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Steven Spielberg (Male, 63) Born: 18th December 1946 (Cincinnati, Ohio, USA)
Filmogs Rating:   (92.64%)
Links: IMDb Profile
Steven Spielberg Biography: Without a doubt one of the most influential film personalities in the history of film, Steven Spielberg is perhaps Hollywood's best known director and one of the wealthiest filmmakers in the world. Spielberg has countless big grossing critically acclaimed credits to his name, both as producer, director and writer. Spielberg was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1946. He went to Long Beach University, but dropped out to pursue his entertainment career. He gained notoriety as an uncredited assistant editor on the classic western "Wagon Train" (1957). Among his early directing efforts were _Battle Squad (1961)_, which combined World War Two Footage with footage of an airplane that is on the ground he makes you believe is moving. He also directed Escape to Nowhere (1961), which featured kids as World War Two soldiers, including his sister Anne Spielberg, and The Last Gun (1959), a western. All of these were short films. The next couple of years Spielberg directed a couple of movies that would be foretelling to his future career in movies. In 1964 he directed Firelight (1964), a movie about aliens invading a small town. In 1967 he directed the movie Slipstream (1967), which was unfinished. But in 1968 he directed the movie Amblin' (1968), which featured the desert prominently, and not the first Spielberg movie the desert would be so prominent in. Amblin would also become the production company he would produce many films with, including the classic E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). Spielberg had a unique and classic early directing project, Duel (1971/I) (TV), with Dennis Weaver. The film is considered a unique classic that still baffles some. In the early 1970s Spielberg was working on TV, in Rod Serling's "Night Gallery" (1970), "Marcus Welby, M.D." (1969) and Columbo: Murder by the Book (1971) (TV), to name a few. All of his work in television and short films, as well as his directing projects were just the beginning of the gathering storm of talent that would become the Spielberg that made the brilliant films he would later become known for internationally. As an undoubted rising star, his major directorial effort was The Sugarland Express (1974), with Goldie Hawn. It was his next directorial effort that made Spielberg an international superstar among directors: Jaws (1975). This classic shark attack tale started the tradition of the summer blockbuster, or at least he was credited with starting the tradition. His next effort was the classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), a unique and very original UFO story that remains a cult classic. In 1978 Spielberg produced his first film, the forgettable I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978), and followed his first effort with _Used Cars (1980)_, a critically acclaimed, but mostly forgotten Kurt RussellJack Warden comedy. Spielberg hit gold again directing Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), with Harrison Ford taking the part of Indiana Jones. Spielberg produced and directed two films in 1982. The first one was Poltergeist (1982), but the highest grossing movie of all time up to that point was the alien story, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). Spielberg also made money a major part of the film industry, or at least a bigger part of the industry than it was before. He was the first producer to use product placement in his films, with the infamous placement of Rieces Pieces in "E.T." Spielberg was also one of the pioneers of the big grossing special effects movies, like "E.T.," and "Close Encounters," where a very strong emphasis on special effects was placed for the first time on such a large scale. In 1984 Spielberg followed up "Raiders" with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), which was a commercial success but critically did not live up to its predecessor. As a producer Spielberg took on many projects in the 1980s, such as the silly The Goonies (1985), and was the brains behind the little monsters in Gremlins (1984). Spielberg also produced the cartoon An American Tail (1986), a quaint little animated classic. But his biggest effort as producer in 1985 was the blockbuster Back to the Future (1985), which made Michael J. Fox an instant superstar. As director, Spielberg took on the book The Color Purple (1985), with Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey, with great success. In the latter half of the 1980s he also directed Empire of the Sun (1987), which was a mixed success for the occasionally erratic Spielberg. But success would not escape him for long. The late eighties found Spielberg's projects at the center of pop culture yet again. In 1988 he produced the landmark animationlive action film Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). But 1989 proved to be another big year for Spielberg, as he produced and directed Always (1989), as well as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), and Back to the Future Part II (1989). All three of the movies were box office and critical successes. Also in 1989 Steven Spielberg produced the little known comedy drama Dad (1989), with