rank of a Life Scout. Spielberg stated he made Indiana Jones a Boy Scout in honor of his experience in Scouting. For his career accomplishments and service to others, Spielberg was awarded the
Distinguished Eagle Scout AwardThe Distinguished Eagle Scout Award is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America . It is awarded to an Eagle Scout for distinguished service in his profession and to his community for a period of at least twenty-five years after attaining the level of Eagle Scout...
.
Steven Spielberg received the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1995.
In 1998 he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit with Ribbon of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Award was presented to him by President Roman Herzog in recognition of his film "Schindlers List" and his Shoa-Foundation.
In 1999, Spielberg received an honorary degree from
Brown UniversityBrown University is a private university located in Providence, Rhode Island, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III...
. Spielberg was also awarded the
Department of DefenseThe United States Department of Defense is the federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the military...
Medal for Distinguished Public Service by Secretary of Defense
William CohenWilliam Sebastian Cohen is an author and American politician from the U.S. state of Maine. A Republican, Cohen served as Secretary of Defense under Democratic President Bill Clinton.-Early life and education:...
at
the PentagonThe Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself....
on August 11, 1999. Cohen presented Spielberg the award in recognition of his film
Saving Private Ryan.
In 2001, he was honored as an
honorary Knight Commander of the
Order of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions...
(KBE) by
Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known informally as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,...
.
In 2004 he was admitted as
knightA knight was a "gentleman soldier" or member of the warrior class of the Middle Ages in Europe. In other Indo-European languages, cognates of cavalier or rider are more prevalent suggesting a connection to the knight's mode of transport...
of the
Légion d'honneurThe Légion d'honneur or Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
from president
Jacques ChiracJacques René Chirac served as the President of France from 17 May 1995 until 16 May 2007. As President he also served as an ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra and Grand Master of the French Légion d'honneur. Chirac was the second-longest serving President of France , behind François Mitterrand...
. On July 15, 2006, Spielberg was also awarded the Gold Hugo Lifetime Achievement Award at the Summer Gala of the
Chicago International Film FestivalThe Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival that is presented by Cinema/Chicago which was founded by Michael Kutza in 1964. First held in 1965, it is one of North America's oldest film events....
, and also was awarded a Kennedy Center honour on December 3. The tribute to Spielberg featured a short filmed biography narrated by
Tom HanksThomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title role in Forrest Gump, Commander James...
and included thank-yous from World War II veterans for
Saving Private Ryan, as well as a performance of the finale to Leonard Bernstein's
Candide, conducted by John Williams (Spielberg's frequent composer).
In November 2007, he was chosen for Lifetime Achievement Award to be presented at the sixth annual Visual Effects Society Awards in February 2009. He was set to be honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the January 2008 Golden Globes; however, the new, watered-down format of the ceremony result from conflicts from the
2007-08 writers strikeThe 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, more commonly known as the Writers' Strike, was a strike by the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West ....
, the HFPA postponed his honor to the 2009 ceremony. In 2008, Spielberg was awarded the
Légion d'honneurThe Légion d'honneur or Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
.
In June 2008, Spielberg was the recipient of
Arizona State UniversityArizona State University is the largest public research university in the United States under a single administration, with total student enrollment of 68,064 as of fall 2009...
’s Hugh Downs Award for Communication Excellence.
Spielberg received an honorary degree at Boston University's 136th Annual Commencement on May 17, 2009.
In October 2009 Steven Spielberg received the
Philadelphia Liberty MedalThe Liberty Medal is an annual award administered by the National Constitution Center of the United States to recognize leadership in the pursuit of freedom...
. Presenting him with the medal was former US president and Liberty Medal recipient
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the third-youngest president; only Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy were younger when entering office...
. Special guests included
Whoopi GoldbergWhoopi Goldberg is an American actress, comedienne, singer-songwriter, activist, and media personality....
,
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the third-youngest president; only Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy were younger when entering office...
, Pennsylvania Governor
Ed RendellEdward Gene "Ed" Rendell is an American politician and Governor of Pennsylvania. Rendell, a member of the Democratic Party, was elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 2002, and his term of office began January 21, 2003...
and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter.
{{-}}
Praise and Criticism
After watching the unconventional, off-center camera techniques of
JawsJaws is a 1975 American horror/thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel Jaws. The police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant great white shark by closing the beach, only to be overruled by the town...
, an aging
Alfred HitchcockSir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British filmmaker and producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in his native United Kingdom in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
praised "young Spielberg," saying "He's the first one of us who doesn't see the proscenium arch." Or, to paraphrase, he was the first mainstream director to visually think outside the spatial dynamics of the theater.
