Steven Spielberg: 76th Birthday

[erik]

Today marks the 76th birthday of the man who is arguably our all-time greatest cinematic master--Steven Spielberg. This man, it seems, was basically put on this planet to make movies which, to quote a line at the beginning of his latest one The Fabelmans, are "dreams that you never forget".



He started professionally at Universal's TV division directing the middle segment of the 1969 TV pilot Night Gallery, where he directed no less than Joan Crawford, who was forty years his senior; and this was to lead to his absolutely sweat-inducing 1971 made-for-TV psychological thriller Duel. And after the trouble-plagued Jaws was unleashed on an unsuspecting public in 1975, making a then-unprecedented $200 million, it was off to the races for Spielberg. He has managed to work his skillful direction in everything from science fiction (Close Encounters; E.T.; A.I.; Ready Player One; Jurassic Park) to high adventure (Raiders Of The Lost Ark), the Holocaust (Schindler's List), World War II combat (Saving Private Ryan), the Cold War (Bridge Of Spies), the politics of the Vietnam War (The Post), and a brilliant 2021 re-imagining of the classic Broadway musical West Side Story.

Spielberg was interviewed a few weeks ago on CBS Sunday Morning by Leslie Stahl about The Fabelmans, and the real-life story behind it. It is basically an ode to his being Jewish and growing up in WASP neighborhoods in Arizona and Northern California in the conformist 1950's and early 1960's, much as Feels Like Home was Linda's homage to growing up Mexican-American in southern Arizona and northern Mexico.

[Holly]

Happy Birthday Steven.

Spielberg is also developing a movie based on a book/podcast by Rachel Maddow:

www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-presents-ultra
www.rachelmaddow.com/rachel-maddow-presents-ultra/

Quite timely considering what is going on in American politics today and promises to worsen this January with the takeover of the House of Representatives. Buckle your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy ride.

[erik]

Quote by Holly:

Happy Birthday Steven.

Spielberg is also developing a movie based on a book/podcast by Rachel Maddow:

www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-presents-ultra
www.rachelmaddow.com/rachel-maddow-presents-ultra/

Quite timely considering what is going on in American politics today and promises to worsen this January with the takeover of the House of Representatives. Buckle your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy ride.

Yes, this one should be a hugely interesting one if he can pull it off, which I sure think he can. I know a lot of people would rather that he do another Indiana Jones film, or another "blockbuster" film, but that's no longer who he is (if that's who he ever really was).

[Holly]

I am waiting for Spielberg or Michael Moore to do a docudrama or documentary about Jan 6 and the events leading up to it. It may then be taken more seriously than it is now by some. Too many are oblivious to what is happening right out in the open. While people would expect that from Moore it might be too controversial for Spielberg. Something from the far distant past might have the same effect if done correctly as in the Rachel Maddow project.

[erik]

Quote by Holly:

While people would expect that from Moore it might be too controversial for Spielberg. Something from the far distant past might have the same effect if done correctly as in the Rachel Maddow project.

I think January 6th might work best for Michael Moore, who is, after all, an ultimate cinematic provocateur. Spielberg, however, to his credit, has stepped into the socio-political breach before, especially if you look at films like Munich (about Israel's counteroffensive against the Black September terrorist leaders who killed 11 of their athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics), or The Post (which was about how the Washington Post, long in competition with the New York Times, assisted in uncovering the Pentagon Papers that exposed the falsifications behind the Vietnam War). He should be given credit for those two, as those were not necessarily kiddie fare.

[Holly]

Spielberg is being interviewed by Terry Gross aka Fresh Air today as a repeat tonight.  He called the Faberman's his 40 million dollar therapy session. Interesting interview about his life.

thisisfreshair.org/segments/steven-spielberg-was-fearful-kid-who-found-solace-storytelling

NOVEMBER 9, 2022


Steven Spielberg was a fearful kid who found solace in storytelling


Steven Spielberg's new film "The Fabelmans" is a semi-autobiographical film based on his childhood and teenage years, and tells the story, in a fictionalized way, of how he fell in love with movies, and became a filmmaker.

[erik]

Having heard this NPR interview just now, I think it goes to show just how big a deal Spielberg still is as a director and a human being after just over half a century. This is someone who cares deeply about telling good stories, stories that reveal a lot about him as a person, and that, almost invariably, tell us something about ourselves. Given that he is often credited (and blamed) for having instituted the so-called "blockbuster" syndrome in Hollywood, it is all too easy to forget that, especially since many of his more "serious" films, from Schindler's List onward, have done exceptionally well at the box office, even something as graphic as Saving Private Ryan.

[rick]

Sally Field on Spielberg —

www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/sally-field-steven-spielberg-date-palm-springs-film-awards-1235292582/

[erik]

I don't think I'd be too shocked to know if Spielberg and Sally Field nearly went out on a date if what she said was true about them having met in 1968. At that time, Sally had already been in one TV series (Gidget), was in a second one (The Flying Nun), and had made her big-screen debut in the 1967 film The Way West. Spielberg, in the meantime, was still a student at Long Beach State, but had just made a 26-minute short film called Amblin' as his "audition" piece for getting a professional directing gig over at Universal (which he did indeed get on December 18, 1968, when he turned 22).

The date may not have materialized, but at least he got Sally to star as Mary Todd Lincoln opposite Daniel Day Lewis in his 2012 masterpiece Lincoln.