Jack Lemmon and Ted Danson, which gave mostly mixed results. Spielberg has also had an affinity for animation and has been a strong voice in animation in the nineties. Aside from producing the landmark Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Steven Spielberg produced the TV show "Tiny Toon Adventures" (1990), "Animaniacs" (1993), "Pinky and the Brain" (1995), "Freakazoid!" (1995), "Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain" (1998), _"Family Dog" (1993)_, and "Toonsylvania" (1998). Spielberg also produced other cartoons such as The Land Before Time (1988), We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (1993), _Casper (1995)_ (the live action version) as well as the live action version of _Flintstones, The (1994), where Steven Spielberg was credited as "Steven Spielrock." Spielberg also produced many Roger Rabbit seperate cartoons, and many Pinky and the Brain, Animaniacs and Tiny Toons specials. Spielberg was very active in the early nineties, as he directed Hook (1991), and produced such films as the cute fantasy Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) and An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991). He also produced the unusual comedy thriller Arachnophobia (1990), Back to the Future Part III (1990), and Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990). While the movies were big successes in their own right, they did not quite bring in the box office or appeal as previous efforts. In 1993 Spielberg directed Jurassic Park (1993) which would go on to be the highest grossing movie of all time, for a short time. While the movie was a top grosser at the box office, the movie did not have the universal appeal of his previous efforts. But big box office spectacles were not his only line of business. He produced and directed Schindler's List (1993), a stirring film about the Holocaust. He won best director at the Oscars, and also got Best Picture. In the mid-nineties Spielberg founded the production company Dreamworks, responsible for many box office successes in the nineties and the new century. Spielberg as a producer was very active in the late nineties spearheading such films as The Mask of Zorro (1998), Men in Black (1997), and Deep Impact (1998). But on the directing front Spielberg was in top form in the late nineties. Spielberg directed and produced the epic, Amistad (1997), a spectacular film that was shorted at the Oscars and in release due to the fact that its release date was moved around so much in late 1997. But 1998 found one of Spielberg's best films in years come to the theaters: Saving Private Ryan (1998). This movie was an almost perfect film about World War Two that is spectacular in almost every respect. The movie was stiffed at the Oscars, losing best picture to Shakespeare in Love (1998). In the nineties Spielberg produced a series of films, including Evolution (2001), The Haunting (1999), and Shrek (2001). Spielberg also produced two sequels to Jurassic Park (1993) which met with big box office but an increasingly critical crowd of movie-goers. In 2001 he produced the mini-series about World War Two entitled "Band of Brothers" (2001) (mini). Also in that year, Spielberg was back in the director's chair for Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001), a movie with a message and a huge budget. The movie did reasonably at the box office and received mixed signals from critics. As of right now Steven Spielberg is teaming up with Tom Cruise for the expected box office hit Minority Report (2002). While the movie is showing off good special effects and a stellar pairing of two titans of the silver screen the critics have not all been too friendly. Perhaps this is a further sign that Spielberg's days of big box office are on the decline. As well as producing Men in Black II (2002), Spielberg's next two projects are producing and directing Catch Me If You Can (2002), with Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio, and Indiana Jones 4 (2006). While Spielberg has proven a brilliant filmmaker in the past his latest efforts have been mixed, but only the future will tell how he is looked upon as a presence in film. And while Spielberg has been extremely active in films there are many other things he has done as well. Spielberg produced the short lived TV series "SeaQuest DSV" (1993), an anthology series entitled "Amazing Stories" (1985), created the video game series Medal of Honor set during World War Two, and was a starting producer of "ER" (1994). Spielberg, if you haven't noticed, has a great interest in World War Two. Recently he produced the mini series "Band of Brothers" (2001) (mini), which was based on true events of a rifle company that parachuted into France. Him and Tom Hanks collaborated on Shooting War (2000) (TV), about World War Two combat footage, and produced a documentary about the Holocaust called A Holocaust szemei (2000). With all if this to Spielberg's credit, it is no wonder that he is looked at as one of the greatest ever figures in entertainment. Spielberg is a great filmmaker without a doubt, and it does not seem he is anywhere near done making films, and with all of the money he has he probably could do anything he wanted to. And recently Spielberg graduated from Long Beach State University with a degree in filmmaking. His possibilities are still limitless.