Spielberg, as a then co-owner of
DreamWorksDreamWorks, LLC, also known as DreamWorks Pictures, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games, and television programming. It has produced or distributed more than ten films with box-office grosses...
, was involved in a heated debate in which the studio proposed building on the remaining
wetlandA wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with moisture either permanently or seasonally. Such areas may also be covered partially or completely by shallow pools of water. Wetlands include swamps, marshes, and bogs, among others. The water found in wetlands can be saltwater, freshwater,...
s in
Southern CaliforniaSouthern California, or SoCal, is defined as the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its population centers around three major metropolitan areas, each of which have over 3 million people; the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area with over 12 million inhabitants, the San Bernardino-Riverside...
, though development was later dropped.
Spielberg's films are often accused of leaning towards sentimentalism at the expense of other aspects of the film.
French New WaveThe New Wave was a blanket term coined by critics for a group of French filmmakers of the late 1950s and 1960s, influenced by Italian Neorealism and classical Hollywood cinema...
giant
Jean-Luc GodardJean-Luc Godard is a French and Swiss filmmaker and one of the founding members of the Nouvelle Vague, or "French New Wave"....
famously and publicly criticised Spielberg at the premiere of his film
In Praise of LoveIn Praise of Love is a French film directed by Jean-Luc Godard. The black-and white and colour drama was shot by Julien Hirsch and Christophe Pollock....
. Godard, who has continuously complained about the commercial nature of modern cinema, holds Spielberg partly responsible for the lack of artistic merit in mainstream cinema. Godard accused Spielberg of using his film
Schindler's ListSchindler's List is a 1993 American drama film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand Polish Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the novel Schindler's Ark by...
to make a profit of tragedy while Schindler's wife lived in poverty in
ArgentinaArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
. In Spielberg's defense, critic
Roger EbertRoger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter.He is known for his film review column and for two television programs Sneak Previews and Siskel & Ebert at the Movies, which he co-hosted for a combined 23 years with Gene Siskel...
argues that Spielberg is very talented and has also said, "Has Godard or any other director living or dead done more than Spielberg, with his Holocaust Project, to honor and preserve the memories of the survivors?" American artist and actor
Crispin GloverCrispin Hellion Glover is an American film actor and self-published author. Glover is known for portraying eccentric people on screen, such as George McFly in Back to the Future, Layne in River's Edge, the undertaker in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, the "Creepy Thin Man" in the big screen...
(who starred in the Spielberg-produced
Back to the FutureBack to the Future is a 1985 science fiction adventure film directed by Robert Zemeckis, co-written by Bob Gale and produced by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, as well as Christopher Lloyd, Crispin Glover, Lea Thompson and Thomas F. Wilson...
) also criticised Spielberg in his 2005 essay
What Is It?.
Jacques RivetteJacques Rivette is a French film director.With Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rivette is one of the more experimental of the French New Wave directors...
criticized Spielberg while discussing the
James CameronJames Francis Cameron is a Canadian film director, producer and screenwriter. His writing and directing work includes The Terminator and Titanic. To date, his directorial efforts have grossed approximately US$1.1 billion domestically, unadjusted for inflation...
film
TitanicTitanic is a 1997 American romantic drama film directed, written, co-produced and co-edited by James Cameron about the sinking of the RMS Titanic. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson and Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater, two members of different social classes who fall in love aboard the...
, saying that "Cameron isn't evil, he's not an asshole like Spielberg."
Some of the harshest critique came from the film director
Alejandro JodorowskyAlejandro Jodorowsky is a Chilean scholar in comparative religion, playwright, director, producer, composer, actor, mime, comic book writer, tarot reader, historian and psychotherapist.-Early years:Jodorowsky began his artistic activities at a very young age, inspired greatly by film and...
, who, among other things, expressed the desire to kill Spielberg: "But, say, Spielberg is not honest. I hate Spielberg, because none of his movies are honest. His violence is ill, it's not honest. He shows an ill violence, as though he was the father of history. He hates Jews, because he is Jewish. He is making business with that, with Europe. He is fascist, because America is the centre of his world. If I can kill Spielberg, I will kill Spielberg." Then he added: "But what I hate the most is Spielberg. And second
Walt DisneyWalter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon and philanthropist. Disney is famous for his influence in the field of entertainment during the twentieth century. As the co-founder Walter Elias...
