The Life And Career Of Steven Spielberg – A King Of Cult Films

Introduction

Petals uncrumple as the flower reaches towards the night sky, flourishing fabulously in the spilt moonlight. The wrinkled otherworldly creature seemingly takes his last glance at the planet that had once seemed so foreign to him, retreating into an eternal slumber. The audience is sobbing, wet popcorn bins clutched, folded, to their stomachs, the dim light of the theatre causing light to dance in their tears. Then, in the moment of grief, the alien rises once again, a shocked boy who had once stood in his own sodden tears looks up frantically. “I’ll be right here,” the creature points with a glowing fingertip to the young child’s head, the moment that would replay in the on watcher's minds as they tumble out of the cinema. You may have recognized this iconic scene in film history, the heart striking ending to the critically acclaimed E. T. This sci-fi was a hit, the characters were adored by all film-goers, E. T. is one of the many highly praised works of Steven Spielberg. Spielberg has been known to always touch the audience on a new level, an appraised filmmaker since he released his first feature-length film. A king of cult films, with the release of childhood movies such as The Goonies and haunting memoirs alike to Spielberg’s Schindler’s List. He broke into the filmmaking scene as a child and climbed to earn his place in Hollywood, still directing today.

Adolescence

Steven Spielberg was a filmmaker since he could hold a camera. Born December 18, 1946, Spielberg was the only son of Leah Adler and Arnold Spielberg’s four children. The Spielberg family moved continuously, from New Jersey to Arizona, and settled in California. Though the family jumped around, Spielberg spent the majority of his childhood in Haddonfield, New Jersey, and Scottsdale, Arizona. When Spielberg was younger he had taken to filming with a camera quickly, starting with small family films, videotaping their camping trips and vacations on a home movie camera. Philip Taylor also states that as he progressed, he started recording more theatrical and “narrative” films on the amateur camera, using whatever he could find and abstract angles to conjure special effects.

At twelve he had made his first film, with an ambitious approach, the film had been following a script and had a cast of actors (28, Philip Taylor). His interest in film developed into his teenage years when he was sixteen he had made a feature-length film entitled Firelight, a spark to his future successes in the sci-fi genre. The amateur cut Fireflight would later inspire a professionally filmed classic, the famed space Close Encounters of the Third Kind. At the time the Spielberg’s lived in Phoenix, Arizona Spielberg's father had rented a local theatre to put the science-fiction feature on the big screen, the film had earned back the $500 it had taken to rent the theatre in one night.

Starting Out

Spielberg graduated high school with below exceptional grades, an average C student. This caused Spielberg to settle for California State University, Long Beach, which didn’t have a very good film course at the time. Spielberg would later drop out of college in 1968 after achieving a television contract at Universal, where he would go on to make television films. During his break from his education at California State University, which he would revisit after making some of the top-grossing films of the time period, he filmed television shorts, including Marcus Welby, MD, and Columbo. In 1971 Spielberg released his first feature-length professional film, Duel, an hour-long feature which was “made for television” which was broadcasted worldwide. The production had cost $350,000 and the film made back $5,000,000. The positive feedback of this feature led him to be noticed by more company’s and Spielberg soon started to produce and direct more films.

Career Success

As aforementioned, Duel’s recognition led Spielberg to create more and more movies. During the 70s, the films that were produced included one of his most profitable, Jaws, which still stands his third most successful film in box-office. Spielberg was to pulling in money by the millions, putting out classics such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Spielberg was one of the youngest and successful directors, and he hadn’t even finished college. The film watchers of America adored Spielberg, and even more, his films. Following commercial success in the 70s, the 80s were financially rewarding as well. The 80s produced Spielberg to make movies, directing the later to become classics like Raiders Lost Ark from the Indiana Jones Series. In the 90s Spielberg would continue his successful career, still directing and producing. His films had many awards and he had gained many awards from them as well, Spielberg was a hit. To sum up his film success, Notable Biographies states, “. . he was regarded as a man who understood the pulse of America as it would like to see itself. ”

Present

As of now, Spielberg is still in the film industry with a current net worth of $3. 6 billion. Upcoming movies under the direction of Spielberg include an addition to his old Indiana Jones series, Indiana Jones 5. Spielberg is currently married to American actress Kathleen Capshaw, with six children. Steven Spielberg is one of the most well-known directors of our generation, his films continue to inspire generations in filmmaking. For example, the modern age of film-making constantly now uses nostalgia to pull audiences in to experience a story told in a familiar setting, to relate to them on a new level. Films constantly use Spielberg’s iconic style and reference his sci-fi classics to bring the watchers back to their childhoods. An example is the television hit Stranger Things, which is a sci-fi set in the early 80s that the directors (“The Duffer Brothers”) claim themselves to be heavily reminiscent of Spielberg’s style and references his films constantly.

Conclusion

In closing, Spielberg began his interest in film as a child, and went on to become a well-known and successful director; he now still produces movies and persists to entertain the nation. As with most cases, Spielberg’s skill matured with his career; his creativity never diminished throughout his ages in film. Within Steven Spielberg’s expeditions in film, he has created movies that have defined whole generations and have impacted millions of watchers. Spielberg’s career and the products of it will continue to be remembered by those who go to experience his films, he has built his own following and will inspire ages of filmmakers to come.