Steven Spielberg

Steven Allan Spielberg, who holds the honor of KBE, is a celebrated film producer and film director from the United States.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) was directed by Spielberg in 1980, with Lucas taking on the role of executive producer. Together, they collaborated further, producing and crafting the narratives for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).

Biography

Spielberg had an indirect involvement in the production of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope (originally known simply as Star Wars). Spielberg was the one who connected Lucas with John Williams, who would later compose the scores for many of their movies. Spielberg was present at and enjoyed an early showing of the film. Lucas and Spielberg came to an agreement to trade percentages of the profits from each other's films: Spielberg received a small portion of the Star Wars profits, while Lucas would get a similar share of the profits from Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Spielberg still earns money from this agreement to this day.

During the animatic phase of Revenge of the Sith, Lucas invited Spielberg to contribute to some of the Mustafar duel, as well as Yoda's battle with the Emperor, and a few others, according to the book The Making of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith. As stated in the Star Wars Blu-ray release, Spielberg oversaw the animatic for an extended chase sequence on Utapau featuring Grievous and Obi-Wan.

As long-time friends, Spielberg and Lucas have often included references to each other's works in their respective films. To illustrate, in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones is shown escaping from a nightclub called "Club Obi-Wan." In Spielberg's movie, E. T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Elliot displayed several action figures, including Greedo, Hammerhead, Walrusman, Snaggletooth, Lando Calrissian, and Boba Fett, to the titular alien; later, during Halloween, E.T. encountered a child dressed as Yoda, mistaking him for another alien. In The Phantom Menace, several members of E.T.'s species could be seen in one of the floating pods in the Senate chamber, and Senator Grebleips was named in honor of Spielberg. Steven Spielberg also directed other films, such as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, Jaws, and The Adventures of Tintin.

In January 2001, Queen Elizabeth II made Spielberg an honorary Knight of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his contributions to the United Kingdom's film industry.

Sources

Notes and references

External links

  • Steven Spielberg on Wikipedia
  • Steven Spielberg at the Internet Movie Database

Appearances