." After being asked about his earlier hatred for Walt Disney above all others, he responded: "Yes. But now it's Spielberg. I think Spielberg is the son from when Walt Disney fucked Minnie Mouse. And then there was Spielberg."
Critics such as anti-mainstream film theorist
Ray CarneyRay Carney, also known as Raymond Carney, Ph.D, is an American scholar and critic, primarily known for his work as a film theorist, although he writes extensively on American art and literature as well. He is known for his study of the works of actor and director John Cassavetes...
also complain that Spielberg's films lack depth and do not take risks.
Some of Spielberg's most famous fans include film legend
Ingmar BergmanErnst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. His influential body of work often dealt with themes such as bleakness and despair, as well as comedy and hope, in his cinematic exploration of the human condition...
.
In a
TCMTurner Classic Movies is a cable television channel featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
interview,
Terry GilliamTerrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British writer, filmmaker, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several well-regarded films including Time Bandits , Brazil , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys...
expressed some harsh critique towards Spielberg and compared him unfavorably to
Stanley KubrickStanley Kubrick was an American director, writer, producer, and photographer of films, who lived in England during most of the last 40 years of his career...
, saying "The great difference between Kubrick and Spielberg is - Spielberg is more successful. His films make much more money. But they're comforting, they give you answers, always, the films are answers, and I don't think they're very clever answers. (...) Spielberg and the success of most films in Hollywood, I think, is down to the fact that they're comforting, they tie things up in nice little bows, gives you answers, even if the answers are stupid, they're answers. Oh, you go home, you don't have to worry about it. (...) There was a wonderful quote in a book that
Freddy RaphaelFrederic Michael Raphael is an American-born, British-educated screenwriter, and also a prolific novelist and journalist.-Biography:...
wrote about the making of
Eyes Wide ShutEyes Wide Shut is a psychological drama with many elements of an erotic thriller considered a cult film directed, produced and co-written by Stanley Kubrick, based on the novella Traumnovelle by Arthur Schnitzler. It was Kubrick's last film before his death. The story, set in and around New York...
, it's called Eyes Wide Open, and he's talking to Kubrick about Schindler's List and the Holocaust, and he says: "The thing is, Schindler's List is about success, the Holocaust was about failure." And that's Kubrick, and that's just spot on. Schindler's List had "save those few people" happy ending. "A man can do what a man can do", and stop death for a few people. But that's not what Holocaust is about, it's about complete failure of civilization, to allow 6 million people to die. And I know which side I'd rather be on. I'd like to have a nice house like Spielberg, but I know which side I'd rather be on."
Gilliam also said the following after seeing Spielberg's War of the Worlds: "I saw 'War of the Worlds' and I thought, Steven Spielberg is a man who makes brilliant scenes but can't make a movie anymore."
In August 2007
Ai WeiweiAi Weiwei , born in 1957 in Beijing, is a leading Chinese artist, curator, architectural designer, cultural and social commentator.-Life and work:...
, the artistic designer for the Beijing Olympic Stadium
Bird's NestBird's nest may refer to:*Bird nest*Bird's nest soup, a delicacy made from the salivary excretions of the swiftlet*Seafood birdsnest, a southern Chinese dish made of taro...
accused those choreographing the Olympic opening ceremony, including Steven Spielberg, of failing to live up to their responsibility as artists. Ai said "It's disgusting. I don't like anyone who shamelessly abuses their profession, who makes no moral judgment."
Imre KertészImre Kertész is a Hungarian Jewish author, Holocaust concentration camp survivor, and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2002 "for writing that upholds the fragile experience of the individual against the barbaric arbitrariness of history".-Biography:He was born on 9 November 1929 in...
,
HungarianHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
Jewish author, Holocaust concentration camp survivor, and winner of the
Nobel Prize in LiteratureThe Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
, attacked Spielberg for falsifying the experience of Holocaust in Schindler's List, and for showing it as something that is foreign to the human nature and impossible to reoccur. He also dismissed the film itself as kitsch:
"Yes, the survivors watch helplessly as their only real possessions are done away with: authentic experiences. I know that many will not agree with me when I apply the term "kitsch" to Spielberg’s Schindler’s List. It is said that Spielberg has in fact done a great service, considering that his film lured millions into the movie theaters, including many who otherwise would never have been interested in the subject of the Holocaust. That might be true. But why should I, as a Holocaust survivor and as one in possession of a broader experience of terror, be pleased when more and more people see these experiences produced on the big screen—and falsified at that? It is obvious that the American Spielberg, who incidentally wasn’t even born until after the war, has and can have no idea of the authentic reality of a Nazi concentration camp. Why, then, does he struggle so hard to make his representation of a world he does not know seem authentic in every detail? The most important message of this black-and-white film comes, I think, at the end, with the appearance in color of a triumphant crowd of people. But I also regard as kitsch any representation of the Holocaust that fails to imply the wide-ranging ethical consequences of Auschwitz, and from which the PERSON in capital letters (and with it the idea of the Human as such) emerges from the camps healthy and unharmed. If this were really possible, we wouldn't still be talking about the Holocaust, or at any rate would speak about it as we might discuss some event of which we have only a distant historical memory, like, say, the
Battle of El-AlameinThe Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of World War II. The battle lasted from 23 October to 5 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance...
