Spielberg was born on December 18, 1946, inCincinnati, Ohio.[9][10] His mother, Leah Adler (née Posner),[11] was a concert pianist and ran akosher dairy restaurant,[12] and his father,Arnold,[13] was an electrical engineer involved in the development of computers. His immediate family were[14]Reform Jewish/Orthodox Jewish.[15][16] Spielberg's paternal grandparents wereJews from Ukraine;[17][18] his grandmother Rebecca (née Chechik), was fromSudylkiv, and his grandfather Shmuel Spielberg was fromKamianets-Podilskyi.[19][20] Spielberg has three younger sisters:Anne, Sue, and Nancy.[21] At their home in Cincinnati, his grandmother taught English to Holocaust survivors. They, in turn, taught him numbers:
One man in particular, I kept looking at his numbers–his number tattooed on his forearm ... he started – you know, when–during the dinner break, when everybody was eating and not learning, he would point to the numbers. And he would say, that is a two, and that is a four. And then he'd say, and this is a eight, and that's a one. And I'll never forget this. And he said, and that's a nine. And then he crooked his arm and inverted his arm and said, and see, it becomes a six. It's magic. And now it's a nine, and now it's a six, and now it's a nine and now it's a six. And that's really how I learned my numbers for the first time ... the irony of all that, and the gift of that lesson, never really dawned on me until I was much older.[14]
In 1952, his family moved toHaddon Township, New Jersey, after his father was hired byRCA.[22] Spielberg attended Hebrew school from 1953 to 1957, in classes taught by RabbiAlbert L. Lewis.[23] In early 1957, the family moved toPhoenix, Arizona.[24][25] Spielberg had abar mitzvah ceremony when he was thirteen.[26] His family was involved in the synagogue and had many Jewish friends.[27] Ofthe Holocaust, he said that his parents "talked about it all the time, and so it was always on my mind".[27] His father had lost between sixteen and twenty relatives in the Holocaust.[20] Spielberg found it difficult accepting his heritage; he said: "It isn't something I enjoy admitting... but when I was seven, eight, nine 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."[28][29] Spielberg was the target ofantisemitism: "In high school, I got smacked and kicked around. Two bloody noses. It was horrible."[28][30][20] He gradually followed Judaism less during adolescence, after his family had moved to various neighborhoods and found themselves to be the only Jews.[31][32]
Spielberg recalls his parents taking him to seeCecil B. DeMille'sThe Greatest Show on Earth (1952). He had never seen a movie before, and thought they were taking him to the circus. He was terrified by the movie's train crash, and at age 12, he recreated it with hisLionel trains and filmed it. He recalls: "The trains went around and around, and after a while that got boring, and I had this eight-millimeter camera, and I staged a train wreck and filmed it. That was hard on the trains, but then I could cut the film lots of different ways and look at it over and over again." This was his first home movie.[33][34] In 1958, he became aBoy Scout, eventually attaining the rank ofEagle Scout.[35] He fulfilled a requirement for the photographymerit badge by making a nine-minute8 mmWestern,The Last Gunfight.[36][37] Spielberg used his father's movie camera to make amateur features, and began taking the camera along on every Scout trip.[38] At age 13, Spielberg made a 40-minutewar film,Escape to Nowhere, with a cast of classmates. The film won first prize in a statewide competition.[39][40] Throughout his early teens, and after entering high school, Spielberg made about fifteen to twenty 8 mm adventure films.[41][42] He recalls that
my dad told me stories about World War II constantly... I knew, based on the stories my dad and his friends were telling about World War II, that there was no glory in war. And it was ugly, and it was cruel ... it was, you know, visually devastating. And so I thought, someday, if I ever do make a war movie for real, it's got to be something that tells the truth about what those experiences had been for those young 17-, 18-, 19-year-old boys storming Omaha Beach, let's say.[14]
After taking a tour bus toUniversal Studios, a chance conversation with an executive led to Spielberg getting a three-day pass to the premises. On the fourth day, he walked up to the studio gates without a pass, and the security guard waved him in: "I basically spent the next two months at Universal Studios ... that was how I became an unofficial apprentice that summer."[53][54] His family later moved toSaratoga, California, where he attendedSaratoga High School.[55] A year later, his parents divorced. Spielberg moved to Los Angeles to stay with his father,[56] while his three sisters and mother remained in Saratoga. He recalls:
My parents split up when I was 15 or 16 years old, and I needed a special friend, and had to use my imagination to take me to places that felt good – that helped me move beyond the problems my parents were having, and that ended our family as a whole. And thinking about that time, I thought, an extraterrestrial character would be the perfect springboard to purge the pain of your parents' splitting up.[33]
He recalls his mother had "a huge adventurous personality. We always saw her asPeter Pan, the kid who never wanted to grow up, and she sort of saw herself that way. I think my mom lived a lot of childhoods in her ninety-seven years."[14] He was not interested in academics, aspiring only to be a filmmaker.[57] He applied to theUniversity of Southern California's film school but was turned down because of his mediocre grades.[58] He then applied and enrolled atCalifornia State University, Long Beach, where he became a brother ofTheta Chi fraternity.[59] In 1968, Universal gave Spielberg the opportunity to write and direct a short film for theatrical release, the 26-minute35 mmAmblin'. Studio vice presidentSidney Sheinberg was impressed and offered Spielberg a seven-year directing contract.[60] A year later, he dropped out of college to begin directing television productions for Universal,[61] making him the youngest director to be signed to a long-term plan with a major Hollywood studio.[62] Spielberg returned to Long Beach in 2002, where he presentedSchindler's List to complete hisBachelor of Arts in Film and Electronic Media.[63]
He recalls a formative encounter with one of his favorite filmmakers,John Ford, who said: "So they tell me you want to be a picture maker. You see those paintings around the office?" Spielberg said he did. John Ford pointed to a painting and asked, "Where's the horizon?" Spielberg said it was at the top. Ford asked him where it was in another painting. Spielberg said it was at the bottom. Ford said, "When you're able to distinguish the art of the horizon at the bottom of a frame or at the top of the frame, but not going right through the center of the frame, when you can appreciate why it's at the top and why it's at the bottom, you might make a pretty good picture maker."[64]
Career
1969–1974: Television work and film debut
Spielberg made his professional debut with "Eyes", a segment ofNight Gallery (1969) scripted byRod Serling and starringJoan Crawford.[65] Initially, there was skepticism from Crawford and studio executives regarding Spielberg's inexperience. Despite Spielberg's efforts to implement advanced camerawork techniques, studio executives demanded a more straightforward approach. His initial contributions received mixed responses, leading Spielberg to briefly step back from studio work.[66] Crawford, reflecting on her collaboration with Spielberg, recognized his potential, noting his unique intuitive inspiration. She expressed her appreciation for Spielberg's talent in a note to him and also communicated her approval to Serling. Crawford's endorsement highlighted Spielberg's early recognition in Hollywood despite initial hesitations regarding his experience.[67]
In the early 1970s, Spielberg unsuccessfully tried to raise financing for his own low-budget films. He co-wrote and directed teleplays forMarcus Welby, M.D.,The Name of the Game,Columbo,Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law andThe Psychiatrist.[68] TheColumbo episode he would direct would be the show's inaugural, non-pilot episode "Murder by the Book".[69] Although unsatisfied with his work,[70] Spielberg used the opportunity to experiment with his techniques and learn about filmmaking. He earned good reviews and impressed producers; he was earning a steady income and relocated toLaurel Canyon, Los Angeles.[68]
Impressed,Universal signed Spielberg to do four television films.[71] The first wasDuel (1971), adapted fromRichard Matheson's short story of the same name, about a salesman (Dennis Weaver) being chased down a highway by a psychotictanker truck driver.[72] Executives decided to promote the film on television from its quality. Reviews were positive, and Universal asked Spielberg to shoot more scenes so thatDuel could be released theatrically to international markets.[73] "Deservedly so" writesDavid Thomson, "for it stands up as one of the medium's most compelling spirals of suspense. The ordinariness of the Dennis Weaver character and the monstrous malignance of the truck confront one another with a narrative assurance that never needs to remind us of the element offable."[74]Duel, which would mark Spielberg's debut as a film director, would first air on Barry Diller'sABC Movie of the Week before having an international theatrical release as well.[75][76] More TV films followed:Something Evil (1972), which aired on CBS,[77] andSavage (1973), which aired on NBC;[78] however, unlikeDuel, neither of these two films would manage to also have a theatrical run.
