Steven Spielberg

“He's such a master. He knows the language of the camera and of film making  which gives him a great freedom.”

 Max von Sydow. 

"He is considered one of the most popular and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema."

The cinema of Steven Spielberg: Empire of light. Nigel Morris. Wallflower Press. 2007. 

Why Steven Spielberg?

Spielberg does not specialise in horror movies but it is because of his versatility that I am such a big fan. He has directed movies of all genres which have all been hits in the box-office, for example, ‘The Exorcist’ which is a supernatural horror and ‘ET’ which is sci-fi. 

Spielberg's Personal Life...

• Steven Allan Spielberg was born on 18^th December 1946 in Cincinnati Ohio.
   ·        Raised into a Jewish family by his mother Leah Adler, restaurateur and concert pianist, and his farther, an electrical engineer who was involved in the development of computers.
  ·        Spielberg was fascinated with filming and spent his childhood making adventure films with his friends and he used his Lionel train set to stage wrecks in order to make an interesting narrative. Spielberg would then charge admissions to his home films, showing he had an eye for the business from an early age.
  ·        We see his childhood incorporated into his latest movies, for example in Super 8; we see a group of boys who take part in helping their friend film a movie for a competition but they then get distracted by a horrific train wreck.
  ·       Due to his Jewish heritage Spielberg often suffered anti-Semitic prejudice and often admitted he was ‘embarrassed’ to be Jewish as he would get ‘smacked and kicked around.’

Spielberg's Career...

·        Spielberg’s career began at age 13 where he won a prize for a 40 minute, 8milimeter, war film titled ‘Escaped to Nowhere’. He often made movies based on WWII as he was inspired by his father’s war stories.

·      At age 16 Spielberg directed his first independent film titled ‘Firelight’. The movie was a sci-fi adventure and had a budget of $500. Once completed it was shown in his local cinema theatres and altogether accumulated a profit of $1.

·        Spielberg’s commercial breakthrough occurred in 1977 with the release of ‘Close encounters with the third kind’.  Even though he had directed many moves before this such as ‘Jaws’ and ‘The exorcist’, ‘close encounters’ gave Spielberg his first best director nomination from the academy awards. 

·        Soon after Spielberg continued to bring out hit box office movies like ‘E.T’ and ‘Raiders of the lost ark’ and he began to thrive in the 1980’s and throughout till the present day. 

Spielberg Quotes...

 A lot of the films I've made probably could have worked just as well 50 years ago, and that's just because I have a lot of old-fashion values. 

And I may often question choices I make as a producer. But I've never questioned the choices I make as a director.

I always like to think of the audience when I am directing. Because I am the audience.

Spielberg's Trademark Style...

• A common theme in many of his films is ordinary people who discover something extraordinary - people, places, props, creatures, etc. This adds to the idea that Spielberg feels that he 'dreams for a living'.
• His films often show children in some sort of danger
• He uses powerful flashlights in dark scenes. The outline of the beam is often made visible through dust, mist, or fog.

Below are a few videos which show Steven Spielberg talking about his work and style, especially his story boarding and what he finds is the toughest thing for a director. 

Spielberg continues to produce blockbuster hits and creates unforgettable moments such as the magical E.T 'go home' scene. His versatility is what makes him a huge inspiration on my own work.