Steven Spielberg

Steven Allan Spielberg (born on December 18, 1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio but raised in the suburbs of Haddonfield, New Jersey and Scottsdale, Arizona), is an American film director whose films range from science fiction to history drama to Horror film. He is noted in recent years for his willingness to tackle emotionally powerful issues, such as the horrors of the Holocaust in ''Schindler's List'', the inhumanity of slavery in ''Amistad (1997 movie)'', and the hardships of war in ''Saving Private Ryan''. One consistent theme (literary) in his work is a childlike, even na�ve sense of wonderment and faith, as attested by works like ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'', ''E.T._the_Extra-Terrestrial'', ''Hook_(movie)'' and ''A.I._(movie)''. ==The director, the man== Spielberg is the most finance successful motion picture director of all time. He has helmed an astounding number of feature films that have become enormous box-office hits, and this has given him enormous influence in Hollywood, California. As of 2004, he has been listed in ''Premiere (magazine)'' and other magazines as the most "powerful" and influential figure in the motion picture industry. He is seen as a figure who has the influence, financial resources, and acceptance of Hollywood studio authorities to make ''any'' movie he wants to make, be it a mainstream action-adventure movie (''Jurassic Park'') or a three-hour-long Black-and-white drama about a controversial history subject (''Schindler's List''). ==His beginnings== Spielberg is known by film historians as one of the famous "movie brats" of the 1970s: along with fellow filmmakers (and personal friends) George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, John Milius, and Brian De Palma, Spielberg grew up making movies. He was making amateur 8mm film "adventure" movies with his friends as a teenager (scenes from these amateur films have been included on the DVD edition of ''Saving Private Ryan''), and he made his first short film for theatrical release, ''Amblin''', in 1968 at the age of twenty one. (Spielberg's own production company, Amblin Entertainment, was named after this short film.) His maiden directorial work was a segment of the pilot film to Rod Serling's ''Night Gallery''. While working on this segment its star Joan Crawford collared a production executive and said, "Keep an eye on this kid, he's going places." After directing episodes of various TV shows, including some early ''Columbo'' TV movies, Spielberg directed his first well-known feature with a 1971 TV "movie-of-the-week" entitled Duel (movie) (later released to theatres overseas and eventually in the U.S.). This film, about a truck mysteriously terrorizing an average citizen, has become a Cult film, having been released on video several times over the years. ==Move to theatrical films== Spielberg's debut theatrical feature film, ''The Sugarland Express'' (takes place and filmed on location in Sugar Land, Texas and is about a husband and wife attempting to escape the law), won him critical praise and enough studio backing to be chosen as the director of a summer movie that would secure him a place in the history of motion pictures: ''Jaws (movie)'', a Horror film film based on the Peter Benchley novel about encounters with a killer shark. ''Jaws'' won four Academy Awards (for editing and sound), and grossed over US$100 million at the box office, setting the domestic record for box office gross. In 1976, Spielberg was asked by Alexander Salkind to direct ''Superman (movie)'', but decided instead to expand on a pet project he had on his mind since his youth: a film about Unidentified flying objects, which became ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' (1977). The film remains a cult sci-fi classic among its fans. The success Spielberg was beginning to enjoy, as well as his eventual tendency to make films with wide mainstream and commercial appeal, also subjected him to disdain in critical circles by film reviewers. For example, Spielberg's next film was ''1941 (movie)'', a big-budgeted World War II comedy farce set in Los Angeles, California days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, with the two top stars from ''Saturday Night Live'', Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, along with other all-stars. Although the film did make a small profit, it is considered by some to be Spielberg's first flop, although today it is also considered a cult film. An expanded version has been shown on network television and later on Laserdisc and DVD. ==Spielberg at his pinnacle== But what some would consider Spielberg's greatest film work was still to come, beginning in the 1980s. In 1981, Spielberg teamed up for the first time with his friend George Lucas to make ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'', his homage to the cliffhanger