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, as producer, director and writer. He 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. Among his early directing efforts were "Battle Squad (1961)", which combined World War II footage with footage of an airplane on the ground that he makes you believe is moving. He also directed Escape to Nowhere, which featured kids as World War Two soldiers, including his sister Anne Spielberg, and The Last Gun, a western. All of these were short films. The next couple of years Spielberg directed a couple of movies that would portend his future career in movies. In 1964 he directed Firelight, a movie about aliens invading a small town. In 1967 he directed Slipstream, which was unfinished. However, in 1968 he directed Amblin', which featured the desert prominently, and not the first Spielberg movie in which the desert would feature so prominently. Amblin' was also what he would eventually name his production company, which would turn out such classics as _E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)_ . Spielberg had a unique and classic early directing project, Duel, with Dennis Weaver. The film is considered a classic that still baffles some. In the early 1970s Spielberg was working on TV, directing among others such series as Rod Serling's Rod Serling's Night Gallery, Marcus Welby, M.D. and Columbo: Murder by the Book. All of his work in television and short films, as well as his directing projects, were just a hint of the wellspring of talent that would dazzle audiences all over the world.

Spielberg's first major directorial effort was The Sugarland Express, with Goldie Hawn, a film that marked him as a rising star. It was his next effort, however, that made him an international superstar among directors: Jaws. This classic shark attack tale started the tradition of the summer blockbuster, or at least he was credited with starting the tradition. His next film was the classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a unique and original UFO story that remains a classic. In 1978 Spielberg produced his first film, the forgettable I Wanna Hold Your Hand, and followed that effort with Used Cars, a critically acclaimed but mostly forgotten Kurt RussellJack Warden comedy about devious used-car dealers. Spielberg hit gold yet one more time with Raiders of the Lost Ark, with Harrison Ford taking the part of Indiana Jones. Spielberg produced and directed two films in 1982. The first was Poltergeist, but the highest-grossing movie of all time up to that point was the alien story _E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)_ . Spielberg also helped pioneer a practice that he may or may not be particularly proud of: product placement. The concept, while not uncommon, was still relatively low-key when Spielberg raised the practice to almost an art form with his famous (or 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 huge scale. In 1984 Spielberg followed up "Raiders" with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, which was a commercial success but did not receive the critical acclaim of its predecessor. As a producer Spielberg took on many projects in the 1980s, such as the silly The Goonies, and was the brains behind the little monsters in Gremlins. He also produced the cartoon An American Tail, a quaint little animated classic. His biggest effort as producer in 1985, however, was the blockbuster Back to the Future, which made Michael J. Fox an instant superstar. As director, Spielberg took on the book The Color Purple, with Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey, with great success. In the latter half of the 1980s he also directed Empire of the Sun, a mixed success for the occasionally erratic Spielberg. Success would not escape him for long, though.

The late 1980s found Spielberg's projects at the center of pop culture yet again. In 1988 he produced the landmark animation/live action film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The next year proved to be another big one for Spielberg, as he produced and directed Always as well as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and Back to the Future Part II. All three of the films were box-office and critical successes. Also in 1989 he produced the little known comedy-drama Dad, with Jack Lemmon and Ted Danson, which got mostly mixed results. Spielberg has also had an affinity for animation and has been a strong voice in animation in the 1990s. Aside from producing the landmark "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", he produced the animated series Steven Spielberg Presents... Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Freakazoid!, Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain, Family Dog and Toonsylvania. Spielberg also produced other cartoons such as The Land Before Time , We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story, Casper (the live action version) as well as the live action version of The Flintstones, where he was credited as "Steven Spielrock." Spielberg also produced many Roger Rabbit short cartoons, and many Pinky and the Brain, Animaniacs and Tiny Toons specials. Spielberg was very active in the early 1990s, as he directed Hook and produced such films as the cute fantasy Joe Versus the Volcano and An American Tail: Fievel Goes West. He also produced the unusual comedy thriller Arachnophobia, Back to the Future Part III and Gremlins 2: The New Batch. While these movies were big successes in their own right, they did not quite bring in the kind of box office or critical acclaim as previous efforts. In 1993 Spielberg directed Jurassic Park, which would for a short time hold the record as the highest grossing movie of all time, but did not have the universal appeal of his previous efforts. Big box-office spectacles were not his only concern, though. He produced and directed Schindler's List, a stirring film about the Holocaust. He won best director at the Oscars, and also got Best Picture. In the mid-'90s he helped found the production company DreamWorks, which was responsible for many box office successes in the '90s and beyond. Spielberg as a producer was very active in the late '90s, responsible for such films as The Mask of Zorro, Men in Black and Deep Impact. It was on the directing front that Spielberg was in top form in the late 1990s, though. He directed and produced the epic Amistad, 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.