Spielberg made his official theatrical debut withThe Sugarland Express (1974), based on a true story about a married couple on the run, desperate to regain custody of their baby from foster parents.[79] The film starredGoldie Hawn andWilliam Atherton and marked the first of many collaborations with the composerJohn Williams.[80] Although the film was awarded Best Screenplay at the1974 Cannes Film Festival, it was not a commercial success,[81] which Spielberg blamed on Universal's inconsistent marketing.[82] The film opened in four hundred theaters in the US to positive reviews;Pauline Kael wrote "Spielberg uses his gifts in a very free-and-easy, American way—for humor, and for a physical response to action. He could be that rarity among directors, a born entertainer—perhaps a new generation'sHoward Hawks."[83]The Hollywood Reporter wrote that "a major new director is on the horizon".[84]
LikeCoppola onThe Godfather, Spielberg asserted his own role and deftly organized the elements into a roller coaster entertainment without sacrificing inner meanings. The suspense of the picture came from meticulous technique and good humor about its own surgical cutting. You have only to submit to the travesty ofJaws 2 to realize how much more engagingly Spielberg saw the ocean, the perils, the sinister beauty of the shark, and the vitality of its human opponents.
After declining an offer to makeJaws 2,[89] Spielberg and Dreyfuss reunited to work on a film aboutUFOs,Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Spielberg used65 mm film for the best picture quality, and a new live-action recording system so that the recordings could be duplicated later.[90][91] He cast one of his favorite directors,François Truffaut, as the scientist Claude Lacombe and worked with special effects expertDouglas Trumbull. It marked the first of many collaborations between Spielberg and editorMichael Kahn.[92] One of the rare films both written and directed by Spielberg,Close Encounters was very popular with filmgoers[93] and won Academy Awards forBest Cinematography (Vilmos Zsigmond) andBest Sound Effects Editing (Frank Warner).[94]Stanley Kauffmann wrote: "I sawClose Encounters at its first public showing in New York, and most of the audience stayed on and on to watch the credits crawl lengthily at the end. For one thing, under the credits the giant spaceship was returning to the stars. For another, they just didn't want to leave this picture. For still another, they seemed to understand the importance of those many names to what they had just seen." Kauffmann placed it first on his list of the best American films from 1968 to 1977.[95] ReviewingClose Encounters, Kael called Spielberg "a magician in the age of movies".[96]
His next directorial work was1941 (1979), an action-comedy written byRobert Zemeckis andBob Gale about Californians preparing for a Japanese invasion after theattack on Pearl Harbor. Spielberg was self-conscious about doing comedy as he had no prior experience in the genre.[97] Universal and Columbia agreed to co-finance the film.1941 grossed more than $92.4 million worldwide upon release,[98] but most critics, and the studio heads, disliked it.[97]Charles Champlin described1941 as "the most conspicuous waste since the last major oil spill, which it somewhat resembles".[99]
Spielberg returned to science fiction withE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). It tells the story of Elliot (Henry Thomas), a young boy who befriends an alien who was accidentally left behind by his companions and is attempting to return home. Spielberg eschewedstoryboards so that his direction would be more spontaneous, and shot roughly in sequence so that the actors' performances would be authentic as they bonded with and said goodbye toE.T.Richard Corliss wrote, "This was the closing-night attraction at the1982 Cannes Film Festival, a venue not known for blubbering sentiment. At the end, as the little critter bade his farewells and theJules Verne-like space ship left the ground, the audience similarly levitated. One heard the audience's childlike applause; one felt their spirits lift. This was rapture made audible, palpable ... Spielberg orchestrated the movements of the camera and the puppet spaceman with the feelings of—it has to be called love—expressed in young Henry Thomas' yearning face. E.T. was the first film character to be a finalist inTIME's Man of the Year sweepstakes. It would have been fine with me if the little creature, this lovely film, had won."[105]
A special screening was organized forRonald andNancy Reagan, who were emotional by the end.[106]E.T. grossed $700 million worldwide.[106] It won four Academy Awards:Best Original Score (John Williams), Best Sound (Robert Knudson,Robert Glass,Don Digirolamo andGene Cantamessa), Best Sound Editing (Charles L. Campbell and Ben Burtt) and Best Visual Effects (Carlo Rambaldi,Dennis Muren andKenneth F. Smith).[107] Kael wrote of E.T., "His voice is ancient and otherworldly but friendly, humorous. And this scaly, wrinkled little man with huge, wide-apart, soulful eyes and a jack-in-the-box neck has been so fully created that he's a friend to us, too; when he speaks of his longing to go home the audience becomes as mournful as Elliot. Spielberg has earned the tears that some people in the audience—and not just children—shed. Genuinely entrancing movies are almost as rare as extraterrestrial visitors."[108] Spielberg co-wrote and producedPoltergeist (Tobe Hooper, 1982), released the same summer asE.T.[102] WithJohn Landis, he co-produced the anthology filmTwilight Zone: The Movie (1983), contributing the "Kick the Can" segment.[109]
Spielberg andChandran Rutnam in Sri Lanka during the filming ofIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
His next feature film was theRaiders of the Lost ArkprequelIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). Working again with Lucas and Ford, the film was shot in the United States, Sri Lanka and China.[110] The film was darker than its predecessor, and led to the creation of thePG-13 rating because some content was deemed unsuitable for children under 13.[111] Spielberg later said that he was unhappy withTemple of Doom because it lacked his "personal touches and love".[112] Nonetheless, the film was a blockbuster hit,[113] won the Academy Award for Best Special Effects and received mostly good reviews.[112] Kael preferred it to the original, writing, "Spielberg is like a magician whose tricks are so daring they make you laugh. He creates an atmosphere of happy disbelief: the more breathtaking and exhilarating the stunts are the funnier they are. Nobody has ever fused thrills and laughter in quite the way that he does here. He starts off at full charge in the opening sequence and just keeps going". She conceded that it was less "sincere" thanRaiders, adding "that's what is so good about it."[114] On this project Spielberg met his future wife,Kate Capshaw, who played Willie Scott.[115] Spielberg recalled, "The second film I could have done a lot better if there had been a different story. It was a good learning exercise for me to really throw myself into a black hole. I came out of the darkness ofTemple Of Doom and I entered the light of the woman I was eventually going to marry and raise a family with."[116]
