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The Birth of Spielberg
Steven Spielberg was born on 12/18/1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio. His mother, Leah Frances, was a concert pianist his father, Arnold Spielberg, was an electrical engineer. They lived in Cincinnati until he was the age of 5 later moved to Phoenix Northern California. -
Phoenix, AZ
Spielberg moved to Phoenix in 1957 when he was about 10 years old. He was Bar Mitzvahed here in Downtown Phoenix and where he was able to grow further his passion for filmmaking. Some of his early film projects were created during this time starting with a WWII movie called Fighter Squad. -
Filmmaker's Spark
In 1958 Spielberg received a photography merit badge as a boy scout for creating a 9 minute short film called The Last Gunfight. This is said to be one of the moments that sparked a lifelong interest of filmmaking for the young scholar. -
Firelight
When Spielberg was 16 he wrote directed his first film, Firelight. It was a science fiction independent film that he completed with a budget of about $500 about alien abductions in a fictional town based in AZ. -
Draft Notice for the Vietnam War
Steven Spielberg was part of the generation that was eligible to be drafted for the Vietnam War and has openly spoken about doing everything he could do to try and avoid it. When he received his draft notice in 1964 he sought therapy in order to avoid it. One of his major films, Saving Private Ryan, is thought to be heavily influenced from the Vietnam War despite the film taking place during World War II. -
Saratoga, CA
The Spielberg family moved to Saratoga in 1965. After his parent's divorce he went and lived with his father in Los Angeles. It is here where he was rejected from his first choice, the University of Southern California's film school later enrolled to California State University. -
California State University
In 1965 Steven Spielberg attended California State University. He was at the university studying film for 3 years when he dropped out in 1968 to pursue his career in filmmaking when offered the Universal Studios contract. In 2002 at age 55 he returned to the college and earned his BA in film electronic arts. -
The 'Amblin' effect
Steven's 26 minute short film named 'Amblin' debuted and this landed him a 7 year directing contract with one of the largest film studios, Universal Studios. -
Feature Film Debut
At 24 year old Steven Spielberg released his first feature film as a director called Duel. Fun fact; he completed most of the film in 13 days. -
First Flop
Steven Spielbergs first box office disappointment was the Sugarland Express that released in 1974. The film is about a couple who take a cop hostage and flee across Texas attempting to rescue their child before he is placed in foster care. The film was reported to be pulled from theatres just after 2 weeks due to low ticket sales. -
JAWS
This was a major blockbuster film for a young Spielberg in Hollywood and what we really kicked off summer blockbusters in his career. The film was a great success and a pivotal moment in his career. -
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
The warming story about a boy befriending an alien the wild adventures they go through together was one of Spielbergs biggest films earned just under $800 million. -
Amy Irving
Amy Irving was Steven Spielbergs first wife they were married from 1985 to 1989. Amy Steven first met when she was auditioning for a film he was directing at the time, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. They had one of the largest divorce settlements during their time, roughly around 100 million. -
Max Spielberg
Steven's first son is born June 13th, 1985 and later on that year he married his first wife, Amy Irving.
Spielberg will later on in life have more kids and has a total of 7 children (4 biological, 2 adopted 1 step-daughter) -
Kate Capshaw
On October 12th 1991, Steven married his second wife Kate Capshaw. They first met on the set of the movie Indiana Jones the Temple of Doom in 1984. Kate was a lead female role and their professional relationship evolved into a more personal relationship during the the production of the film -
Jurassic Park
One of Steven Spielbergs biggest hit was Jurassic Park. The film released in 1993 brought a lot of influence with it. It sparked a lot of interest with its use of CGI and became the highest grossing film of all time at the time of its release. Spielberg was directing both Schindler's List and Jurassic Park at the same time. -
Shoah Foundation
The Shoah Foundation was created by Spielberg and was inspired by the research that was conducted for one of his hit films, Schindler's List. The organization was created to record cement in history the testimonies of both witnesses survivors of the Holocaust. -
Schindler's List
On March 21st, 1994 Steven Spielberg won his first Academy Award. He won the award for Best Director for the film Schindler's List. He was deeply influenced by his father's World War 2 experiences the Holocaust when he was directing this film that overall helped him to create realistic environments. -
Dyslexia
Although Spielberg was not officially diagnosed with Dyslexia until age 60, there were several indicators that show he struggled with the diagnosis beforehand including taking longer than 2 years to learn how to read when compared to peers. -
Present Day
Currently, Steven Spielberg continues to be a monumental figure in the filmmaking industry and is working on an original untitled film regarding a UFO story that is set to be released in 2026. He is 78 years old and resides in the Palisades with his wife Kate -
REFERENCES
Steven Spielberg | - Britannica. Britannica Steven Spielberg - Encyclopedia Steven Spielberg Biography Biography Ultimate Guide to Steven Spielberg