Steven Spielberg

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Steven Spielberg

It is hard to imagine a person who has not heard of Steven Spielberg. He is one of the most renown, if not the most renown, American filmmakers of the century. His films have captivated and helped develop imaginations of contemporary society and remain among the most successful films ever made.

Spielberg was born in Cincinnati on December 18th, 1946. His father was an electrical engineer, and his mother a concert pianist. Steven seemed to get the best elements from both of them. Spielberg had an early fascination with cinema and began making amateur films at a very young age. At 13, he won a local contest for his 40-minute film, Escape to Nowhere. Ironically, Steven was unable to get into a film school, so he settled for majoring in English Literature at California State University. After graduation, he set out to Hollywood, where he was determined to be successful. In 1974, he received his first break for The Sugarland Express. The film went on to win a Cannes Film Festival Award for best screenplay. The following year saw JAWS explode. This very successful horror film, depicting a man-eating shark, captured the attention of the world and has become part of contemporary pop culture. The movie was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars and won several Oscars for technical categories and for its very distinctive score.

JAWS was not the only film of his to make the "100 best films of the century" list by the American Film Institute. Many of Steven Spielberg's works have been placed on that list, and many are so timeless, they will live in the hearts of generations to come. Such films as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., Indiana Jones, and Jurassic Park have become legendary. In Spielberg's down time, he stringed together a personal little film about a suburban boy who befriends an earthbound alien, also known as E.T. for Extra-Terrestrial. It hit theaters in 1982 and became an instant classic and is still the defining film of his landmark-filled career. This magical and exceedingly sentimental film surpassed even George Lucas' Star Wars to become one of the biggest domestic moneymakers of all time. He has the unparalleled talent of capturing people's imagination and dreams, but at the same time tapping into humanities darkest nightmares.

In 1993, Spielberg made Schindler's List, a haunting epic that showed the Holoca...

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...in to him that "Sharptooth" wasn't really real and that he didn't have to hide under the covers at night. I used to ice skate when I was younger and chose theme songs from Spielberg films like "Somewhere Out There" from American Tail and the main song from Indiana Jones.

In conclusion, Steven Spielberg is arguably the most famous and most recognized producer/writer/director in the world. His list of films is endless, as well as the awards he as been nominated for or won. My generation has grown up with his films and no matter what age a person may be, there is a Steven Spielberg movie out there for them to watch and love.

Bibliography:

References

Taylor, P. (1992). Steven Spielberg: The man, his movies, and their meaning.

Continuuminternational.

Powers, T. (1996). Steven Spielberg: Master Storyteller. Lerner Publishing Company.

Brode, D. (1994). The Films of Steven Spielberg. Carol Publishing Group.

Crawley, T. (1990). The Steven Spielberg Story. Morrow, William & Company.

McBride, J. (1997). Steven Spielberg. Simon and Schuster Trade.

Knight, B. (1998). Steven Spielberg: Master of Movie Magic. Silver Burdett Press.

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