A Biography Of Steven Spielberg
“I've always been very hopeful which I guess isn't strange
coming from me....”
“I don't dream at night, I dream at day, I dream all day;
I'm dreaming for a living.”
- By Steven Spielberg
Steven ‘Allan’ Spielberg was born on December 18, 1946 in
Cincinnati, Ohio. His mother was a concert pianist and his father was an
electrical engineer. He was attracted to films at a very young age itself. By
the time he finished his teens he had made a number of 8 mm films mostly
featuring World War II stories that his father used to tell him. Other than
that he also liked to make adventure movies which he shot in nearby parks and
restaurants.
At the age of 13, he set off with his father’s movie camera
and made a 40-minute film called’ Escape to Nowhere’ based on a battle in East
Africa. At 16 years of age he made a sci-fi adventure film called ‘Firelight’
on a $500 budget. In 1965, he graduated from Saratoga High School. Then he went
on to attend University of Southern California where he studied Theatre, Film
and Television. He was unsuccessful there and thus joined Universal Studios as
a seven-day-week unpaid intern.Here he worked in the editing department but his
name was never mentioned in the credits. He went on to make a 26-minute short
film called Amblin’ in 1968 which was also released in few theatres. This film
was liked by the top management at Universal Studios and he was signed to direct
a full-length film. Due to various complications the film didn’t take off but
soon he was hired to direct a segment for the first episode of television
series ‘Night Gallery’.
He got a chance to direct many short TV films before he made
his debut film ‘Sugarland Express’. Though the film was not a critical or
commercial success, he was praised for the cinematography. In 1975, he got a
chance to direct the film ‘Jaws’ which would go on to turn his fledgling career
upside down. This movie was a blockbuster hit collecting more than $450 million
at the worldwide box office. This movie had lots of delays and the budget went
haywire but Spielberg’s calm and confident demeanour helped him complete the
film successfully. In 1977, he went on
to make ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’. This film achieved both critical
and commercial acclaim. Next he joined hands with his close friend George Lucas
and went on to direct ‘Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark’. This film
grossed more than $380 million and made him one of the elite directors in
Hollywood. Then he produced and directed the film ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’
on a budget of $10.5 million. This film went on to gross more than $750 million
and became the highest grossing film of all time.
In 1993, he directed two of the greatest movies in his
Career, the out and out commercial movie ‘Jurassic Park’ and the dramatic
‘Schindler’s List’. ‘Schindler’s List’ got him his first Academy Award for Best
Director whereas ‘Jurassic Park’ went on to gross in excess of $900 million. In
1998, he went on to direct ‘Saving Private Ryan’ which gave him his second
Academy Best Actor Award. He went on to direct the sequels to the ‘Indiana
Jones’ Series which grossed a combined total of $2 billion. " Once a month the sky falls on my
head, I come to and I see another movie I want to make." - Steven Allan
SpielbergHe went on to produce and direct many blockbuster movies like ‘Catch
Me If You Can’, ‘The Terminal’, ‘Minority report’, ‘The Adventures of Tintin’
and ‘Lincoln’. As of 2013, Forbes has recorded his total wealth at $3.2
billion. He has been the recipient of various awards including three Academy
Awards.His creativity and innovation have been behind the mammoth success that
he has achieved over the years. He has become a national icon in America and is
one of the greatest film makers in World cinema.
“Whether in success or in failure, I'm proud of every single
movie I've directed.”
- By Steven Spielberg
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