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Steven Spielberg | The Man Who Tackled Failures Effortlessly
Steven Spielberg is a film director, producer, and screenwriter who is one of the most successful and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. He has directed many popular and critically acclaimed films, including Jaws, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, and Saving Private Ryan. Steven has won three Academy Awards for Best Director, and has also received numerous other awards and honors throughout his career. He has been active in the film industry for more than 50 years, and his work has had a lasting impact on the art of film.
Early Life
Steven Spielberg was born in 1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He didn’t have a delightful childhood and encountered a lot of struggles right from the start. But he was confident about changing his life and went ahead, walking past the struggles and failures.
Spielberg struggled with dyslexia, couldn’t cope with his studies, and was dropped out of school. He loved daydreaming and spent most of his time in his world of imagination. After his parents’ divorce, Spielberg moved to Los Angeles, California, along with his father.
At ten, he filmed the adventures of himself and his friends and charged admission to the home viewings. After moving with his father, he applied to the University of Southern California’s film school but was rejected for his poor grades. This was his first failure.
Career
Following this, Steven Spielberg faced several other failures as well. At several points in his early career, his losses far outstripped his accomplishments. He ended up releasing a film that flopped, entitled 1941. This movie 1941 was a dismal failure, only turning a small profit because viewers in other countries enjoyed laughing at the dithering American characters portrayed.
He was very much disheartened and started feeling ashamed about his movie. But even after this major failure, he didn’t give up in life. But after this, he had his breakthrough with his film Jaws.
Steven Spielberg refused to give up and was very much persisting in reaching and achieving his goals. He never called it quits despite the failures he encountered throughout his career and his personal life.
Spielberg pushed himself forward and followed this; he had some incredible blockbusters such as Schindler’s List, The Color Purple, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, and many more. He also encountered a few flop movies through his journey, but he didn’t let this give up or step back. He was determined to give a change and kept working persistently.
Awards
| Year | Category |
| 1993, 1995,1998 | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures |
| 1993, 1998 | Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures |
| 1998 | Vision Award |
| 2000 | PGA Hall of Fame – Motion Pictures |
| 2001, 2010 | Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television |
| 2011 | Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures |
| 1974 | Best Screenplay |
| 2001 | Future Film Festival Digital Award |
| 1982, 1983, 1993, 1987 | Best Directing |
| 1994, 1986, 1983, 2006 | Best Director |
| 1993, 2003 | Best Movie Director |
| 1995 | Director of the Year |
| 1994 | Best Foreign Film |
| 2021 | AFI Movie of the Year |
| 1973 | Grand Prize |
| 1990 | Television and Theatrical Film Fiction |
Interesting Facts About Steven Spielberg
- Spielberg was born on December 18, 1946, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He started making short films with his friends when he was just a kid, and he made his first feature-length film, a science-fiction movie called Firelight, when he was just 17 years old.
- Spielberg is known for his use of music in his films. He has often worked with composer John Williams, who has composed the scores for many of his movies, including Jaws, E.T., and all four Indiana Jones films.
- Spielberg is a fan of science fiction, and many of his films, including Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., and War of the Worlds, are in the science fiction genre.
- In 1994, Spielberg co-founded the studio DreamWorks SKG with Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. The studio has produced many popular movies, including the Shrek, Madagascar, and Kung Fu Panda franchises.
- In addition to his work in film, Spielberg is also active in philanthropy. He has supported a number of charitable causes, including the Starbright Foundation, which helps children with chronic illnesses, and the Shoah Foundation, which works to preserve the testimony of Holocaust survivors.
Life lesson’s from Steven Spielberg’s life
A major life lesson from Steven’s life is to dream big. He dreamed of making movies, and he had made it happen in reality with hard work. Take one idea and make that your life. Choose what you want to do in life. This majorly helps you stay focused and consistent in achieving your true goal.
Rejections, failures are essential parts of success. Never be afraid to fail, and always be ready to face rejections in life.
Everything doesn’t happen quickly; you need to struggle and work hard to achieve what you want. Be prepared to step out of your comfort zone and try something new in life. The most significant assets in his success story were his determination and relentless efforts. He has been rejected many times in his career, but he still hung on to his dreams and tried repeatedly. Success is not too far when you are hardworking and determined.
Shoah Foundation
The Shoah Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded by Steven Spielberg in 1994 in the wake of his film Schindler’s List. Its mission is to preserve the testimony of Holocaust survivors and to use that testimony to educate people about the dangers of hatred and intolerance. The organization has collected over 50,000 video testimonies from survivors in more than 56 countries, making it one of the largest video oral history archives in the world.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Some of Steven Spielberg’s most popular movies include Jaws, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, and Saving Private Ryan.
Steven Spielberg has won three Academy Awards for Best Director, for the films Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, and Bridge of Spies.
Spielberg began making short films with his friends when he was a teenager, and he made his first feature-length film, a science-fiction movie called Firelight, when he was just 17 years old. He later attended California State University, Long Beach, where he studied film. After college, he worked as a television director before making his way into the film industry.