He seems to be the all-power wizard and a cinematic magician for us. His
films make us scream with laughter or shiver with horror.
The son of a computer scientist and a gifted pianist, Spielberg
spent his early childhood in New Jersey and, later, in Arizona. He was
eleven when he first got his dad's camera and began shooting short films
about flying saucers and World War Two battles.
At the age of 13 he won a contest with his 40-minute film Escape
to Nowhere. At the age of 16 he produced the movie 'Firelight' and it
was shown at the local cinema.
But a real success came in 1975, when Spielberg created 'Jaws'.
That little fish tale became the biggest hit of its time. This movie
opened up the doors for Spielberg to work on many more great projects.
And he went on to shake Hollywood with 'Close Encounters', 'Raiders of
the Lost Ark', 'ET', and 'Jurassic Park'.
Today, Spielberg is one of the most financially successful
filmmakers ever. But his talents aren't limited to the movie set.
Spielberg has also proved to be one of Hollywood's most nimble
entrepreneurs. His business empire includes video games, toys and even
restaurants.
But what is his source of inspiration? He draws it from his 7
children (two of them are adopted). Spielberg likes to spend time with
his children. His house resembles a large playground — he keeps there 2
parrots, several snakes, and a fish tank. Ask him where he gets his
ideas and he shrugs. "The process for me is mostly intuitive," he says.
"There are movies I feel that I need to make, for a variety of reasons,
for personal reasons, for reasons that I want to have fun, that the
subject matter is cool, that I think my kids will like it."
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