Steven Allan Spielberg; a name which not only resounds in Hollywood, but echoes through the entire globe. He is one of the wealthiest filmmakers in the world with billions to his name and a whole lot of movies under the same. When I say a whole lot, I mean literally a massive amount of work which has either been directed, produced, written or all of it, by him. He has earned success not just commercially but his work is positively acclaimed among critics. Each of his movies wins several awards and his movies almost always are nominated for Academy Awards.
Steven Spielberg’s movies are a fine example of collaboration of Art and Entertainment. The man who started as a one man army behind the camera, at a very young age before even hitting his teens, never really stopped once he started off. His journey simply expanded with his team.
Spielberg’s story is one we all can relate with. He wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth, or in this case, a camera in his hand. But his story of finding his passion for direction is something that tends to leave us inspired.
“Dreams never come from the front and hit you in the face. They sneak up from behind you. A dream doesn’t scream. It sometimes only whispers. It’s how human instinct is. It never screams, it’s a feeble voice or idea which pops up and makes your heart flutter.”
If something you do, gives you immense happiness in its moment of accomplishment and fills you with pure joy, seek that. Pursue it because that might just be your calling. If something makes your heart flutter, it’s going to be the reason for your flight. Chase your dream and get down accomplishing it with everything you have got.
Steven was very young, probably 6 or 7 years old when one day his father came up to him and said he will take him to see The Greatest Show on Earth. Now at the age of 6, being told he would be witnessing the greatest show on the entire planet gave Steven an excitement beyond comprehension. So all prepared and pulsing with enthusiasm, young Spielberg went off with his father after a week of the news being broken to him, to witness the show. There was a massive line where the two must have waited for a good deal of two hours or more. Steven expected lion tamers, circus acts and trapeze artists; but to his surprise his long await lead him into a dimly lit room. He was confused but he took seat next to his father. There was a huge red curtain that hid behind God knows what wonders. Soon, the lights went down and the curtain opened. There appeared a flickering image with grainy picturesque in front of him and Spielberg’s heart broke as he realized he had not come to witness a circus. He had come to witness a movie about a circus – “Cecile B. Mill’s Greatest Show on Earth (a 1952 American-Drama film)”. But after a few minutes Steven moved on from his first heartbreak to fall for the first love of his life, ‘Cinema’. He was glued to the screen throughout and lived the story with the characters. He was enchanted by the wonders of Cinema.
But, this wasn’t his inspiration to become a director. He describes how there was this scene in a movie which had two trains ramming into each other and it was such an epic disaster. It left him fascinated. Thus, he asked his father, to get him a toy train. Next year, same request was pleaded. So for a few years he collected trains and human toys and mini stations. He has as he quotes “had gone nuts for trains”. One day, he recreated that scene with his trains. It has basically stuck in his mind. The trains rammed into each other and obviously broke. So he went up to his father and got them repaired. Again, he did the same action sequence. That disaster scene gave him a high and he wanted to keep doing it. But the train broke again and this time his father told him, if he got a broken train for repair again because he was ramming them into each other, the train set would be taken away from him.
Now, Spielberg obviously didn’t want to part with his train set. So he saw his father’s 8mm Kodak film movie camera lying in a corner. He wondered, if he captures this scene on the camera he wouldn’t have to recreate it. He could simply watch the scenes again and again. So there he made his first directorial shots from all angles capturing the train wreck and boy did it turn out wonderful. Steven could now watch the train crash without the fear of his train set being taken away from him. This is when, the thought struck in his mind, what else could he do with this camera, and that’s how the journey on becoming world’s greatest director was embarked upon.
Steven Spielberg made his first proper 40 minute war film at the age of 13, titled “Escape to nowhere” with a cast of high school and neighbourhood friends. He made many amateur films in his teens with his 8mm camera. “Jaws” in 1975 turned out to be first of his films to receive worldwide appreciation and critic acclaim. The movie grossed more than $470 million worldwide at the box office. I would practically have to write an entirely another article simply dedicated to this man’s career. It’s like he started making movies, and then he simply never stopped.
Giving us action packed adventures like Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones or collaborating in the star war series with George Lucas. He has directed sci-fiction masterpieces like E.T. the Extra Terrestrial which received 4 Academy Awards out of 9 nominations and others like War of the Worlds, A.I. Artificial Intelligence and more. He has also adapted real life stories into motion picture format releasing The Post, Amistad, Schindler’s List, and Saving Private Ryan etc. In 1993 he received his first Academy Award for Best Director, for Schindler’s List. Much deserved and finally received was this particular award which was long awaited; more by the world than Spielberg himself. May it be his long term relations with Universal Studios, his majorly successful production house “Dream Works”, or every piece of work he releases which embarks another level of mastery; Spielberg has success brimming out of all his ventures. But that is what we need to understand, this man has entirely made himself who he is through his own efforts. He has earned everything step by step through hard work and most of all, belief.
Steven believes even if it be a kid flying on a bicycle across the sky (scene from E.T.), it is Art. Art doesn’t have to be serious. Art can make you feel like a kid again. In fact there’s a kid in him that never really died. His movies show possibilities just the way a kid believes everything is possible. No wonder this man created a wave of escapist cinema. He presented to the world what we do not wish to believe in. He demonstrated sci-fiction possibilities remarkably which entertained yet touched our hearts at the same time. Steven Spielberg is a man full of stories and vision which the cinephiles crave for. At the same time, he is a man full of inspiration and someone who makes us realize, no matter how high you soar up in the sky, never forget your roots. And yes, “Listen to the whisper of your dream and then, go live it!”