Steven Spielberg
IMDb:https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000229/
Date of Birth:18 December 1946, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Height:5' 7½" (1.71 m)
Trademarks:Uses powerful flashlights in dark scenes (Jurassic Park (1993); The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)). The outline of the beam is often made visible through dust, mist, or fog. Frequently uses music by John Williams. Often shows shooting stars (Jaws (1975)). Onscreen performers staring, usually at something off-camera. He often uses images of the sun (Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Color Purple (1985), Empire of the Sun (1987), Saving Private Ryan (1998)). His films often show children in some sort of danger. Consistent references to World War II. Frequent references to Disney films, music, or theme parks Frequently uses a piano as an element in key scenes (Schindler's List (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Minority Report (2002)). Important images, or characters, are often seen through the rear-view mirror of a car (Duel (1971), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Jurassic Park (1993), Schindler's List (1993), Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001)). Frequently casts Tom Hanks, Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford, Frank Welker and Tom Cruise. Protagonists in his films often come from families with divorced parents, with fathers portrayed as reluctant, absent or irresponsible, most notably in _et: the Extra-Terrestrial_ (Elliot's mother is divorced and father is absent) and Catch Me If You Can (2002) (Frank Abagnale's mother and father split early in the film). This reflects Spielberg's own experience as a youth with his parents breaking up. A common theme in many of his films is ordinary people who discover something extraordinary - people, places, artifacts, creatures, etc. (Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)). Since Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), all of his movies have featured visual effects (even those that were undetected) by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), the F/X house created by his friend George Lucas. The only exception has been The Terminal (2004), which had F/X work by Digital Imageworks. Is credited for starting the summer blockbuster tradition with 1975's first $100 million megahit, Jaws (1975). His films are almost always edited by Michael Kahn. Known on-set for being able to work and come up with ideas very quickly (the best example of this would be the filming of "Saving Private Ryan", where Spielberg came up with angles and shot ideas on the spot, due to the fact that the film was largely un-storyboarded). Perhaps this is a habit he picked up after the filming of "Jaws", which was, very famously, a torturously slow shoot due to technical problems. Ardent champion of the "cutting-in-camera" philosophy Frequently uses (and helped re-popularize) the "dolly zoom" in-camera effect used to signify/evoke an impactful moment or realization, famously employed in "Jaws" upon Chief Brody witnessing the shark attack from his beach chair.
