Steven Spielberg Essay, Research Paper

I’m Steven Spielberg and I was born in Cincinnati on

December 18, 1947, but I was mainly raised in New

Jersey and Arizona. When I was 12 years old I used my

dads 8mm camcorder and made a movie. I continued to

make films with the camcorder for five more years until I

went on a trip to Universal Studios. I was 17 years old and

I broke away from the main tourist group to see the sound

stages. I bumped into the head of Universal’s editorial

department, Chuck Silvers. We talked for about an hour

and he wanted to see some of my 8mm films. When I

showed them to him he said they were good but he could

only wish me luck. So the next day I put on a suit and

borrowed my fathers suitcase and walked in the front gate

of Universal Studio’s like I did it every day. One reason I

got away with this is because the guard thought I was the

owners son. I bought some plastic name tags at a camera

store and I found an empty office. Then I put my name in

the building directory. Everyday that summer I hung out

with directors, writers, and editors. After talking to all of

these movie makers I found out that nobody really liked my

movies. The next fall I asked some of the executives at

Universal how I can get my films noticed. They said I

should put my films on 16 or 35mm film. So I did. I made a

20 minute movie about a boy and a girl hitch-hiking from

the dessert to the Pacific. The day after it was shown at

Universal, Sidney Sheinberg, the head of Universal’s T.V.

production department, gave me a seven year contract to

work on T.V. series. The first few years of the contract

were fun, but after a while I didn’t want to direct T.V.

shows. In 1971 I got a chance to make my first real movie.

It was Called Duel and it was about a salesman who was

harassed by a truck driver. Even though the movie didn’t

make much money and wasn’t popular, it was my first

movie and I had a lot of fun. During the next 10 years I

directed 4 of the top 10 movies ever made, including Jaws,

Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost

Ark, and E.T. which is number one. E.T.- The Extra

Terrestrial made $720 million dollars worldwide in the

theaters and over a billion dollars total with video sales.

Some other movies I directed were, Indiana Jones and the

Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Jurassic Park, Always, and The Sugarland Express. Even

though my most famous movies I made I directed, I also

produced quite a few movies, including Poltergeist,

Gremlins 1 and 2, all 3 Back to the Futures, and The

Goonies. After my success at the movie theaters, I wanted

to do a program on television. I chose Amazing Stories

which allowed me to put my childhood stories on T.V. The

show didn’t get very good reviews and people didn’t watch

it. So the series was canceled after 24 episodes, 20 short

from what was planned. I’ve been very successful in my

career. The films I’ve made in the past have been

entertaining to both children and adults. I now plan to start

making more adult films. I hope to continue to amuse and

entertain my audiences for many years to come.