serials of the Golden Age of Hollywood, with Harrison Ford (whom Lucas directed in ''Star Wars'') as the dashing hero Indiana Jones. ''Raiders'' itself spawned two sequels, also directed by Spielberg and executive produced by Lucas. One year later, Spielberg returned to his alien visitors motif with ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'', a Walt Disney-inspired story of a boy and the alien whom he befriends (and is trying to get back "home" to outer space). ''E.T.'' went on to become the top-grossing film of all time for many years. When ''E.T.'' was released, Steven Spielberg, a Porsche 928 aficionado, had his car's moon-roof button re-designed with the movie's logo as both a gag for passengers, and a tribute to the movie's success. Despite their enormous appeal, few film scholars and critics place such Spielberg films as ''Raiders'' or ''E.T.'' in the same class as ''The Godfather'', ''Citizen Kane,'' or many other classics of the cinema. In 1985, Spielberg made ''The Color Purple,'' an adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Many critics were unsure of whether or not Spielberg could handle such serious material, as his output to that point had been viewed as "lighter" entertainment. The film was released to great acclaim and proved Spielberg's ability as a serious, dramatic filmmaker. It received 11 Academy Award nominations in 1986, but Spielberg was snubbed in the Academy Award for Best director category, which sent shockwaves through Hollywood. However, Spielberg was awarded the Directors Guild Award for his work on the film. Although nominated throughout his career for an Academy Award, the gold statuette had long eluded Spielberg, although in 1986 he was awarded The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award for his work as a creative producer up to that point. Spielberg had tried numerous times to film a live-action version of ''Peter Pan'' without success. He eventually decided to create his own take on the Pan legend in 1991. ''Hook (movie)'' focused on a middle-aged Pan (played by Robin Williams), who returns to Neverland to face the title character (Captain Hook, played by Dustin Hoffman). The over-budget film was not a box-office success. In 1993, Spielberg decided to once again tackle the adventure genre, as he released the movie version of Michael Crichton's novel ''Jurassic Park'', about killer dinosaurs rampaging through a tropical island resort. It would eventually overtake ''E.T.'' as the all-time top grossing film for several years (until James Cameron's ''Titanic (1997 movie)''). It was in that same year that Spielberg finally won the critical acclaim he had long sought for making ''Schindler's List'' (based on a novel about a man who sacrificed everything to save thousands of people from the wrath of the Holocaust). That film earned him his first regular Academy Award for Academy Award for Directing (it also won Academy Award for Best Picture). Another of Spielberg's most critically acclaimed films, ''Saving Private Ryan'', was released in 1998. Spielberg considered it one of his finest works, yet in a highly publicized "showdown", it lost the Best Picture Oscar at the 1999 Academy Awards to ''Shakespeare in Love''. ==Into a new century== In 2001, Spielberg filmed fellow director and friend Stanley Kubrick's final project, A.I. (movie), a project planned for many years but which Kubrick was unable to finish during his lifetime. The futuristic story of a humanoid android longing for love, ''A.I.'' featured groundbreaking visual effects, but unfortunately was not the blockbuster film Spielberg had hoped for. The film drew mixed reviews. In recent years, Spielberg has gained increased popularity through ''Minority Report (movie)'' (2002), starring Tom Cruise as a futuristic cop on the run from his own future; and ''Catch Me If You Can'' (also in 2002), a story about a con-man (with Leonardo di Caprio and Tom Hanks). Spielberg used Hanks again in 2004 for ''The Terminal'', the story of an Eastern Europe traveller living in an airport terminal. As of 2004, he has won two Academy Awards for Academy Award for Directing, one for ''Schindler's List'' and another for ''Saving Private Ryan''. In August 2004, Spielberg's newest project, a modernized adaptation of ''War of the Worlds'' was greenlight. Production started in October 2004 and is currently set for release on June 29, 2005. This movie will also feature Tom Cruise in a leading role. Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) will provide the special effects. As of March 2005, Spielberg is slated to direct the ''Untitled 1972 Munich Olympics Project'', formerly known as ''Vengeance''. This film is written by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Tony Kushner. ==Films by Spielberg== * ''War of the Worlds'' (2005) * ''The Terminal'' (2004) * ''Catch Me If You Can'' (2002) * ''Minority Report'' (2002) * ''A.I.: Artificial Intelligence'' (2001) * ''Saving Private Ryan'' (1998) (Academy Award, ''Best Director'') * ''The Lost World: Jurassic Park'' (1997) * ''Amistad (1997 movie)'' (1997) * ''Schindler's List'' (1993) (Academy Award, ''Best Director, Best Picture'') * ''Jurassic Park'' (1993) * ''Hook (movie)'' (1991) * ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' (1989) * ''Always (movie)'' (1989) * ''Empire of the Sun'' (1987) * ''The Color Purple'' (1985) * ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' (1984) * ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982) * ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981) * ''1941 (film)'' (1979) * ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' (1977) * ''Jaws (movie)'' (1975) * ''The Sugarland Express'' (1974) ''See also:'' :Category:Spielberg films ==Side projects== Spielberg has produced (without directing) a considerable number of films, and can be credited with launching the career of Robert Zemeckis. He is also a lover of animated cartoons, and has produced several hit cartoons (and a few flops), including ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', ''Animaniacs'', and ''Freakazoid''. He was also, for a short time, the executive producer of the long-running medical drama ''ER'' which currently airs on NBC. He is one of the co-founders of Dreamworks Studios (Dreamworks SKG, with Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen providing the other letters in the company name), which has released all of his movies since ''Amistad'' in 1997. Following the critical and box office success of ''Schindler's List'' in 1993, Spielberg founded and continues to finance the ''Shoah Project'', a non-profit organization with the goal of providing an archive for the filmed testimony of as many survivors of the Holocaust as possible, so that their stories will not be lost in the future. ==Personal== Spielberg is married to actress Kate Capshaw, whom he cast in ''Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom''. He has seven children—four biological: Max Spielberg (from his former marriage to actress Amy Irving), Sasha, Sawyer, and Destry Spielberg (from his current marriage to Capshaw); two adopted (Theo and Mikaela Spielberg); and one stepdaughter (Jessica Capshaw). ==Trivia== * While the films that Steven Spielberg directed have won numerous awards, no actor or actress has won an Academy Award for a performance for one of his films. * Spielberg had a cameo role as the Cook County, Illinois assessor in the last minutes of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers''. * In 1982 Ben Kingsley won Best Actor and Richard Attenborough won Best Director for the film Gandhi (film), which beat Steven Spielberg's film ''E.T.'' for Best Picture. Eleven years later, in 1993, Steven Spielberg cast Richard Attenborough as the grandfather in ''Jurassic Park'' (his first performance in 13 years) and Ben Kingsley in ''Schindler's List''. Steven Spielberg won Best Director and Best Picture Oscars that year. * Spielberg, an Eagle Scout, designed the requirements for the Boy Scout Cinematography merit badge. * The asteroid 25930 Spielberg is named in his honour. * Supports the Democratic Party (United States). * He went to Saratoga High School and quipped that it was the "''worst experience''" of his life and "''hell on Earth''". [http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/05.29.97/spielberg-9722.html] * In 2002 Spielberg was awarded a B.A. in Film Production and Electronic Arts with an option in Film/Video Production from California State University, Long Beach. He first enrolled at Long Beach State in 1965. * The A&E Network is expected to announce that it will produce a two-hour drama about the relationship between filmmakers George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. According to ''Daily Variety'', the biopic, tentatively titled ''Celluloid Titans'', is being executive producer by Jody Brockway. * For his work on the ''Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation'' since 1994, he was awarded with the Bundesverdienstkreuz, the Germany version of the ''Great Officer's Cross'', in September 1998 for "a very noticeable contribution to the issue of the Holocaust". ==Urban legends== Spielberg started a fanciful story of how he broke into Hollywood by sneakily squatting in an unoccupied office on the Universal Studios lot. In fact, he had an unpaid summer job on the lot. ==External links== * *[http://www.spielbergfilms.com spielbergfilms.com - Award-winning source for in-depth information about Spielberg and his work.] *[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1142446.stm ''Spielberg receives Royal honour''] * [http://www.snopes.com/movies/other/spielberg.asp Snopes article debunking the story of Spielberg squatting in an unoccupied office] *[http://www.waroftheworldsfilm.com/crew.shtml Steven Spielberg and War of the Worlds] 1946 births Best Director Oscar Daytime Emmy Award winners Forbes 400 Movie moguls People from Ohio People from Arizona U.S. film directors U.S. film producers Jewish film directors hi:स्टीवेन स्पीलबर्ग simple:Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg

==Asperger's syndrome== "Spielberg has been characterized as someone with Asperger's syndrome; while he certainly exhibited intense absorbtion in a special topic as a child, he was able to form friends, did not seem particularly lacking in empathy, and was not addicted to one-sided conversations, so this claim seems dubious at best." What's the source of this information? [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000229/bio IMBD] says that Spielberg has been diagnozed with Asperger's syndrome. You cannot refute it only by spreading false information about Asperger's syndrome, and then saying that Spieberg doesn't fit into your description of it. People with Asperger's syndrome don't lack empathy. It is an urban legend, it doesn't belong to the medical Asperger's syndrome criteria. Empathy means an ability to put one's soul into another person's feelings. Certainly Aspergers can do this, their only problem is that they may misunderstand the neurologically typical person's feelings or show empathy in ways that the neurologically typical person wouldn't expect. But the possibility to misunderstanding is mutual, so to be consistent you would have to also say that neurologically typical people lack empathy, because they have difficulties in understanding Asperger people. How about the one-sided conservations? Aspergers have difficulties to realize what is socially appropriate behaviour. (E.g to whom to say hi, how to respond to question "How are you?" etc) I know this because I have Asperger's syndrome. That's why Aspergers are probably more prone to one-sided conservations, but that doesn't mean that all Aspergers talk aloud as often as they desire. I have consciously met tens of Aspergers, and never noticed this kind of behaviour. I consider it odd behaviour. So I debunked more of your text. Asperger's ability to form friends is lower than neurologically typical person's. However, that doesn't mean that an Asperger wouldn't have any friends. But to get friends he have to either learn how neurotypicals act when they form friends (hard, this kind of behaviour doesn't come naturally from an Asperger), think up own methods (also hard and unsafe) or meet other Aspergers (they are rare). Now remove that precious section from the article and stop spreading offending misinformation (lack of empathy etc) about Aspergers! This kind of ignorance is the reason why I decided not to reveal my real name here. I'm already known as an Asperger in Wikipedia, and discrimination based this kind of misinformation is real! And don't call a person an Asperger, when he behaves rudely in Internet communities. (I'm not talking any more to the writer of the section, I'm talking to the whole world.) Asperger's syndrome isn't about intentional rudeness, but about lower ability to perceive unwritten social rules. -User:Hapsiainen 22:13, Oct 11, 2004 (UTC) :I have full high-functioning autism, and I concur wholeheartedly. People with autism spectrum disorders are not lesser people, and autism needn't be a nasty stigma. They are merely different people whose neurons develop differently from "neuro-typicals". If society were ever mostly autistic people, then neuro-typicals would be the different ones. You may form a personal opinion about Steven Spielberg, but you shall not defame his nature. He has true Asperger's syndrome — which is a difference, not necessarily a blight — and it is completely unnecessary to try to remotely undiagnose him. Accept him for who and what he is, because it's not going to change. - User:Gilgamesh 22:19, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC) :You know, the cited web site has just this: ''Diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome''. :If you look around the web, you find some contradictory information. It relates to him as a child. It relates to him as a young man, saying 'symptoms' (well, a symptom is something else - probably means a sign). The most convincing quote is Spielberg saying he has been 'tested'. Not a diagnosis, i.e. a medical term; most likely a psychological test. And Spielberg, apparently, agrees that the test showed AS. Well, I can believe that faced with a list of signs, and enough correlation, he might agree that that is indeed his make-up. But in this case, as in others, I think tremendous care is required in saying something honest and responsible. :User:Charles Matthews 13:58, 14 Oct 2004 (UTC) :Stephen Spielberg could not have received a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome as a child or young adult. AS only became a diagnosable condition