Steven Spielberg Essay, Research Paper
I’m Steven Spielberg and I was born in Cincinnati on
December 18, 1947, but I was mainly raised in New
Jersey and Arizona. When I was 12 years old I used my
dads 8mm camcorder and made a movie. I continued to
make films with the camcorder for five more years until I
went on a trip to Universal Studios. I was 17 years old and
I broke away from the main tourist group to see the sound
stages. I bumped into the head of Universal’s editorial
department, Chuck Silvers. We talked for about an hour
and he wanted to see some of my 8mm films. When I
showed them to him he said they were good but he could
only wish me luck. So the next day I put on a suit and
borrowed my fathers suitcase and walked in the front gate
of Universal Studio’s like I did it every day. One reason I
got away with this is because the guard thought I was the
owners son. I bought some plastic name tags at a camera
store and I found an empty office. Then I put my name in
the building directory. Everyday that summer I hung out
with directors, writers, and editors. After talking to all of
these movie makers I found out that nobody really liked my
movies. The next fall I asked some of the executives at
Universal how I can get my films noticed. They said I
should put my films on 16 or 35mm film. So I did. I made a
20 minute movie about a boy and a girl hitch-hiking from
the dessert to the Pacific. The day after it was shown at
Universal, Sidney Sheinberg, the head of Universal’s T.V.
production department, gave me a seven year contract to
<work on T.V. series. The first few years of the contract
were fun, but after a while I didn’t want to direct T.V.
shows. In 1971 I got a chance to make my first real movie.
It was Called Duel and it was about a salesman who was
harassed by a truck driver. Even though the movie didn’t
make much money and wasn’t popular, it was my first
movie and I had a lot of fun. During the next 10 years I
directed 4 of the top 10 movies ever made, including Jaws,
Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost
Ark, and E.T. which is number one. E.T.- The Extra
Terrestrial made $720 million dollars worldwide in the
theaters and over a billion dollars total with video sales.
Some other movies I directed were, Indiana Jones and the
Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Jurassic Park, Always, and The Sugarland Express. Even
though my most famous movies I made I directed, I also
produced quite a few movies, including Poltergeist,
Gremlins 1 and 2, all 3 Back to the Futures, and The
Goonies. After my success at the movie theaters, I wanted
to do a program on television. I chose Amazing Stories
which allowed me to put my childhood stories on T.V. The
show didn’t get very good reviews and people didn’t watch
it. So the series was canceled after 24 episodes, 20 short
from what was planned. I’ve been very successful in my
career. The films I’ve made in the past have been
entertaining to both children and adults. I now plan to start
making more adult films. I hope to continue to amuse and
entertain my audiences for many years to come.