As China underwent economic reform and opened up to the American film industry, Spielberg madeEmpire of the Sun (1987), the first American film shot inShanghai since the 1930s.[124] It is an adaptation ofJ. G. Ballard's autobiographicalnovel about Jamie Graham (Christian Bale), a young boy who goes from being the son of a wealthy British family in Shanghai to aprisoner of war in a Japaneseinternment camp duringWorld War II.David Lean was originally set to direct, with Spielberg producing. It was written by playwrightTom Stoppard and co-starredJohn Malkovich as an American expatriate. Critical reaction was mixed at the time of release; criticism ranged from the "overwrought" plot to Spielberg's downplaying of "disease and starvation".[125][126] However,Andrew Sarris named it the best film of the year and later included it among the best of the decade.[127] The film was nominated for six Academy Awards,[128] but was a disappointment at the box office; Ian Alterman ofThe New York Times thought it was overlooked by audiences.[129] Spielberg recalled thatEmpire of the Sun was one of his most enjoyable films to make.[130] Thomson called it "a great work through and through" and "the first clear sign that Spielberg the showman was an artist, too."[131]
Spielberg, March 1990
In 1989, Spielberg intended to directRain Man, but instead directedIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade to meet his contractual obligations.[132] Producer Lucas and star Ford returned for the film. A longtimeJames Bond fan, Spielberg castSean Connery as Jones's father,Henry Jones, Sr.[130] Due to complaints about violence inTemple of Doom, Spielberg returned to more family-friendly fare for the third installment.[133]Last Crusade received mostly positive reviews and was a box-office success, earning $474 million; it was his biggest hit sinceE.T.[134] BiographerJoseph McBride wrote that it was a comeback for Spielberg, and Spielberg acknowledged the amount he has learned from making theIndiana Jones series.[134] Ebert wrote that, "If there is just a shade of disappointment after seeing this movie, it has to be because we will never again have the shock of this material seeming new.Raiders of the Lost Ark, now more than ever, seems a turning point in the cinema of escapist entertainment, and there was really no way Spielberg could make it new all over again. What he has done is to take many of the same elements, and apply all of his craft and sense of fun to make them work yet once again. And they do."[135]
Also in 1989, he reunited withRichard Dreyfuss for the romantic dramaAlways, about anaerial firefighter. It is a modern remake of one of Spielberg's favorite childhood films,A Guy Named Joe (1943). The story was personal; he said "As a child I was very frustrated, and maybe I saw my own parents [inA Guy Named Joe]. I was also short of girlfriends. And it stuck with me."[136] Spielberg had discussed the film with Dreyfuss back in 1975, with up to twelve drafts being written before filming commenced.[133]Always was commercially unsuccessful and received mixed reviews.[137][133]Janet Maslin ofTheNew York Times wrote, "Always is filled with big, sentimental moments, it lacks the intimacy to make any of this very moving."[138]
After a brief setback in which Spielberg felt "artistically stalled",[139] he returned in 1991 withHook, about a middle-agedPeter Pan (Robin Williams), who returns toNeverland and encountersTinker Bell (Julia Roberts) and the eponymousCaptain Hook (Dustin Hoffman). During filming, the stars clashed on set; Spielberg told60 Minutes that he would never work with Roberts again.[140] Nominated for five Academy Awards, the studio enjoyed the film but most critics did not; Thomson called it "maudlin".[74] Writing forThe Washington Post,Desson Howe described the film as "too industrially organized", and thought it mundane.[141] At the box office, it earned more than $300 million worldwide from a $70 million budget.[142]
Also in 1993, Spielberg directedSchindler's List, aboutOskar Schindler, a businessman who helped save 1,100 Jews from theHolocaust.[145] Based onSchindler's Ark, Spielberg waited ten years to make the film as he did not feel "mature" enough.[146] He wanted to embrace his heritage,[147][148] and after the birth of his son, Max, he said that "it greatly affected me [...] A spirit began to ignite in me, and I became a Jewish dad".[149] Filming commenced on March 1, 1993, in Poland, while Spielberg was still editingJurassic Park in the evenings.[150] To make filming "bearable", Spielberg brought his wife and children with him.[151] Against expectations, the film was a commercial success, and Spielberg used his percentage of profits to start theShoah Foundation, a non-profit organization that archivestestimonies of Holocaust survivors.[152]Schindler's List won seven Academy Awards, includingBest Picture and Spielberg's first asBest Director.[153] It also won sevenBAFTAs, and threeGolden Globes.[154][155]Schindler's List is one of theAFI's100 best American films ever made.[156]
Ebert wrote, "Flaubert once wrote that he dislikedUncle Tom's Cabin because the author was constantly preaching against slavery. 'Does one have to make observations about slavery?' he asked. 'Depict it; that's enough.' And then he added, 'An author in his book must be like God in the universe, present everywhere and visible nowhere.' That would describe Spielberg, the author of this film. He depicts the evil of the Holocaust, and he tells an incredible story of how it was robbed of some of its intended victims. He does so without the tricks of his trade, the directorial and dramatic contrivances that would inspire the usual melodramatic payoffs. Spielberg is not visible in this film. But his restraint and passion are present in every shot."[157] FilmmakerClaude Lanzmann, criticized the film for its weak representation of the Holocaust.[158]Imre Kertész, a Hungarian author andconcentration camp survivor, also disliked the film, saying, "I regard askitsch any representation of the Holocaust that is incapable of understanding or unwilling to understand the organic connection between our own deformed mode of life and the very possibility of the Holocaust."[159] Thomson calls it "the most moving film I have ever seen."[74]
In 1994, Spielberg took a break from directing to spend more time with his family, and set up his new film studio,DreamWorks, withJeffrey Katzenberg andDavid Geffen.[160][152] After his hiatus, he returned to directing with a sequel toJurassic Park,The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997). A loose adaptation of Michael Crichton's novelThe Lost World, the plot follows mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) and his researchers who study dinosaurs at Jurassic Park which is on an island and are confronted by another team with a different agenda. Spielberg wanted the onscreen creatures to be more realistic than in the first film; he used 3D storyboards, computer imagery and robotic puppets.[161] Budgeted at $73 million,[162]The Lost World: Jurassic Park opened in May 1997 and was one of the highest grossingfilms of the year.[163] TheJ. Hoberman critic opined thatThe Lost World was "better crafted but less fun" than the first film, whileThe Guardian wrote "It looks like a director on autopilot [...] The special effects brook no argument."[163]
Spielberg speaking at the Pentagon on August 11, 1999, after receiving the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service
Amistad (1997), his first film released under DreamWorks, was based on the true story of the events in 1839 aboard the slave shipLa Amistad. ProducerDebbie Allen, who had read the bookAmistad I in 1978, thought Spielberg would be perfect to direct.[164] Spielberg was hesitant taking on the project, afraid that it would be compared toSchindler's List, but he said, "I've never planned my career [...] In the end I do what I think I gotta do."[164] StarringMorgan Freeman,Anthony Hopkins,Djimon Hounsou andMatthew McConaughey, Spielberg used Allen's ten years worth of research to reenact the difficult historical scenes.[162][165] The film struggled to find an audience, and underperformed at the box office;[166] Spielberg admitted thatAmistad "became too much of a history lesson".[167]
