Masters of Cinema : Steven Spielberg

                                  Steven Spielberg is the most successful director of our age and one of the most acclaimed of any era. His movies amuse and amaze us, startle and move us, make us laugh, cry, think and dream-in some cases all at once. It is very easy to say that Steven Spielberg had the gene for directing movies from the time he was still a child. This billion dollar film director does not only hold the record for being one of the best that Hollywood has seen in so far but he has also shown a versatility, dealt with story-lines on war to slavery and terrorism. 

• Steven Spielberg was born December 18, 1946, in Cincinnati, Ohio.When young, he focused on making films: amateur 8 mm adventure and horror movies, often featuring his family and friends. His first professional short film was Amblin', which later became the name for his production company, Amblin Entertainment.

• When he was a child, he sneaked onto the lot of Universal Studios during a tour and befriended an editor who showed him a few things about film-making.

• He went to California State University, but dropped out to pursue his entertainment career. He gained notoriety as an uncredited assistant editor. He first made his mark in television in 1969. Spielberg's first feature-length effort, 1971's Duel, a taut thriller, was widely acclaimed as one of the best movies ever made for television. 

• Trade Mark : He often uses images of the sun. His films often show children in some sort of danger. His films are almost always edited by 'Michael Kahn' and scored by John Williams.
   Since Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), all of his movies have featured visual effects. The only exception has been The Terminal (2004).

• Received American Film Institute Life Achievement Award. Received the Germany's Cross of Merit with star for his sensible representation of Germany's history in Schindler's List (1993). Was voted the 11th Greatest Director of all time by Entertainment Weekly. Ranked #1 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Greatest directors ever!" 

• Is among the richest individuals in Hollywood. Has an estimated fortune of $2.8 billion ($2,800,000,000), according to the "Los Angeles Business Journal". The size of his fortune him the 14th richest person in the Los Angeles area and likely the wealthiest producer-director in the world.

• When asked what are the films he's made he would like to be remembered for, he said E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and Schindler's List .

• Though he has directed 9 actors in Oscar-nominated performances, to date he has never directed an Oscar-winning performance. Spielberg has been nominated for six Academy Awards for Best Director, winning twice, for Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. Seven of his films have been nominated for Best Picture (Schindler's List won).

•  In the 5th edition of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (edited by Steven Jay Schneider), 8 of Spielberg's films are listed: Jaws (1975), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), The Color Purple (1985), Jurassic Park (1993), Schindler's List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998).

• Favorite indoor relaxation pursuits are watching golf on TV and playing his computer game "Assassin's Creed".

Spielberg's Quotes :

"The older I get, the more I look at movies as a moving miracle. Audiences are harder to please if you're just giving them special effects, but they're easy to please if it's a good story. The audience is also the toughest critic - a good story that exists in your world may not be the first choice for an audience. So I just do the best I can."

"I don't work weekends. Weekends are for my kids. And I have dinner at home every night when I'm not physically directing a movie - I get home by six. I put the kids to bed and tell them stories and take them to school the next morning. I work basically from 9.30 to 5.30 and I'm strict about that. "


"All those horrible, traumatic years I spent as a kid became what I draw from creatively today."

"I interpret my dreams one way and make a movie out of them and people see my movies and make them part of their dreams."

                                                       For Spielberg, movies are his passion, and his compassion has made him a generous philanthropist. He works with the Star-bright Children Foundation which aims at giving sick children better lives through the use of entertainment. Spielberg is an entertainer, an artist and a humanist. The majority of his films "work on every level that a film can reach," wrote movie critic, Roger Ebert, because Spielberg has a "direct line to our subconscious." 

Steven Spielberg - Wikipedia