. I regard as kitsch any representation of the Holocaust that is incapable of understanding or unwilling to understand the organic connection between our own deformed mode of life (whether in the private sphere or on the level of "civilization" as such) and the very possibility of the Holocaust. Here I have in mind those representations that seek to establish the Holocaust once and for all as something foreign to human nature; that seek to drive the Holocaust out of the realm of human experience. I would also use the term kitsch to describe those works where Auschwitz is regarded as simply a matter concerning Germans and Jews, and thereby reduced to something like the fatal incompatibility of two groups; when the political and psychological anatomy of modern totalitarianism more generally is disregarded; when Auschwitz is not seen as a universal experience, but reduced to whatever immediately "hits the eye." Apart from this, of course, I regard anything that is kitsch, as kitsch."
Kertész then went on to praise
Life Is BeautifulLife Is Beautiful is a 1997 Italian language film which tells the story of a Jewish Italian, Guido Orefice , who must employ his fertile imagination to help his son survive their internment in a Nazi concentration camp.-Plot:The first half of the movie is a whimsical, romantic comedy and often...
as a film that is truthful to the spirit of Holocaust if not its reality.
Filmography
{{Main|Steven Spielberg filmography}}
This is a
Steven Spielberg filmography, including those he
directedA film director, or filmmaker is a person who directs the making or production of a film. Some also consider a film producer to be a filmmaker....
,
producedA film producer or movie producer is someone who creates the scenes and conditions for making movies. The producer initiates, co-ordinates, supervises and controls matters such as fund-raising, hiring key personnel and arranging for distributors...
, and
actedAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
in.
One thing interesting to note about Spielberg is that he is very protective of his name. If he is the producer or executive producer of a film which he feels does not meet his standards, he will ask for his name to be removed from the credits.
Films
This is a table of films that Steven Spielberg has been involved in. The lists below will eventually be incorporated into this table.
| Year |
Film |
Credited as |
| Director A film director, or filmmaker is a person who directs the making or production of a film. Some also consider a film producer to be a filmmaker....
|
Producer A film producer or movie producer is someone who creates the scenes and conditions for making movies. The producer initiates, co-ordinates, supervises and controls matters such as fund-raising, hiring key personnel and arranging for distributors...
|
Writer Screenwriters or scenarists or scriptwriters are people in a film crew who write/create the screenplays from which films and television programs are made....
|
ActorAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
|
Role |
| 1964 |
Firelight Firelight is a 1964 science fiction adventure film. It was written by Steven Spielberg at the age of 16 and he directed it on a budget of $500. The film was his first commercial success, was shown at a local cinema and generated a profit of $1. "I counted the receipts that night [...] and we...
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| 1968 |
Amblin' Amblin' is a short film released in 1968. It is the first completed film shot by Steven Spielberg on 35mm. The film is a short love story set during the hippie era of the late '60s, about a young couple making their way through the desert to a paradisaical beach.-Plot:A young guy, carrying a...
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| 1971 |
Duel |
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| 1974 |
The Sugarland ExpressThe Sugarland Express is a 1974 American drama film starring Goldie Hawn and William Atherton. It is the first theatrical feature film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is about a husband and wife trying to outrun the law and was based on a true story. The event partially took place, the story is...
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| 1975 |
JawsJaws is a 1975 American horror/thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel Jaws. The police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant great white shark by closing the beach, only to be overruled by the town...
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| 1977 |
Close Encounters of the Third KindClose Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban and Cary Guffey. It tells the story of Roy Neary, an Indiana electrical lineman, whose life changes...
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| 1978 |
I Wanna Hold Your Hand I Wanna Hold Your Hand is a comedy film directed and co-written by Robert Zemeckis that takes its name from the 1963 Beatles song. It was produced and co-written by Bob Gale. The film is about "Beatlemania" and is a fictionalized account of the day of the Beatles' first appearance on the Ed...