Spielberg's 1998 release wasWorld War II epicSaving Private Ryan, about a group of US soldiers led by Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) sent to bring home aparatrooper whose three older brothers were killed in the same twenty-four hours of theNormandy landing. Filming took place in England, andUS MarineDale Dye was hired to train the actors and keep them in character during the combat scenes. Halfway through filming, Spielberg reminded the cast that they were making a tribute to thank "your grandparents and my dad, who fought in [the war]".[168] Upon release, critics praised the direction and its realistic portrayal of war.[169] The film grossed a successful $481 million worldwide[170] and Spielberg won a second Academy Award for Best Director.[171] In August 1999, Spielberg and Hanks were awarded theDistinguished Public Service Medal fromSecretary of DefenseWilliam S. Cohen.[168][172] Thomson writes "Ryan changed war films: combat, shock, wounds, and fear had never been so graphically presented; and yet there was also a true sense of what duties and ideas had felt like in 1944. I disliked the framing device. I would have admired a director who trusted us to get there without that. Never mind—Ryan is a magnificent film."[74] Ebert wrote "Spielberg knows how to make audiences weep better than any director sinceChaplin inCity Lights. But weeping is an incomplete response, letting the audience off the hook. This film embodies ideas. After the immediate experience begins to fade, the implications remain and grow."[173]
Spielberg returned to science fiction withA.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), a loose adaptation ofBrian Aldiss's short story "Supertoys Last All Summer Long" (1969).Stanley Kubrick had bought the rights to the story in 1979 and worked on an adaptation for years.[174] He told Spielberg about the project in 1984 and suggested that he direct, believing the story was closer to Spielberg's sensibilities. In 1999, Kubrick died. Spielberg decided to directA.I. and wrote the screenplay himself.[175] Spielberg tried to be faithful to Kubrick's vision[176] and made several allusions to his friend's work[177] though with mixed results according to some critics.[178] The plot revolves around anandroid, David (Haley Joel Osment) who, likePinocchio, dreams of being a "real boy". The film won fiveSaturn Awards[179] and grossed $236 million worldwide.[180]Jonathan Rosenbaum highly praised the film: "IfA.I. Artificial Intelligence — a film whose split personality is apparent even in its two-part title — is as much a Kubrick movie as a Spielberg one, this is in large part because it defamiliarizes Spielberg, makes him strange. Yet it also defamiliarizes Kubrick, with equally ambiguous results — making his unfamiliarity familiar. Both filmmakers should be credited for the results—Kubrick for proposing that Spielberg direct the project and Spielberg for doing his utmost to respect Kubrick's intentions while making it a profoundly personal work."[181]A. O. Scott called it "the best fairy tale–the most disturbing, complex and intellectually challenging boy's adventure story–Mr. Spielberg has made" and chose it as the best film of the year[182] and one of the best of the decade.[183]
Spielberg followedA.I. with the sci-fineo-noirMinority Report (2002), based onPhilip K. Dick'sshort story (1956). The film starsTom Cruise as commanding officer ofprecrime in futuristicWashington, D.C. Ebert namedMinority Report the best film of 2002, praising its craftsmanship: "here is Spielberg using every trick in the book and matching them without seams, so that no matter how he's achieving his effects, the focus is always on the story and the characters ... Some directors place their trust in technology. Spielberg, who is a master of technology, trusts only story and character, and then uses everything else as a workman uses his tools."[184] However, criticTodd McCarthy thought there was not enough action.[185] The film earned more than $358 million worldwide.[186] Also in 2002, he releasedCatch Me If You Can, based on theautobiography of con-artistFrank Abagnale.Leonardo DiCaprio played Abagnale;Christopher Walken and Hanks also starred. Spielberg said, "I have always loved movies about sensational rogues—they break the law, but you just have to love them for the moxie."[187] The film was a critical and commercial success.[188]
Spielberg with director and friendGeorge Lucas in 2006
Spielberg followedCatch Me If You Can withThe Terminal (2004), a comedy loosely inspired by the true story ofMehran Karimi Nasseri[189] and byJacques Tati'sPlaytime (1967).[48] The film follows Viktor Navorski (Hanks), an Eastern European man who, after a coup in his home country, is stranded inJohn F. Kennedy International Airport. It featuresCatherine Zeta-Jones as a flight attendant andStanley Tucci as a customs and immigration official. Ebert wrote of Viktor's predicament: "The immigration service, and indeed the American legal system, has no way of dealing with him because Viktor does not do, or fail to do, any of the things the system is set up to prevent him from doing, or not doing. He has slipped through a perfect logical loophole.The Terminal is like a sunnyKakfa story, in which it is the citizen who persecutes the bureaucracy." The titular terminal was a real set built byAlex McDowell.[190] In 2005, Spielberg directedWar of the Worlds, a co-production of Paramount and DreamWorks, based onH. G. Wells'snovel; Spielberg had been a fan of the book and ofGeorge Pal's1953 film.[191] Starring Tom Cruise andDakota Fanning, the film is about an Americandock worker who is forced to look after his children, from whom he lives separately, as he tries to protect and reunite them with their mother when extraterrestrials invade Earth. Spielberg used storyboards to help the actors react to computer imagery that they could not see and used natural lighting and camerawork to avoid an "over stylized" science fiction picture.[192] The film was a box-office hit grossing more than $600 million worldwide.[193]
Spielberg'sMunich (2005) is about the Israeli government's secret retaliation after eleven Israeli Olympic athletes were kidnapped and murdered in the 1972Munich massacre. The film is based onVengeance, a book by Canadian journalistGeorge Jonas.[194] It was previously adapted for the screen in the 1986 television filmSword of Gideon. Spielberg, who personally remembers the incident, sought advice from former presidentBill Clinton, among others, before making the film because he did not want to cause further problems in the Middle East.[194] Although the film garnered mostly positive reviews, some critics perceived it as antisemitic;[195] it is one of Spielberg's most controversial films to date.[196]Munich received five Academy Awards nominations: Best Picture, Best Film Editing,Best Score,Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Director for Spielberg. It was his sixth Best Director nomination, and fifth Best Picture nomination.[197][198]
