Steven Spielberg

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 hould 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 ovie 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.