Dateline Movie Director Spotlight - Steven Spielberg

With a career spanning almost four decades, he is considered as one of the best, if not the best director in Hollywood. Steven Spielberg is well known for his movies: Jaws, Indiana Jones, E.T., Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, Jurassic Park, just to name a few. He was born on December 18, 1946, with a full name of Steven Allan Spielberg in Cincinnati, Ohio to parents Arnold Spielberg, an electrical engineer, and Leah Adler, a concert pianist and also a restaurateur. He loved making films at an early age and made 8 mm adventure films with his friends.

He became a Boy Scout in 1958. In order to attain a merit badge in photography, he used his father's movie camera instead because their still camera was broken. He was greatly satisfied with the result and he titled it The Last Gunfight, his first 9 minute Western movie. He was hooked into making movies ever since.At age 13, his next movie was entitled Escape to Nowhere, a 40 minute war movie.

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In 1963 at the age of 16, he wrote and directed his first independent 8mm film Firelight, a science fiction adventure movie lasting 140 minutes about alien invasion.

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He became an intern at Universal Studios where he wrote and directed his first short film in 1968 lasting 26 minutes entitled Amblin, for release in theaters. Eventually, he took the name Amblin Entertainment for his production company.

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During his career, he has won three Academy Awards - Two awards for Best Director for the movies, Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List and Best Picture, again for Schindler's List.