Summary
Steven Spielberg: Filmmaker examines the life and career of this screenwriter, director, and producer whose works include such popular films as Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., and Saving Private Ryan.
Steven Spielberg is one of America's most talented and successful directors, with legions of fans throughout the world. Born on December 18, 1947, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Spielberg loved movies from an early age, shooting his first short films as a child. He then studied film for a time at California State University before working in the television industry to gain directing experience. When given the chance to move to the big screen, this visionary filmmaker took advantage of the opportunity and started the work for which he is best known, directing films. In 1975, with the movie Jaws, he ushered in a new era in Hollywood, making this big budget summer movie into a blockbuster by promoting its release as a public "event." Since then, he has explored numerous themes in his many films, and has changed the ways in which movies today are made, marketed, and watched.