Archived // Cover Story
POWER IN Entertainment/ Filmmaking:
Steven Spielberg
Director, Producer, Founder of Dreamworks Skg, and Chairman of Shoah Visual History Foundation
By: Aliya Lahijani & Mimi Makabi
Director, Producer, Founder of Dreamworks Skg, and Chairman of Shoah Visual History Foundation
By: Aliya Lahijani & Mimi Makabi
Most frequently given the nod as the most esteemed director in Hollywood is the talented Steven Spielberg. As one of the most influential, successful and powerful film personalities in the history of film, Spielberg has countless big-grossing, critically acclaimed credits to his name, as producer, director and writer. He has created household names out of blockbusters like E.T., and Jaws. His movies span the entire realm of storytelling, from The Color Purple to Peter Pan to Poltergeist.
Early on, Spielberg decided to drop out of college to pursue his career in entertainment. His first TV movie Duel (1971) was successful enough to earn a theatrical release. The shark thriller Jaws (1975) made Spielberg a hot property, and over the next 20 years he grew into the most successful movie mogul alive. His directing credits include hits like Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981, co-produced by George Lucas), the cuddly-alien flick E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, the dinosaurs-on-the-loose classic Jurassic Park (1993) and War of the Worlds (2005). Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jurassic Park each spawned two sequels and are among the most lucrative film series of all time. Spielberg's huge box office successes have allowed him to make more serious films as well, including The Color Purple (1985), Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Munich (2005). Perhaps the most poignant of Spielberg's movies was the black and white, critically-acclaimed Schindler's List. Released in late 1993, the movie was filmed in Poland and was a lengthy, Holocaust drama. The movie brought respect to Spielberg not just as a film maker but as an individual. The picture won the 1993 Best Picture Academy Award and Spielberg won for Best Director.
He also won a Best Director Oscar for Saving Private Ryan and was the recipient of the Academy's Irving G. Thalberg Award in 1987 for his contributions to the industry. "There are three movies that I am exceptionally proud of in my life, and I rarely commit to a list of films that I like, that I've made ... but these are the three films that I was passionately connected to. The first was ET, the second Schindler's List, and third is Saving Private Ryan.”
To add to the list of films Spielberg has directed, he also produced films such as Back to the Future, The Flintstones, Casper, Men in Black, The Mask of Zorro and many more. This long list of accomplishments has made Spielberg one of, if not, the most powerful man in Hollywood. “All through my career I've done what I can to discover new talent and give them a start,” said Spielberg, just like he did in the film The Color Purple, with Oprah Winfrey.
In addition to Amblin Entertainment, in 1994, Spielberg formed a new Hollywood studio called DreamWorks SKG in partnership with two of the other most powerful men in Hollywood, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. The multimedia entertainment studio is accountable for films such as Gladiator, American Beauty, Cast Away, and Shrek.
Early on, Spielberg decided to drop out of college to pursue his career in entertainment. His first TV movie Duel (1971) was successful enough to earn a theatrical release. The shark thriller Jaws (1975) made Spielberg a hot property, and over the next 20 years he grew into the most successful movie mogul alive. His directing credits include hits like Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981, co-produced by George Lucas), the cuddly-alien flick E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, the dinosaurs-on-the-loose classic Jurassic Park (1993) and War of the Worlds (2005). Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jurassic Park each spawned two sequels and are among the most lucrative film series of all time. Spielberg's huge box office successes have allowed him to make more serious films as well, including The Color Purple (1985), Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Munich (2005). Perhaps the most poignant of Spielberg's movies was the black and white, critically-acclaimed Schindler's List. Released in late 1993, the movie was filmed in Poland and was a lengthy, Holocaust drama. The movie brought respect to Spielberg not just as a film maker but as an individual. The picture won the 1993 Best Picture Academy Award and Spielberg won for Best Director.
He also won a Best Director Oscar for Saving Private Ryan and was the recipient of the Academy's Irving G. Thalberg Award in 1987 for his contributions to the industry. "There are three movies that I am exceptionally proud of in my life, and I rarely commit to a list of films that I like, that I've made ... but these are the three films that I was passionately connected to. The first was ET, the second Schindler's List, and third is Saving Private Ryan.”
To add to the list of films Spielberg has directed, he also produced films such as Back to the Future, The Flintstones, Casper, Men in Black, The Mask of Zorro and many more. This long list of accomplishments has made Spielberg one of, if not, the most powerful man in Hollywood. “All through my career I've done what I can to discover new talent and give them a start,” said Spielberg, just like he did in the film The Color Purple, with Oprah Winfrey.
In addition to Amblin Entertainment, in 1994, Spielberg formed a new Hollywood studio called DreamWorks SKG in partnership with two of the other most powerful men in Hollywood, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. The multimedia entertainment studio is accountable for films such as Gladiator, American Beauty, Cast Away, and Shrek.
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