Steven Spielberg Movies... | War of the Worlds (2005)
Ray Ferrier is a working class man living in New Jersey. He's estranged from his family, his life isn't in order, and he's too caught up with himself. But the unthinkable and, ultimately, the unexp... |
 | The Terminal (2004)
Viktor Navorski, a man from an Eastern European country arrives in New York but after he left his country; war broke out and because of that Navorski is a man without a country that the U.S. can re... |
 | Catch Me If You Can (2002)
New Rochelle, the 1960s. High schooler Frank Abagnale Jr. idolizes his father, who's in trouble with the IRS. When his parents separate, Frank runs away to Manhattan with $25 in his checking accoun... |
 | Minority Report (2002)
In the year 2054, a so-called "pre-crime division" is working around Washington, DC. Its purpose is to use the precog(nitive) potential of three genetically altered humans to prevent murder... |
| Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001)
In the not-so-far future the polar ice caps have melted and the resulting raise of the ocean waters has drowned all the coastal cities of the world. Withdrawn to the interior of the continents, the... |
 | Saving Private Ryan (1998)
During WWII, Chief of Staff, General Marshall is informed that three of a woman's sons have been killed and that she's going to receive the notifications of their demise at the same time. And when ... |
| Amistad (1997)
Amistad is the name of a slave ship traveling towards the New World in 1839. It is carrying a cargo of Africans who have been captured, taken on board, and chained in the cargo hold of the ship. As... |
 | Jurassic Park (1993)
Scientists develop a means of bringing dinosaurs to life using DNA taken from dino' blood, which has been preserved inside insects encased in amber. Whilst Hammond is showing off his dinosaur 'them... |
 | Schindler's List (1993)
Schindler's List is the based-on-truth story of Nazi Czech business man Oskar Schindler, who uses Jewish labor to start a factory in occupied Poland. As World War II progresses, and the fate of the... |
 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
After Adolf Hitler & the Nazis fail to obtain the Ark of the Covenant, Hitler orders the SS and Wehrmacht to go after the cup of Christ - the Holy Grail. Indiana Jones is pressed back into acti... |
 | Empire of the Sun (1987)
An aristocratic British youth is seperated from his family at the start of World War II after the Japanese Army invades British controlled areas of China. Reduced to living on the street and fighti... |
 | The Goonies (1985)
Mikey and Brandon Walsh are two brothers whose family is preparing to move due to a new development that is sure to be started unless enough money is raised, which is quite doubtful. But, when Mike... |
 | Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
After a frightening escape from death at the hands of Chinese gangster Lao Che in Shanghai, Indiana Jones & 2 companions, Short Round (Quan) and Willie Scott (Capshaw) board a freight plane to ... |
 | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
While visiting the Earth at Night, a group of alien botanists is discovered and disturbed by an approaching human task force. Because of the more than hasty take-off, one of the visitors is left be... |
 | Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
The year is 1936. Archeology professor Indiana Jones narrowly escapes death in a South American temple with a gold idol - by poison dart, fall, and finally a giant boulder that chases him out the f... |
 | Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Cableman Roy Neary is one of several people who experience a close encounter of the first kind, witnessing UFOs flying through the night sky. He is subsequently haunted by a mountainlike image in h... |
 | Jaws (1975)
Martin Brody is the new police chief of Amity, an island resort town somewhere in New England. He has a wife named Ellen, and two sons named Michael and Sean. On a Summer morning, Brody is called t... |
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