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| 1979 |
19411941 is a period comedy film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by friends Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It starred John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd and premiered in December 1979...
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| 1980 |
The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers is a 1980 musical comedy directed by John Landis and starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues, characters developed from a musical sketch on the NBC variety series Saturday Night Live. It features musical numbers by R&B and soul singers James Brown,...
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{{yes}} |
Cook County Assessor's Office Clerk |
Used CarsUsed Cars is a 1980 comedy satire film. It stars Kurt Russell, Jack Warden , Deborah Harmon, and Gerrit Graham.Kurt Russell portrays a devious car salesman working for affable but monumentally unsuccessful used car dealer Luke Fuchs . Luke's principal rival, located directly across the street, is...
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| 1981 |
Continental Divide Continental Divide is a 1981 American romantic comedy. It was directed by Michael Apted from an original screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and produced by Steven Spielberg and stars John Belushi and Blair Brown...
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| Raiders of the Lost Ark Raiders of the Lost Ark is a action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford...
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| 1982 |
E.T. the Extra-TerrestrialE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Dee Wallace. It tells the story of Elliott , a lonely boy who befriends a friendly...
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| Poltergeist |
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| 1983 |
Twilight Zone: The MovieTwilight Zone: The Movie is a 1983 film produced by Steven Spielberg as a theatrical version of The Twilight Zone, a 1950s and 60s TV series created by Rod Serling. It starred Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, Vic Morrow, Scatman Crothers, Kathleen Quinlan, and John Lithgow...
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| 1984 |
GremlinsGremlins is an American comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante and released in 1984 by Warner Bros. It is about a young man who receives a strange creature named Gizmo as a pet, which then spawns other creatures who transform into small, destructive, evil monsters. This story was continued with...
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Man in Electric Wheelchair |
| Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a 1984 adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second film in the Indiana Jones franchise, and prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark . After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone...
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| Room 666 Room 666 is a 1982 documentary film directed by German film director Wim Wenders.At the 1982 Cannes Film Festival, Wenders set up a static camera in a hotel room and provided selected film directors a list of questions to answer concerning the future of cinema...
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{{yes}} |
Himself |
| 1985 |
Back to the FutureBack to the Future is a 1985 science fiction adventure film directed by Robert Zemeckis, co-written by Bob Gale and produced by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, as well as Christopher Lloyd, Crispin Glover, Lea Thompson and Thomas F. Wilson...
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{{yes}} |
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The Color PurpleThe Color Purple is a American period drama film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the eighth film directed by Spielberg and is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Alice Walker...
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The GooniesThe Goonies is a 1985 American adventure-comedy film directed by Richard Donner. The screenplay was written by Chris Columbus from a story by executive producer Steven Spielberg...
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| Young Sherlock Holmes Young Sherlock Holmes is a 1985 film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Chris Columbus. The movie depicts a young Sherlock Holmes and John Watson meeting and solving a mystery together at a boarding school.-Plot Synopsis:...
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| 1986 |
An American TailAn American Tail is a 1986 animated film produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, and directed by Don Bluth, originally released in movie theatres on November 21, 1986...
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| The Money Pit The Money Pit is a 1986 comedy film, and a remake of Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. Directed by Richard Benjamin and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, the film stars Tom Hanks as Walter Fielding Jr., an entertainment industry lawyer, Shelley Long as Anna Crowley, a violist, and...
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| 1987 |
*batteries not included *batteries not included is a 1987 family-science fiction film directed by Matthew Robbins about small extraterrestrial living machines that save an apartment block under threat from property development....
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Empire of the SunEmpire of the Sun is a 1987 coming of age war film based on J. G. Ballard's semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. Steven Spielberg directed the film, which stars Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson and Nigel Havers...
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| Harry and the Hendersons Harry and the Hendersons, a 1987 American film directed and produced by William Dear, and starring John Lithgow, Melinda Dillon, Lainie Kazan and Don Ameche, is the tragi-comic story of a family's encounter with the cryptozoological creature Bigfoot...
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| Innerspace Innerspace is a 1987 science fiction comedy film directed by Joe Dante and produced by Michael Finnell. Steven Spielberg served as executive producer. The film was inspired by the classic 1966 sci-fi film Fantastic Voyage. It stars Dennis Quaid, Martin Short, Meg Ryan, Robert Picardo, and Kevin...
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| 1988 |
The Land Before TimeThe Land Before Time is a 1988 theatrical animated film, directed by Don Bluth , and executive-produced by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Originally released by Universal Studios and Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, it features anthropomorphic dinosaurs living in a somewhat fantasy-based...