In the mid-2000s, Spielberg scaled down his directing career and became more selective about film projects to undertake.[199] In December 2005, he and his partners sold DreamWorks to media conglomerateViacom (now known asParamount Global). The sale was finalized in February 2006.[198] In June 2006, Spielberg planned to makeInterstellar, but abandoned the project, which was eventually directed byChristopher Nolan.[200] During this period, Spielberg remained active as a producer. Spielberg returned to theIndiana Jones series in 2008 withIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Released nineteen years afterLast Crusade, the film is set in 1957, pitting Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) againstSoviet agents led by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), searching for atelepathiccrystal skull.Principal photography was complete in October 2007, and the film was released on May 22, 2008.[201][202] This was his first film not released by DreamWorks since 1997.[203] The film received generally favorable reviews from critics, but some fans were disappointed by the introduction of science fiction elements which were uncharacteristic of the previous films.[204][199] Writing forThe Age, Tom Ryan praised Spielberg and Lucas for their realistic 1950s setting—"The energy on display is impressive".[205] It was a box-office success, grossing $790 million worldwide.[206]
Starting in 2009, Spielberg shot the first film in a planned trilogy ofmotion capture films based onHergé'sThe Adventures of Tintin.[207] Spielberg had long been a fan of the comics, and perMichael Farr, Hergé "thought Spielberg was the only person who could ever do Tintin justice."[208]The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn was co-produced byPeter Jackson and premiered inBrussels, Belgium.[209] The film was released in North American theaters on December 21, 2011, inDigital 3D andIMAX.[210] It received generally positive reviews from critics[211] and grossed over $373 million worldwide.[212]The Adventures of Tintin wonBest Animated Feature at the69th Golden Globe Awards.[213] Spielberg followedTintin withWar Horse, shot in England in the summer of 2010.[214] It was released four days afterTintin, on December 25, 2011. The film, based onMichael Morpurgo's 1982novel, follows the long friendship between a British boy and his horse Joey before and duringWorld War I.[215] Distributed byWalt Disney Studios with whom DreamWorks made a distribution deal in 2009,War Horse was the first of four consecutive Spielberg films released by Disney. It received acclaim from critics[215] and was nominated for sixAcademy Awards, including Best Picture.[216] In a review forSalon magazine, Andrew O'Hehir wrote, "at this point in his career Spielberg is pursuing personal goals, and everything that's terrific and overly flat and tooth-rottingly sweet aboutWar Horse reflects that."[217]
It was announced on May 2, 2013, that Spielberg would directAmerican Sniper,[224] but he left the project before production began.[225] Instead, he directedBridge of Spies (2015), aCold War thriller based on the1960 U-2 incident, and focusing onJames B. Donovan's negotiations with the Soviets for the release of pilotGary Powers after his aircraft was shot down over Soviet territory. It was written byMatt Charman and theCoen brothers, and starred Tom Hanks as Donovan, as well asMark Rylance,Amy Ryan andAlan Alda.[226] It was filmed in the fall of 2014 in New York City, Berlin andWroclaw, and was released on October 16.[227][228]Bridge of Spies was popular with critics,[229] and was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture; Rylance wonBest Supporting Actor, becoming the second actor to win for a performance directed by Spielberg.[230]
Spielberg's 2022 filmThe Fabelmans is a fictionalized account of his own adolescence, which he wrote with Tony Kushner.[256]Gabriel LaBelle playsSammy Fabelman, a character inspired by Spielberg, whileMichelle Williams plays Sammy's mother Mitzi Fabelman,Paul Dano plays Burt Fabelman, his father,Seth Rogen plays Bennie Loewy, Burt's best friend and co-worker who becomes Sammy's surrogate uncle, andJudd Hirsch as Mitzi's Uncle Boris.[257][258] Filming began in Los Angeles in July 2021, and the film premiered at the2022 Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, Spielberg's first appearance at that festival.[259] It received widespread critical acclaim and won the festival'sPeople's Choice Award.[260] It received a limited theatrical release on November 11, 2022, byUniversal Pictures, before expanding wide on November 23.[261]
Despite the favorable critical reception,West Side Story andThe Fabelmans were box-office failures, whichVariety suggested could be attributed to a decline in the popularity of Spielberg in a film-going environment altered by theCOVID-19 pandemic, and the public's loss of interest inprestige films.[262]The Fabelmans received sevenAcademy Award nominations, includingBest Picture,Best Director, andBest Original Screenplay.[263][264] It was, however, a major box office success in France and became the highest-rated film of the 21st century in the country, with a 4.9 average from critics onAlloCiné from 43 reviews, with all but 6 giving the film 5 stars.Cahiers du Cinéma wrote that Spielberg, at age 76, had "come to represent like no other, the idea of cinema as wonder, at a time when the relationship to the spectacular and the cinema seems more tormented than ever" and declared that the film will "undoubtedly remain the most important and singular film of his career".[265][266]
Spielberg had planned to directIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, but he stepped down and was replaced byJames Mangold. Spielberg said that he would remain "hands on" as a producer,[267][268] along with Kathleen Kennedy andFrank Marshall. In 2016, it was announced that it would be written byDavid Koepp,[269] with a release by Disney on July 19, 2019.[270] After a change of filming and release dates,[271][272] it was postponed again whenJonathan Kasdan was announced as the film's new writer.[273] Soon after, a new release date of July 9, 2021, was announced.[274] In May 2019,Dan Fogelman was hired to write a new script, and Kasdan's story, focused on theNazi gold train, would not be used; the script was ultimately credited to Mangold, Koepp,Jez Butterworth, andJohn-Henry Butterworth.[275] In April 2020, it was announced that the release of the film was delayed to July 29, 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[276] and in October 2021, the release date was again delayed to June 30, 2023.[277] The film began production in the UK in June 2021[278] and finished in February 2022.[279]
In 1993, Spielberg served as an executive producer for the NBC science fiction seriesseaQuest DSV;[292] the show was not a hit.[117] In 1994, he found success producing the medical dramaER.[292]That year, Spielberg foundedDreamWorks withJeffrey Katzenberg andDavid Geffen.[160][152] Spielberg cited greater creative control and distribution improvements as the main reasons for founding his own studio;[293] he and his partners compared themselves to the founders ofUnited Artists in 1919.[294] DreamWorks' investors includedMicrosoft foundersPaul Allen andBill Gates.[295] After founding DreamWorks, Spielberg continued to operate Amblin Entertainment and direct films for other studios.[296] He helped designJurassic Park: The Ride atUniversal Studios Florida.[297] The workload of filmmaking and operating a studio raised questions about his commitments, but Spielberg maintained that "this is all fitting nicely into my life and I'm still home by six and I'm still home on the weekends."[298][293][294] In 1998,DreamWorks Animation produced its first full-length animated features,Antz andThe Prince of Egypt.Shrek (2001) was the first winner of theAcademy Award for Best Animated Feature.
