tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55897327867116022232024-03-13T12:07:34.765-07:00Steven SpielbergSteven Spielberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15311019737498857985noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589732786711602223.post-39423160092466727242010-12-15T12:02:00.000-08:002010-12-15T12:02:11.658-08:00Early Life –<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">S</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">pielberg was born in<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Cincinnati</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">Ohio</st1:state></st1:place>, to a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Jewish<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>family. His mother Leah Adler was a restaurateur and concert<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>pianist, and father Arnold Spielberg was an electrical engineer involved in the development of computers.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>He spent his childhood in<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><st1:city w:st="on">Haddon Heights</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">New Jersey</st1:state><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and <st1:city w:st="on">Scottsdale</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">Arizona</st1:state>; an upscale city in the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Phoenix</st1:city></st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>metroplex. 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 <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Scottsdale</st1:city></st1:place>. 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.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">In 1958, he became a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Boy Scout<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and fulfilled a requirement for the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>photography merit badge<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>by making a nine-minute 8 mm film entitled<span class="apple-converted-space"> The Last Gunfight</span>.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>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<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>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."<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>At age 13, Spielberg won a prize for a 40-minute war film he titled,<span class="apple-converted-space"> Escape to Nowhere</span>. In 1963, at age 16, Spielberg wrote and directed his first independent film, a 140-minute<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>science fiction<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>adventure called<span class="apple-converted-space"> Firelight </span>(which would later inspire<span class="apple-converted-space"> Close Encounters</span>). The film, which had a budget of US$500, was shown in his local<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>cinema theatre<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and generated a profit of $1.00.He also made several WWII films inspired by his father's war stories.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">After his parents divorced, he moved to<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Saratoga</st1:city>,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><st1:state w:st="on">California</st1:state></st1:place><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>with his father. His three sisters and mother remained in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Arizona</st1:state></st1:place>, where he attended<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Passover Seders<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>at the home of Zalman and Pearl Segal on an annual basis.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Although he attended<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><st1:placename w:st="on">Arcadia</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">High School</st1:placetype><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>in <st1:city w:st="on">Phoenix</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">Arizona</st1:state> for three years, Spielberg ended up graduating from<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><st1:placename w:st="on">Saratoga</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">High School</st1:placetype><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>in<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Saratoga</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">California</st1:state></st1:place> in 1965. It was during this time Spielberg attained the rank of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Eagle Scout.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Spielberg attended synagogue as a young boy in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Haddon Heights</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">NJ</st1:state></st1:place>, an area which did not allow Jews before World War II. He attended Hebrew school from 1953 to 1957, in classes taught by Rabbi<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Albert L. Lewis,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>who would later be memorialized as the main character in Mitch Albom's,<span class="apple-converted-space"> Have a Little Faith</span>.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">As a child, Spielberg had a hard time accepting his family's religion. “It isn’t something I enjoy admitting,” he once said, “but when I was 7, 8, 9 years old, God forgive me, I was embarrassed because we were Orthodox Jews. I was embarrassed by the outward perception of my parents’ Jewish practices. ... I was never really ashamed to be Jewish, but I was uneasy at times. My grandfather always wore a long black coat, black hat and long white beard. I was embarrassed to invite my friends over to the house, because he might be in a corner davening [praying], and I wouldn’t know how to explain this to my WASP friends.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Spielberg also suffered from acts of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>anti-Semitic<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>prejudice in his early life. He later said, "In high school, I got smacked and kicked around. Two bloody noses. It was horrible."<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">After moving to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">California</st1:state></st1:place>, he applied to attend the film school at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>University of Southern California<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>School of Theater, Film and Television three separate times, but was unsuccessful. He was a student subsequently of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><st1:placename w:st="on">California</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype>, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Long Beach</st1:city></st1:place>. While attending <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Long Beach</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place> in the 1960s, Spielberg became member of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>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<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>trustee<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>of the university.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>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.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">As an intern and guest of Universal Studios, Spielberg made his first short film for theatrical release, the 24 minute film Amblin’<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>(1968),<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>the title of which Spielberg later took as the name of his production company,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Amblin Entertainment. 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 <st1:place w:st="on">Hollywood</st1:place> studio (Universal). He dropped out of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Long Beach</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place> in 1969 to take up the television director contract at Universal Studios and began his career as a professional director.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>In 1969,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Variety<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>announced that Spielberg would direct his first full length film,<span class="apple-converted-space"> Malcolm Winkler</span>, 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.</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>Steven Spielberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15311019737498857985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589732786711602223.post-1880529281673680112010-12-15T12:01:00.000-08:002010-12-15T12:03:46.477-08:00Career --<div style="margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><b>Early Career (1968-1975) –</b></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5lJ1uezDGfo/TQkfBDNxXWI/AAAAAAAAAAM/Xwu-k9tgKVk/s1600/post+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="534" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5lJ1uezDGfo/TQkfBDNxXWI/AAAAAAAAAAM/Xwu-k9tgKVk/s640/post+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="line-height: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">H</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">is first professional TV job came when he was hired to do one of the segments for the 1969 pilot episode of<span class="apple-converted-space"> Night Gallery</span>. The segment, "Eyes," starred<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Joan Crawford<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>, 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, Spielberg got his first feature-length assignment: an episode of<span class="apple-converted-space"> The Name of the Game </span>called "<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">L.A.</st1:city></st1:place> 2017." This futuristic science fiction episode impressed Universal Studios and they signed him to a short contract. He did another segment on<span class="apple-converted-space"> Night Gallery </span>and did some work for shows such as<span class="apple-converted-space"> Owen Marshall : Counselor at Law </span>and<span class="apple-converted-space"> The Psychiatrist </span>before landing the first series episode of<span class="apple-converted-space"> Columbo </span>(previous episodes were actually TV films).<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div></div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Based on the strength of his work, Universal signed Spielberg to do four TV films. The first was a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Richard Matheson<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>adaptation called<span class="apple-converted-space"> Duel </span>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<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Dilys Powell<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>was highly significant to Spielberg's career. Another TV film (Something Evil) was made and released to capitalize on the popularity of The Exorcist, 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<span class="apple-converted-space"> Savage</span>, starring<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Martin Landau. Spielberg's debut theatrical feature film was<span class="apple-converted-space"> The Sugarland Express</span>, 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<span class="apple-converted-space"> The Hollywood Reporter </span>stated that "a major new director is on the horizon."<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>However, the film fared poorly at the box office and received a limited release.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Studio producers<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Richard Zanuck<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>David Brown<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>offered Spielberg the director's chair for<span class="apple-converted-space"> Jaws</span>, a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>thriller-horror film<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>based on the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Peter Benchley<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>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.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">But Spielberg persevered and finished the film. It was an enormous hit, winning three<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Academy Awards<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>(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."<span class="apple-converted-space"> Jaws </span>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.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>It was nominated for Best Picture and featured Spielberg's first of three collaborations with actor<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Richard Dreyfuss.</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>Steven Spielberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15311019737498857985noreply@blogger.com0