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| Who Framed Roger Rabbit Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Steven Spielberg and based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?. It was released by Walt Disney Pictures, under the Touchstone banner and co-produced by Amblin Entertainment...
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| 1989 |
Always |
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Back to the Future Part IIBack to the Future Part II is a 1989 film and a sequel to the 1985 film Back to the Future. Like the previous film, it was directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale...
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| Dad Dad is an 1989 comedy-drama based on William Wharton's novel of the same name. The movie stars Jack Lemmon, Ted Danson, Olympia Dukakis, Kevin Spacey and Ethan Hawke, and was written and directed by Gary David Goldberg...
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| Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is a 1989 comedy film. The directorial debut of Joe Johnston and released through Walt Disney Pictures and Silver Screen Partners III, the film tells the story of a professor who accidentally shrinks his kids and his neighbor's kids to 1/4 their size with his...
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Indiana Jones and the Last CrusadeIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third film in the Indiana Jones franchise. Harrison Ford reprises the title role and Sean Connery plays Indiana's father, Henry Jones, Sr...
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| 1990 |
Arachnophobia Arachnophobia is a 1990 American horror-comedy film directed by Frank Marshall and starring Jeff Daniels and John Goodman. It is about deadly spiders infesting a small California town, with the title referring to the fear of spiders...
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Back to the Future Part IIIBack to the Future Part III is a 1990 film and the third and final installment of the Back to the Future trilogy. The film is a science fiction western, using the time travel premise of the series to take Marty McFly and Dr. Emmett Brown back to the Old West of 1885.-Plot:The story continues from...
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| Gremlins 2: The New Batch Gremlins 2: The New Batch is a 1990 American comedy horror film, and a sequel to Gremlins . It was directed by Joe Dante and written by Charles S. Haas, with creature designs by Rick Baker...
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| Joe Versus the Volcano Joe Versus the Volcano is a 1990 comedy film starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.The first film directed by screenwriter John Patrick Shanley, it was also the first of three films pairing Hanks and Ryan. Despite positive reviews from some critics like Roger Ebert, Joe Versus the Volcano was considered...
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| Roller Coaster Rabbit |
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| 1991 |
A Wish for Wings That WorkA Wish for Wings That Work: An Opus Christmas Story was a children's book by Berkeley Breathed that was published in 1991. It was made into an animated television special that same year...
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An American Tail: Fievel Goes WestAn American Tail: Fievel Goes West is an animated film produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblimation animation studio and Universal Animation Studios, and released by Universal Pictures. It is the 1991 sequel to the 1986 film An American Tail, the second film released in the American Tail series, and...
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Cape FearCape Fear is a 1991 thriller film, directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a remake of the 1962 film of the same name and tells the story of a family man, a former public defender, whose family is threatened by a convicted rapist who wants vengeance for having been imprisoned for 14 years because of the...
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| Hook Hook is a 1991 family fantasy film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins, Charlie Korsmo and Amber Scott. Hook acts as a sequel to Peter Pan's original adventures, focusing on a grown-up Peter who has forgotten his childhood...
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| Listen Up!: The Lives of Quincy Jones |
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Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My VacationTiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation is a direct-to-video animated movie made in 1991, and released in 1992 from Warner Bros. Animation and Amblin Entertainment. The animation was done by Tokyo Movie Shinsha, a current Japanese animation studio...
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| 1992 |
The Magical World of Chuck Jones |
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| 1993 |
Jurassic ParkJurassic Park is a 1993 science fiction thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. The film centers on the fictional island of Isla Nublar, where scientists have created an amusement park of cloned dinosaurs...
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Schindler's ListSchindler's List is a 1993 American drama film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand Polish Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the novel Schindler's Ark by...
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| We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story is an animated film, produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblimation animation studio, distributed by Universal Pictures, and originally released to theatres for Christmas Day 1993...
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| 1994 |
The FlintstonesThe Flintstones is a 1994 live-action film directed by Brian Levant, and based on the prime time animated series of the same name. It is produced by Amblin Entertainment, Hanna-Barbera Productions and distributed by Universal Studios. The film was poorly received by critics but was a box-office...
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| 1995 |
Casper Casper is a 1995 live-action feature film starring Christina Ricci and Bill Pullman and based on the Casper the Friendly Ghost cartoons and comic strips. The ghosts featured in the film were created through computer-generated imagery.- Synopsis :...