The next year, however, produced what many believe was one of the best films of his career: Saving Private Ryan. This was an almost perfect film about World War Two that is spectacular in almost every respect. It was stiffed at the Oscars, losing best picture to Shakespeare in Love. In the 1990s Spielberg produced a series of films, including Evolution, The Haunting and Shrek. he also produced two sequels to Jurassic Park, which were financially but not particularly critical successes. In 2001 he produced a mini-series about World War Two that definitely WAS a financial and critical success: Band of Brothers, a tale of an infantry company from its parachuting into France during the invasion to the Battle of the Bulge. Also in that year, Spielberg was back in the director's chair for Artificial Intelligence: AI, a movie with a message and a huge budget. It did reasonably at the box office and garnered varied reviews from critics. As of right now Steven Spielberg is teaming up with Tom Cruise for the expected box office hit Minority Report. While the movie is showing off good special effects and a stellar pairing of two titans of the screen, 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, Spielberg's next two projects are producing and directing Catch Me If You Can, with Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio, and _"Indiana Jones 4". 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 2032, an anthology series entitled Amazing Stories, created the video game series Medal of Honor set during World War Two, and was a starting producer of ER. Spielberg, if you haven't noticed, has a great interest in World War Two. He and Tom Hanks collaborated on Shooting War, a documentary about World War II combat photographers, and he produced a documentary about the Holocaust called Eyes of the Holocaust. With all of this to Spielberg's credit, it's no wonder that he's 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.


Jurassic Park III (2001): $72,000,000
Schindler's List (1993): $0 (Asked not to be paid.)
Jurassic Park (1993): $250,000,000 (gross and profit participations)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981): $1,500,000 + % of gross