In January 2013, HBO confirmed that it was developing a World War II miniseries based on the bookDonald L. Miller'sMasters of the Air with Spielberg and Hanks.[306]NME reported in March 2017 that production was under the working titleThe Mighty Eighth.[307] By 2019, it was confirmed development of the miniseries, now titledMasters of the Air, had moved toApple TV+.[308] The series premiered on January 26, 2024. On January 18, 2023, Spielberg told press at a red carpet event forThe Fabelmans that he was executive producing a documentary about John Williams, directed byLaurent Bouzereau with production companies Amblin Television,Imagine Documentaries, and Nedland Media.[309][310][311][312] Other executive producers for the film includeBrian Grazer,Ron Howard, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey,Justin Wilkes, Sara Bernstein, and Meredith Kaulfers.[309] The announcement came days after Williams suggested that he might not retire from film scoring as he had previously announced.[313][314] The film,Music by John Williams, premiered at the 2024AFI Fest.
In May 2009, Spielberg bought the rights to the life story ofMartin Luther King Jr., with the intention of being involved as both the producer and director.[315] The purchase was made from the King estate, led by sonDexter, while the two other surviving children, theReverend Bernice andMartin III, immediately threatened to sue, not having given their approvals to the project.[316] In March 2013, Spielberg announced that he was developing a miniseries based on the life ofNapoleon.[317] In May 2016, it was announced thatCary Joji Fukunaga was in talks to direct the miniseries for HBO, from a script byDavid Leland based on extensive research materials accumulated by Stanley Kubrick over the years.[318]
Spielberg was set to film an adaptation ofDavid I. Kertzer'sThe Kidnapping ofEdgardo Mortara in early 2017, for release at the end of that year,[319] but production was ultimately postponed. It was first announced in 2014, with Tony Kushner adapting the book for the screen.[320] Mark Rylance, in his fourth collaboration with Spielberg, was announced to star in the role ofPope Pius IX. Spielberg saw more than 2,000 children to play the role of the young Edgardo Mortara.[321] In 2015, it was announced that Spielberg was attached to direct an adaptation of American photojournalistLynsey Addario's memoirIt's What I Do, withJennifer Lawrence in the lead role.[322] In April 2018, it was announced that Spielberg would direct a film adaptation of theBlackhawk comic book series. Warner Bros. would distribute the film with David Koepp writing the script.[323]
On June 21, 2021, it was announced thatAmblin Entertainment signed a deal with Netflix to release multiple new feature films for thestreaming service. Under the deal, Amblin is expected to produce at least two films a year for Netflix for an unspecified number of years.[324] In February 2022,Deadline Hollywood reported that Spielberg was developing an original film centered around the character Frank Bullitt, a fictional San Francisco police officer originally portrayed bySteve McQueen in the 1968 filmBullitt. The screenplay is set to be written byJosh Singer, who previously co-wroteThe Post for Spielberg. McQueen's sonChad and granddaughter Molly will serve as executive producers.[325]Bradley Cooper was cast as Bullitt in November 2022 and will also serve as producer alongside Spielberg andKristie Macosko Krieger.[326]
On February 14, 2025, it was announced thatThe Goonies 2 was in the works with Spielberg producing.[327]
Video games
Spielberg has been an avid gamer since 1974. Spielberg played many ofLucasArtsadventure games, including the firstMonkey Island games.[328][329]
Spielberg first ventured into theatre producing in 1997, with his involvement on a production ofThe Diary of Anne Frank, as well as the original 1998 production ofThe Farnsworth Invention. In 2022, he made his Broadway producing debut as a co-producer on the musicalA Strange Loop.[citation needed] He went on to produce the stage musical adaptations ofWater for Elephants andDeath Becomes Her alongside his wife Kate Capshaw, both in 2024.[335] He will next co-produce the upcoming stage adaptation ofSmash, based on the 2012NBCtelevision series of the same name, on which he served as an executive producer. It is set to begin performances in 2025.[336][337]
Filmmaking style and techniques
Influences
"I didn't go to film school. I was self-taught. But I had great teachers, you know? All my influencers were the directors and the writers of the movies I was watching in theaters and on television. And my film school was really the cultural heritage of Hollywood and international filmmaking because there's no better teacher thanLubitsch orHitchcock orKurosawa orKubrick, you know, orFord orWilliam Wyler orBilly Wilder orClarence Brown – I mean,Val Lewton. I mean, those were my teachers."