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| Survivors of the Holocaust |
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| 1996 |
AFI Lifetime Achievement Awards: Clint Eastwood |
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BaltoBalto is a 1995 animated/live action film produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblimation animation studio, distributed by Universal Pictures, and originally released to movie theatres in 1995. Balto is based on a true story about the dog of the same name who helped save children from the diphtheria...
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| The Universal Story |
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| Twister |
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| 1997 |
Amistad |
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| Men in Black Men in Black is a 1997 science fiction-comedy-action film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith and Vincent D'Onofrio. The film was based on the Men in Black comic book series by Lowell Cunningham, originally published by Aircel Comics. The film featured the creature...
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The Lost World: Jurassic ParkThe Lost World: Jurassic Park is a science fiction thriller film, directed by Steven Spielberg. The film was produced by Bonnie Curtis, Kathleen Kennedy, Gerald R. Molen and Colin Wilson. The screenplay was penned by David Koepp, based on the 1995 novel The Lost World by Michael Crichton...
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| 1998 |
Saving Private Ryan Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 25 minutes, which depict the Omaha beachhead assault of June 6, 1944. Afterward,...
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| The Last Days The Last Days is a documentary, directed by James Moll and produced by June Beallor and Ken Lipper in 1998. Steven Spielberg was one of the executive producers, in his role as founder of the Shoah Foundation. The film tells the stories of five Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust...
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The Mask of ZorroThe Mask of Zorro is a 1998 swashbuckler film directed by Martin Campbell, and stars Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Stuart Wilson. In over 80 years since the creation of the Spanish masked swordsman, Banderas was the first Spanish actor to ever portray Zorro, who is...
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| Deep Impact Deep Impact is a 1998 sci-fi-drama disaster film released by Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks in the United States on May 8, 1998. The film was directed by Mimi Leder, and stars Elijah Wood, Téa Leoni, Morgan Freeman, and Robert Duvall...
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| 1999 |
Forever Hollywood |
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| The Last Movie: Stanley Kubrick & "Eyes Wide Shut" |
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| Wakko's Wish Wakko's Wish is a 1999 direct-to-video animated tragicomedy film based on the Warner Bros. 1993-98 animated series, Animaniacs. The film relocates all the Animaniacs characters to a quasi-medieval fairy tale world and portrays their race to find the wishing star that will grant them a...
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| 2000 |
Chuck Jones: Extremes and Inbetweens - A Life in Animation |
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| Shooting War Shooting War is a webcomic and graphic novel by writer Anthony Lappé and artist Dan Goldman. It originated on SMITH Magazine, a web magazine about storytelling in all its forms. The story is set in the year 2011 with John McCain as the American president. It tells the story of a video-blogger named...
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| 2001 |
A.I. Artificial Intelligence |
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| Jurassic Park III Jurassic Park III is a 2001 film and the third and final in the Jurassic Park franchise. It is the first film in the series that is neither based on a book by Michael Crichton nor directed by Steven Spielberg. The film takes place on Isla Sorna, the island from the second film, after a divorced...
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| Price for Peace: From Pearl Harbor to Nagasaki |
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| Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures is a 2001 documentary about the life and work of Stanley Kubrick, famed film director, made by his long-time assistant Jan Harlan...
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Vanilla SkyVanilla Sky is a 2001 American psychological thriller movie which has been variously characterized by published film critics as "an odd mixture of science fiction, romance, and reality warp", "part Beautiful People fantasy, part New Age investigation of the Great Beyond", a "love story, a struggle...
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Guest at David Aames' Party |
| 2002 |
Austin Powers in GoldmemberAustin Powers in Goldmember, released in 2002, is the third film of the Austin Powers series starring Mike Myers in the title role. The movie was directed by Jay Roach, and co-written by Mike Myers and Michael McCullers. Myers also plays the roles of Dr. Evil, Goldmember and Fat Bastard...
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Catch Me If You CanCatch Me If You Can is a 2002 comedy-drama crime film based on the life of Frank Abagnale Jr., who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars by posing as a Pan American World Airways pilot, a Georgia doctor and Louisiana attorney and parish prosecutor...
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| Men in Black II Men in Black II is a 2002 science fiction action comedy film starring Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith. The film also stars Lara Flynn Boyle, Johnny Knoxville, Rosario Dawson and Rip Torn...
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Minority ReportMinority Report is a science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg and loosely based on the short story "The Minority Report" by Philip K. Dick. It is set primarily in Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia in the year 2054, where "Precrime", a specialized police department, apprehends...