Member of Theta Chi Fraternity (Zeta Epsilon Chapter, Long Beach State University). One of his fraternity brothers was Roger Ernest. Is among the richest individuals in Hollywood. Jonathan Norman was sentenced to 25 years to life, for stalking Spielberg and threatening to rape him. [June 1998] Involved in road accident and treated for an injured shoulder. [23 September 1997] There are seven children in the Capshaw-Spielberg family: Theo Spielberg, who was adopted by Kate Capshaw before their marriage and later adopted by Spielberg, born in 1988, Sasha Spielberg, born on 14 May 1990, Sawyer Spielberg, born on 10 March 1992, their adopted daughter Mikaela George Spielberg, born on 28 February 1996, and Destry Allen Spielberg, born on 1 December 1996. Kate Capshaw's daughter Jessica Capshaw, born in 1976, is from her previous marriage. Steven Spielberg's son Max Spielberg, born in 1985, is from his previous marriage to Amy Irving. He claims Richard Dreyfuss is his alter-ego. Attended Arcadia High School in Phoenix. Awarded second annual John Huston Award for Artists Rights by the Artists Rights Foundation. [1995] He has one of the original Rosebud sleds from Citizen Kane (1941) in his house. Named Best Director of the 20th Century in an Entertainment Weekly on-line poll, substantially beating out runners-up Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick. [September 1999] Received the Distinguished Public Service Award, the U. S. Navy's highest civilian honor, on Veterans Day 1999 for his work on the movie Saving Private Ryan (1998). When he was a child, he sneaked onto the lot of Universal Studios during a tour and befriended an editor who showed him a few things about filmmaking. During filming of their episode of "Night Gallery" (1970), Spielberg gave Joan Crawford the gift of a single red rose in a Pepsi bottle. During an on-set conversation with Detroit Free Press reporter Shirley Eder, Crawford pointed out Spielberg and said, "Go interview that kid, because he's going to be the biggest director of all time!" Crawford and Spielberg remained good friends until her death in 1977. States that the work of David Lean has had a profound effect on his career. Almost directed Big (1988) with Tom Hanks starring, but didn't want to steal the thunder of his sister, Anne Spielberg, who co-wrote the script. Flew Will Smith to his Hamptons home via helicopter to offer him the part in Men in Black (1997). Was asked to approve use of the theme music from Jaws (1975) for Swingers (1996). When he saw a cut of the film, he saw Vince Vaughn, whom he chose to play Nick Van Owen in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997). Was directing a childbirth scene when he received a call that Amy Irving was giving birth to their son Max Spielberg. Born at 6:16 PM EST. On May 31, 2002, graduated from California State University Long Beach with a bachelor's degree in film and electronic arts. He had dropped out of college in 1968 to concentrate on his career, but during the 2000s fulfilled his remaining graduation requirements via independent projects, which required correspondence courses and several term papers. For Spielberg, the school waived its requirement that all senior film majors must submit a completed 12-minute short film, accepting Schindler's List (1993) in its place. He donned cap and gown and marched in the commencement ceremony with his fellow graduates. When Spielberg received his undergraduate degree (about 35 years after he had first entered college), the orchestra played the theme from the "Indiana Jones" series of films as he walked up to and across the stage. His father served in World War II in South East Asian Front. According to the 2002 edition of Forbes' "400 Richest People in America," his fortune is estimated at $2.2 billion, a $100 million improvement over the 2001 estimate. In Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), the humans and aliens use music and computers to communicate. Spielberg's father was a computer scientist and his mother was a musician. This fact was only recently pointed out to him on "Inside the Actors Studio" (1994) by host James Lipton and he was unsurprisingly delighted when he realised the connection. The first film he directed that was not scored by John Williams was The Color Purple (1985), which was scored by Quincy Jones. In 1983, he lost the Best Picture Oscar to Gandhi (1982), directed by Richard Attenborough. He later went on to direct five cast members, as well as Attenborough, in his later movies: Amrish Puri in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984); Roshan Seth in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984); Richard Attenborough in Jurassic Park (1993); Ben Kingsley in Schindler's List (1993), Nigel Hawthorne in Amistad (1997) and Martin Sheen in Catch Me If You Can (2002). When asked what are the films he's made he would like to be remembered for, he said E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and Schindler's List (1993). According to his interview on the series "Inside the Actors Studio" (1994), his favorite curse word is "Rats!" In the 2004 edition of Forbes' "400 Richest People in America", his net worth is estimated at $2.6 billion, his highest showing yet. The only filmmaker ahead of him is his good friend George Lucas, whose worth is estimated at $3 billion. His longtime friend George Lucas originally wanted him to direct the third entry of the original Star Wars trilogy, Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) and Spielberg was eager to do so, but Lucas was unsuccessful in getting him the job because of his dispute with the Director's Guild at the time. Directed nine actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Liam Neeson; Ralph Fiennes; Anthony Hopkins; Tom Hanks; Melinda Dillon; Whoopi Goldberg; Oprah Winfrey; Margaret Avery and Christopher Walken. Graduated from Saratoga High School in Saratoga, California. Though he has directed 9 actors in Oscar-nominated performances, to date he has never directed an Oscar-winning performance. Has been Honorary Member of the Society of Operating Cameramen (SOC) since 1995 and received the Governors Award "for his contributions in the advancement of the use of the motion picture camera". Aside from producing The Goonies (1985), he also directed at least one scene in the movie. In December, he, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen sold DreamWorks SKG to Paramount Pictures Corporation for $1.6 billion. His ten favourite films of all time are: Fantasia (1940); Citizen Kane (1941); A Guy Named Joe (1943); It's a Wonderful Life (1946); The War of the Worlds (1953); Psycho (1960); Lawrence of Arabia (1962); 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968); The Godfather (1972) and La nuit américaine (1973). His iconic character "E.T." from E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) is ranked #26 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time. Ranked #6 in the Power Rankings and #1 in the Money Rankings on Forbes' 2006 Celebrity 100 List, with earnings of $332 million. Most of those earnings were from the 2005 sale of DreamWorks to Paramount Pictures. Interviewed in "Directors Close Up: Interviews with Directors Nominated for Best Film by the Directors Guild of America", ed. by Jeremy Kagan, Scarecrow Press, 2006. On 14 December 2002 he bought Bette Davis' Oscar, which she won for Dangerous (1935), at a Sotheby's auction in New York to return it to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The statuette was among the memorabilia sold by the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain, which has emerged from bankruptcy protection. Early in his career, while working for Universal Studios, he was asked to give a tour to a special guest who had just sold the film rights to one of his books to the studio. That guest was Michael Crichton, who later worked with Spielberg on Jurassic Park (1993). Though he frequently works with Tom Hanks, Hanks is not, as of 2006, involved in Spielberg's biopic about Abraham Lincoln, even though he is descended from the family of Lincoln's mother, Nancy Hanks. Godfather of Gwyneth Paltrow. According to Teri Garr, Spielberg told her on a set that one of his favorite movies is Viva Las Vegas (1964), starring Elvis Presley. Considered directing Memoirs of a Geisha (2005). Is a huge fan of the actors Steve Martin, Bill Murray and Robin Williams. He is also proud to admit they are good friends of his. Was originally set to direct Cape Fear (1991). He later recommended Martin Scorsese for the job and personally called the director, letting him know that this was a commercial film that had potential to be a hit, which would exercise more power for Scorcese to make his films. Went to the same college, CSULB as Frank Miranda. Burt Reynolds film "White Lightning" (1973) was originally slated to be Spielberg's first theatrical feature and he spent months on pre-production. 2007- Ranked #2 on EW's The 50 Smartest People in Hollywood. In 2007, Forbes estimated his earnings for the year 2006 to be $110 million. His dog Elmer starred in several of his films including Jaws (1975) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Pulled out of his role as advisor to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, reacting to the Chinese government's inaction over the genocide in Darfur (February 2008). Dated actress Valerie Bertinelli in the late '70s. Served on the Board for the Institute for the Study of Women in Men in Society for USC. Hosted events for the intellectual society at his screening room and offices on the Universal lot in the late 1980s. When Spielberg accepted the Cecil B. DeMille award at the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards he expressed his gratitude to DeMille for helping him come to love filmmaking in the first place, describing his earliest childhood memory of going to see DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) with his father. "I think my fate was probably sealed that day in 1952", he said, recalling how the train wreck scene in that film inspired first a keen interest in electric train sets and eventually his passion for film. Worked with both father and son Brolin actors. He worked with James Brolin in Catch Me If You Can (2002), and Josh Brolin in The Goonies (1985) and "Into the West" (2005). He directed six of the American Film Institute's 100 Most Heart-Pounding Movies: Jaws (1975) at #2, Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) at #10, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) at #31, Jurassic Park (1993) at #35, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) at #44 and Saving Private Ryan (1998) at #45. His publicist is Marvin Levy.