Spielberg citesJohn Ford as a formative influence: "I try to rent a John Ford film... before I start every movie, simply because he inspires me.... He's like a classic painter, he celebrates the frame, not just what's inside it."[48] He namesFrank Capra'sIt's A Wonderful Life (1946) as an influence on themes of "family, community and suburbia".[338] He enjoyed the work of Alfred Hitchcock,[43][339]David Lean,[340]Stanley Kubrick andJohn Frankenheimer.[341][342] In college, he was inspired by foreign films byIngmar Bergman,Jacques Tati andFrançois Truffaut.[343]Spencer Tracy has also influenced the characters of Spielberg's films,[344] as didThe Twilight Zone.[65] He saysLawrence of Arabia is the film he's seen more times than any other.[345] WithMartin Scorsese, Spielberg helped with the restoration ofLawrence byRobert A. Harris.[346] Among films by his contemporaries, Spielberg was influenced byFrancis Ford Coppola'sThe Godfather: "I was pulverized by the story and the effect the film had on me... I also felt that I should quit, that there was no reason I should continue directing because I would never achieve that level of confidence and ability to tell a story."[347] In 2005, Coppola contacted Spielberg about restoring the film; Spielberg contacted studio headBrad Grey.[348][clarification needed] In 1982, Spielberg bought one of the prop sleds fromCitizen Kane. Spielberg calledKane 'the most classic movie ever made," and the sled "a symbolic emblem of quality in the film business".[349]
Method and themes
Spielberg often usesstoryboards to visualize sequences, eschewing them forE.T. the Extraterrestrial andThe Color Purple for a more spontaneous effect.[350][351] After filmingJaws, Spielberg learned to save special effects scenes until last and to exclude the media from filming locations.[352] Spielberg prefers to shoot quickly, with large amounts of coverage (fromsingle-shot tomulti-shot setups), so that he will have many options in the editing room.[353] From the beginning of his career, Spielberg's shooting style consisted of extreme high and low camera angles,long takes, andhandheld cameras.[354] He favorswide-angle lens for creating depth,[355] and by the time he was makingMinority Report, he was more confident with elaborate camera movements.[356]
In an interview withThe Tech in 2015, Spielberg described how he chooses his film projects:
[Sometimes], a story speaks to me, even if it doesn't speak to any of my collaborators or any of my partners, who look at me and scratch their heads and say, "Gee, are you sure you wanna get into that trench for a year and a half?" I love people challenging me that way because it's a real test about my own convictions and [whether] I can be the standing man of my own life and take a stand on a subject that may not be popular, but that I would be proud to add to the body of my work. That's pretty much the litmus test that gets me to say, "Yeah, I'll direct that one."[357]
Spielberg's films contain many recurrent themes. One of the most pertinent revolves around "ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances".[341][358] The ordinary people often have limitations, but they succeed in becoming a "hero".[358] A consistent theme in his family-friendly work is a childlike sense of wonder and faith, and "the goodness in humanity will prevail".[358] He has also explored the importance of childhood, loss of innocence, and the need for parental figures.[359] In exploring the parent-child relationship, there is usually a flawed or irresponsible father figure. This theme personally resonates with Spielberg's childhood.[360] Exploring extraterrestrial life is another aspect to his work. Spielberg described himself as like an "alien" during childhood,[361] and this interest came from his father, a science fiction fan.[362]
Janusz Kamiński has served as a cinematographer on dozens of Spielberg's films.[370] Kamiński's first collaboration with Spielberg started with the holocaust drama filmSchindler's List (1993) for which Kamiński received theAcademy Award for Best Cinematography. The film usedblack-and-white cinematography. As Spielberg's career evolved from action to drama films, he and Kamiński adopted more handheld camerawork, as evidenced inSchindler's List andAmistad.[371] Kamiński would later receive his second Academy Award for cinematography onSaving Private Ryan.[372] The film's opening sequence to re-enact theinvasion of Normandy was praised for realism. Kamiński garnered three more Academy Award nominations for his work onWar Horse (2011), the historical epicLincoln (2012), andWest Side Story (2021).[373][374]
Spielberg's long-time partnership with composerJohn Williams began withThe Sugarland Express (1974).[375] Williams would return to compose all but five of Spielberg's feature films (the exceptions areTwilight Zone: The Movie,The Color Purple,Bridge of Spies,Ready Player One andWest Side Story). Williams won three of his fiveAcademy Awards forBest Original Score for his work on Spielberg's films, which wereJaws (1975),E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), andSchindler's List (1993). While makingSchindler's List, Spielberg approached Williams about composing the score. After seeing a rough, unedited cut, Williams was impressed, and said that composing would be too challenging. He said to Spielberg, "You need a better composer than I am for this film." Spielberg responded, "I know. But they're all dead!"[376] In 2016, Spielberg presented Williams with the 44thAFI Life Achievement Award, the first to be awarded to a composer.[377]
Personal life
Spielberg met actressAmy Irving in 1976 when she auditioned forClose Encounters of the Third Kind. After meeting her, Spielberg told his co-producerJulia Phillips, "I met a real heartbreaker last night."[378] Although she was too young for the role, she and Spielberg began dating and she eventually moved into what she described as his "bachelor funky" house.[379] They broke up in 1979.[112] In 1984, they renewed their romance and married in November 1985. Their son, Max, had been born on June 13 of that year.[380] In 1989, the couple divorced; they agreed to live near each other to share custody of their son.[134] Their divorce settlement is one of themost expensive in history.[381][112]
Spielberg met actressKate Capshaw when he cast her inIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1984. They married on October 12, 1991; Capshawconverted to Judaism before their marriage.[382][383] Spielberg said he rediscovered "the honor of being a Jew" when they married.[384] He said, "Kate is Protestant and she insisted on converting to Judaism. She spent a year studying, did the "mikveh", the whole thing. She chose to do a full conversionbefore we were married in 1991, and she married me after becoming a Jew. I think that, more than anything else, brought me back to Judaism."[384] He credits her for the family's level of observance;[385] "Thisshiksa goddess has made me a better Jew than my own parents", he said.[386] He and his family live inPacific Palisades, California[387] andEast Hampton, New York.[388]
Spielberg was diagnosed withdyslexia at age 60.[396] In 2022, at age 75, Spielberg was diagnosed withCOVID-19 but recovered.[397]
In 2013, Spielberg purchased the 282-foot (86 m) mega-yachtThe Seven Seas for US$182 million. During his ownership it was also available forcharter at US$1.2 million per month, making it one of the most expensive charters on the market at the time. In 2021 The Canadian steel mogulBarry Zekelman bought it for US$150 million and rechristened the shipMan of Steel.[398] Thereafter, Spielberg ordered a new 358-foot (109 m)Seven Seas.[399]
In December 2022, Spielberg was a guest onDesert Island Discs for BBC Radio 4, choosing for his luxury item an H-8 Bolex Camera.[400]
Stalkers