outside of Germany and Austria after 1994! This indicates he does not have AS. The rumour appears to have developed in relation to Speilbergs connection with Mozart and the Whale, a film about a couple with AS. He was supposed to direct that film but withdrew shortly before filming started. :The only people supposed to be on the page, List of people with autism spectrum disorders, are those officially diagnosed and Aspies and Autists described by doctors in books and journals...not rumours, claims, TV or on the radio. This way it stops people arguing. :The reason for the more robust level of proof is that I have had complaints from a person who thinks Asperger's Syndrome = Geek. And that the page turned into a list of Geeks. But AS =/ Geek, some AS are Geeks and most Geeks are not AS. :Diamond Dave 08/11/2004 19:29 I have AS btw. ::AS can be diagnosed also when the person is an adult, although their parents' memories about the person's childhood behaviour are then useful. -User:Hapsiainen 22:28, Nov 8, 2004 (UTC) I wrote some rather lengthy comments about Spielberg and Asperger's Syndrome on another talk page Talk:List of persons with autism spectrum disorders, and thought it might be helpful to mention those comments here. In short, I am a special education teacher who works with autistic individuals, I live in California, and among other things, know firsthand that IMDB can be a very inaccurate reference at times. We absolutely should take these rumors about Spielberg and Asperger's with a grain of salt. Voicing solidarity with people who have autism, and perhaps wondering aloud if you were "in the spectrum" as a child, is not the same thing as getting a formal diagnosis. Link to the page to read more. User:Sandover 20:29, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC) == On removing "Back to the Future" == Spielberg did not direct "Back to the Future", Robert Zemeckis did. ---- ==About: "He is noted for the patriotism of his work"== User:Elpincha 22:24, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC) says: Huh? Both "Empire of the Sun" and "Private Ryan" are non-patriotic even though the temptation was there. "ET" and "Close Encounters" have a 60s anti-system tone to them as well. :I agree ... much of Spielberg's work transcends national borders to portray the human side of matters ... the "patriot" tag does not fit. User:CES 03:45, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC) ---- ==Abuse of others== :One consistent theme in his work is the abuse of others, whether it is a father abusing his children (physically or verbally) or a government agency abusing an entire class of people. What abuse is in ''Jaws'', ''Close Encounters'', ''Jurassic Park'', ''Hook''? User:Mandel 11:39, Dec 8, 2004 (UTC) ---- ==Films by Spielberg== Since this section in the article has the comment "The most famous films he directed", I suggest the list be pared down to the following movies: * ''Minority Report (movie)'' (2002) * ''A.I. (movie)'' (2001) * ''Saving Private Ryan'' (1998) * ''Schindler's List'' (1993) * ''Jurassic Park'' (1993) * ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' (1989) * ''The Color Purple'' (1985) * ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' (1984) * ''The Twilight Zone - The Movie (Episode: Kick the Can)'' (1983) * ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982) * ''Poltergeist movies'' (1982) (uncredited) * ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (also "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark") (1981) * ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' (1977) * ''Jaws'' (1975) The rest were little more than noise and did little to nothing at the box office (and are therefore not as famous). Some in the list he didn't even direct (such as ''Poltergeist movies''). Paring down the list is even more reasonable since we have a complete list of his works here on the 'pedia. Comments? User:Frecklefoot— User:Frecklefoot | User talk:Frecklefoot 16:21, Dec 9, 2004 (UTC) ==SeaQuest== Where does a mention of SeaQuest best fit? User:Alison9 05:19, 6 Feb 2005 (UTC) :I don't show Spielberg as being involved in that. Care to elaborate? User:Frecklefoot— User:Frecklefoot | User talk:Frecklefoot 18:27, Feb 7, 2005 (UTC) ==Urban Legend?== The article doesn't seem to have made up its mind about this story that Spielberg squatted in an empty office at Universal Studios while waiting for his big break. It's first presented as either true or likely true in the "Move to theatrical films" section, then labelled an urban legend at the end of the article. User:SS451 03:58, Mar 30, 2005 (UTC) :It's an urban legend, debunked on Snopes.com. Spielberg made it up himself and spread it. I'll check and fix the mentions in the article. User:Frecklefoot— User:Frecklefoot | User talk:Frecklefoot 15:25, Mar 30, 2005 (UTC)

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