Steven Spielberg - Filmmakers Magazine

After being denied entrance into traditional film schools, Steven Spielberg entered California State University in Long Beach to study English. Steven Spielberg’s professional movie career began the day that he decided to jump off a tour bus at Universal Studios Hollywood and wander around the back lots. Apparently he found an abandoned janitors closet and turned it into an office. After some time, the security guards had seen him so often that they would wave him through the gates, no questions asked. He would however, dress the part, looking quite professional in his Bar Mitzvah suit and tie (not a T-shirt and jeans) so he didn’t look so much like a kid.

The movie, Amblin, 24 minutes long, led to his becoming the youngest director ever to be signed to a long-term deal with a major Hollywood studio.

Once inside and settled, Steven Spielberg started production on Amblin. This movie, only 24 minutes long, led to his becoming the youngest director ever to be signed to a long-term deal with a major Hollywood studio (Universal). The movie had a $15,000 budget, provided by a friend whom was also trying to achieve his big break in the industry. Amblin won several film festival awards including a showing at the Atlanta Film Festival in 1969. Steven Spielberg was then signed to a 7-year contract under the Television division. Just 4 years later, after directing a diversity of TV shows, he directed the suspense-filled made-for-TV film Duel which received critical and audience acclaim and was later released into theaters.

Steven Spielberg followed up the success of Jaws two years later with his next film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which received an academy nomination for best director. Not every Steven Spielberg film has received acclaim however, as proven by the disastrous failure of the film 1941, his first attempt at comedy (released in 1979). This disappointment did not discourage him however, and he next teamed up with a friend of his named George Lucas. Together, Steven Spielberg and Lucas adapted an action adventure picture based on serials they both loved as kids called Raiders of the Lost Arc. The film earned Steven Spielberg another best director Oscar nomination.

One year later (1982), Steven Spielberg’s next film E.T The Extra Terrestrial became the biggest domestic moneymaker of all time.  E.T. was in fact the first movie to be produced by Amblin Entertainment, a production company formed by Steven Spielberg in 1982 carrying the name of his first big break in the business. Amblin was only a production studio, and worked together with many other studios such as Universal Pictures, Columbia Pictures and Warner Brothers. With the Amblin name and logo prevalent, many films became immediate successes and American icons, including such films as Twister, E.T., Back to the future, Gremlins, Jurassic Park, Schindlers List and Saving Private Ryan.

A big challenge was presented to Steven Spielberg in 1985. After receiving much criticism that he couldn’t make a picture with adult content, he directed the movie The Color Purple.  Although Steven Spielberg himself did not receive an Oscar nomination, the film received 11.

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