In 1997, Jonathan Norman stalked Spielberg and attempted to enter his home while in possession of a "rape kit";[401] Norman was subsequently jailed for 25 years. Prosecutors described Norman as "sexually obsessed" with the director. Spielberg told the court he feared Norman intended to "rape or maim him".[401][402] In 2001, Spielberg was stalked byconspiracy theorist and former social worker Diana Napolis. She accused him and actressJennifer Love Hewitt of installing amind-control device in her brain and being part of asatanic cult.[403] Napolis wascommitted to a mental institution, and pled guilty to stalking. She was released onprobation with a condition that she have no contact with either Spielberg or Hewitt.[404][405]
Political views
Spielberg has usually supportedDemocratic Party candidates. He has donated over $800,000 to the Democratic party and its nominees. He has been a close friend of former presidentBill Clinton and worked with the president for the USA Millennium celebrations. He directed an 18-minute film for the project, scored byJohn Williams and entitledThe American Journey. It was shown at America's Millennium Gala on December 31, 1999, in theNational Mall at theReflecting Pool at the base of theLincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.[406] Spielberg endorsedHillary Clinton in the2016 presidential election; he donated $1 million toPriorities USA Action.[407]
Secretary of DefenseWilliam S. Cohen escorts Spielberg through a military honor cordon into the Pentagon in 1999
In February 2008, Spielberg resigned as advisor to the2008 Summer Olympics in response to the Chinese government's inaction over theWar in Darfur.[413] Spielberg said in a statement, "I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue business as usual [...] Sudan's government bears the bulk of the responsibility for these on-going crimes, but the international community, and particularly China, should be doing more."[414] TheInternational Olympic Committee (IOC) respected Spielberg's decision but IOC presidentJacques Rogge expressed disappointment: "[Spielberg] certainly would have brought a lot to the opening ceremony in terms of creativity."[415] Chinese state media called Spielberg's comments "unfair".[416]
In September 2008, Spielberg and his wife offered their support tosame-sex marriage in California by issuing a statement following their donation of $100,000 to the "No onProposition 8" campaign fund, a figure equal to the amount of moneyBrad Pitt donated to the same campaign less than a week prior.[417] In 2018, Spielberg and his wife donated $500,000 to theMarch for Our Lives student demonstration in favor of gun control in the United States.[418]
In December 2023, after theOctober 7 attacks, theShoah Foundation, which was founded by Spielberg, said that it had gathered over 100 video testimonies of those who experienced the attacks on that day to add them to the collection of "Holocaust survivor and witness testimony."[419] Speaking of the attacks he said, "I never imagined I would see such unspeakable barbarity against Jews in my lifetime" and that the Shoah Foundation project will ensure "that their stories would be recorded and shared in the effort to preserve history and to work toward a world without antisemitism or hate of any kind".[420]
Spielberg receiving a public service award presented by US Secretary of DefenseWilliam Cohen, 1999
Spielberg has won three Academy Awards. He received nine nominations for Best Director, and won twice (forSchindler's List andSaving Private Ryan).[421][422] His third was in Best Picture, forSchindler's List.[153] He is the only director to receive a Best Director nomination from the academy in 6 different decades. In 1987, he was awarded theIrving G. Thalberg Memorial Award for his work as a creative producer.[423] Drawing from his own experiences inScouting, Spielberg helped theBoy Scouts of America develop a merit badge in cinematography to promote filmmaking as a marketable skill; the badge was launched at the 1989National Scout Jamboree.[424] In 1989, Spielberg was presented with theDistinguished Eagle Scout Award.[425] Spielberg received theAFI Life Achievement Award in 1995.[426]
Directed Academy Award performances Under Spielberg's direction, these actors have receivedAcademy Award nominations and wins for their performances in their respective roles.
A figure of theNew Hollywood era,[454] Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the most influential and commercially successful film directors of all time. Some of his films were in the top ten highest-grossing films of the 1970s and 1980s, withJaws,E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial andJurassic Park all becomingthe highest-grossing film ever at the time of their respective releases.[441][455][456] In 1996,Life magazine named Spielberg the most influential person of his generation.[457] In 2003,Premiere magazine ranked him first place in the list of 100 Most Powerful People in Movies.[441] In 2005,Empire magazine ranked him number one on a list of the greatest film directors of all time.[458] In 2013,Time magazine listed him as one of the100 most influential people.[459] According toForbes' magazine of Most Influential Celebrities of 2014, Spielberg was ranked at first place.[460][461][462] As of December 2024,Forbes estimates his net worth at $5.3billion,[463] making him one of therichest people in the entertainment industry.
Critics of Spielberg have argued that his films are commonly sentimental andmoralistic.[499][500][497] InEasy Riders, Raging Bulls,Peter Biskind wrote that Spielberg is "infantilizing the audience, reconstituting the spectator as child, then overwhelming him and her with sound and spectacle, obliterating irony, aesthetic self-consciousness, and critical reflection".[501] CriticRay Carney and actorCrispin Glover opined that Spielberg's works lack depth and do not take risks.[502][503] FilmmakerJean-Luc Godard opined that Spielberg was partly responsible for the lack of artistic merit in mainstream cinema, and accused Spielberg of usingSchindler's List to profit from a tragedy,[504] despite the fact that Spielberg chose not to take a salary for the film.[505] In defense of Spielberg, criticRoger Ebert said "Has Godard or any other director living or dead done more than Spielberg, with his Holocaust Project, to honor and preserve the memories of the survivors?"[506]
Seven of his films have been inducted into theNational Film Registry by theLibrary of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant":Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, andSaving Private Ryan.[6]
^Chandler, Charlotte (2008).Not the Girl Next Door: Joan Crawford, a Personal Biography (1st Simon & Schuster hardcover ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 262.ISBN978-1-4165-4751-8.OCLC166273792.
^Champlin, Charles (December 23, 1979)."Spielberg's Pearl Harbor".Los Angeles Times. pp. Part IV, p. 1. Archived fromthe original on April 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^abCorliss, Richard (January 7, 1985)."This way to the children's crusade".Time. Archived fromthe original on October 19, 2009. RetrievedJanuary 2, 2009.he wrote the story and served as an executive producer of The Goonies....
^The screenplay, adapted fromThomas Keneally's novel, was originally in the hands of fellow directorMartin Scorsese, but Spielberg negotiated with Scorsese to trade scripts. (At the time, Spielberg held the script for a remake ofCape Fear.)
^ab"Spielberg stalker jailed".BBC News. June 17, 1998.Archived from the original on August 18, 2017. RetrievedDecember 11, 2011.[Norman] was also carrying handcuffs, duct tape and a razor knife when arrested. The prosecution called the equipment a 'rape kit'.
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