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| 2003 |
Double Dare |
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| 2004 |
Cecil B. DeMille: American Epic |
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| Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust |
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| The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing is a 2004 documentary film directed by filmmaker Wendy Apple. The film is about the art of film editing. Clips are shown from many groundbreaking films with innovative editing styles.-Cast:...
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The TerminalThe Terminal is a comedy-drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones. It is about a man trapped in a terminal at JFK International Airport when he is denied entry into the United States and at the same time cannot return to his native country due to a...
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| 2005 |
Boffo! Tinseltown's Bombs and Blockbusters |
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Memoirs of a GeishaMemoirs of a Geisha is a 2005 film adaptation of the novel of the same name, produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment and Spyglass Entertainment and by Douglas Wick's Red Wagon Productions. It was directed by Rob Marshall. It was released in the United States on December 9, 2005 by...
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| Munich Munich is a 2005 historical fiction film about the Israeli government's secret retaliation after the 1972 Munich massacre of Israeli Olympic athletes by Black September terrorists. The film stars Eric Bana and was co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg...
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The Legend of ZorroThe Legend of Zorro is a 2005 sequel to 1998's The Mask of Zorro, both directed by Martin Campbell. Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones reprise their roles as the titular hero and his spouse, and Rufus Sewell stars as the villain...
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War of the WorldsWar of the Worlds is a live action science fiction film adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel of the same name, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp. It stars Tom Cruise as Ray Ferrier, a dock worker estranged from his wife and children and living separately from them...
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| Directed by John Ford |
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| 2006 |
Flags of Our Fathers Flags of Our Fathers is a American war film directed, co-produced and scored by Clint Eastwood and written by William Broyles, Jr. and Paul Haggis...
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| I Only Wanted to Live |
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| Letters from Iwo Jima is a 2006 war film, directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood, starring Ken Watanabe and Kazunari Ninomiya. The film portrays the Battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers and is a companion piece to Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers, which depicts the same battle from the...
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Monster HouseMonster House is an Academy Award-nominated American 2006 computer animated fantasy film released on July 21, 2006. Executive produced by Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg, this is the first time since Back to the Future Part III that both have been involved together. It is the very first time...
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| Searching for Orson |
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| The Shark Is Still Working The Shark is Still Working is a 2 1/2 hour long retrospective on the impact and legacy of the 1975 Steven Spielberg blockbuster Jaws. It features interviews with a range of cast and crew from the film. It is narrated by Roy Scheider and dedicated to Peter Benchley...
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| 2007 |
Fog City Mavericks: The Filmmakers of San Francisco |
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| Spielberg on Spielberg |
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| Disturbia Disturbia is a American thriller film directed by D.J. Caruso and executive produced by Ivan Reitman. It is an updated version of Alfred Hitchcock's classic film Rear Window...
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| Transformers |
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| 2008 |
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull |
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| Eagle Eye Eagle Eye is a 2008 action/thriller film directed by D. J. Caruso and starring Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan. The two portray a young man and a single mother who are brought together and coerced by an anonymous caller into carrying out a plan by a possible terrorist organization...
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| 2009 |
The Trial of the Chicago 7 |
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Transformers: Revenge of the FallenTransformers: Revenge of the Fallen is an American science fiction action film released on June 19, 2009 in the United Kingdom and June 24, 2009 in North America, and was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on October 20, 2009. It is the sequel to 2007's Transformers and the second film in the live action...
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| The Lovely Bones The Lovely Bones is an upcoming film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Alice Sebold, set for release on December 11, 2009. The film was directed by Peter Jackson and stars actress Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon, with Rachel Weisz and Mark Wahlberg as her parents, Susan Sarandon as her...
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| 2011 |
Lincoln |
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When Worlds CollideWhen Worlds Collide is a 1933 science fiction novel co-written by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer; they both also co-authored the sequel After Worlds Collide...
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| The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn |
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| Interstellar |
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Film |
Director A film director, or filmmaker is a person who directs the making or production of a film. Some also consider a film producer to be a filmmaker....
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Producer A film producer or movie producer is someone who creates the scenes and conditions for making movies. The producer initiates, co-ordinates, supervises and controls matters such as fund-raising, hiring key personnel and arranging for distributors...
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Writer Screenwriters or scenarists or scriptwriters are people in a film crew who write/create the screenplays from which films and television programs are made....
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ActorAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
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Highest-grossing films
This is a list of the top 10 highest domestic-grossing films in which Spielberg has written, directed, or acted, according to
Box Office MojoBox Office Mojo is a website that tracks box office revenue in a systematic