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Steven Spielberg, A Life in Films [2017] - by Molly Haskell https://t.co/Jvxy5iPZUH
Preface: Spielberg turned 70 in 2016, and heās still making movies as fast as he can see them. What keeps him going? āThe answer, or rather the mystery, begins with the outsize fears of a little boy [...] spooked by everything.ā
āWhat makes him unusual is not just the size of his fears but his manner of hanging onto them. Rather than bury those shaming moments of childhood vulnerability, as most of us do, he nourished their memory, translated them into bold cinematic imagesā. https://t.co/mIRS0rLYXj
Who did 2014ās Oscar winners thank the most? 1. Steven Spielberg (42 times) 2. God (19 times) https://t.co/UGUR2dfQoL
Molly spends a couple of pages in the preface talking about her own apprehension and resistance in writing this book - something that I realize I ought to do in my own work. Introduce the š! Interesting bits about gender and film https://t.co/z19peuRNDS
Oh, Molly is a famous film critic herself and sheās 8 years older than Spielberg! Ha! I always get a little nervous when a writer seems uncommonly skilled, until I find out they have *decades* of experience https://t.co/zAMiAOvocK
The chapters in this book are split according to the movies Spielberg has made, which is elegant and intuitive information architecture https://t.co/C3Xu4nsHut
A thing that I enjoy about biographies and other books that talk about decades worth of time are these broad strokes that give you a sense of longer... wavelengths? Books invite you to consider longer periods of time in a way that a barrage of breaking news headlines donāt https://t.co/zhL5UMx0m1
Completely unsurprising that Steven was making films from a very young age Iām reminded also of Steve Wozniak and Richard Feynman, two other guys who were introduced to their fields from a very young age by supportive fathers https://t.co/IUVNdx9TJ0
Now weāre entering āLeonardo mixed his own paintsā territory - heās not even 12 yet at this point and heās already getting a sense for full-stack showbiz And again pay attention to how much Arnold (his dad) plays a useful role with thoughtful nudges and suggestions https://t.co/6Knw4xav3O
Oh wait hm might have to recalibrate that to āitās complicatedā, as I suppose it always is https://t.co/gPkxv23i4j
Spielberg made ET before ET, but it was more of an imitation of conventional sci-fi at the time than an expression of his taste and perspective Everything is a remix, every artist starts by copying others (Also he was a school-skipper. Yaaas fam) https://t.co/gkqeowWuGT
Apparently John Williams once said that Spielberg couldāve been a composer himself. What praise! Reading John gush about his friendship and creative collaboration with Steven is so lovely https://t.co/A3wRvh9AuS https://t.co/3bI16Le961
This is quite a heavy-handed comparison of Spielberg and Steve Jobs I donāt think you can accurately reduce people down to such simple narratives Still, these narratives are interesting to consider from a sort of mythological perspectives. They say more about us than them https://t.co/1HQJIHlfbC
Lmao, high-schooler Spielberg literally snuck into Universal Studios, had a family friend get him a one-day pass, which he then basically exploited for months š This is šÆ hustler mindset, *and* itās also privilege. Hard to imagine a black kid getting to do this in 1964 https://t.co/ifg6jvxRGQ
This is the 25m dialogue-free short film that Steven Spielberg made at age 21, for $15,000. When Universalās VP of television (Sidney Sheinberg) saw it, he offered him a 7 year contract. Good investment! https://t.co/gBQpi0CF7l
- Spielberg wanted to make 1st feature film by 21, or 25 (following Welles). He did at 27. Set targets - Working in tv was not fun, but taught him discipline (I would say the same for me as a writer working in marketing) - He was fussy about the work, doing more than required https://t.co/cR2ASEkPC6
Spielberg at 22. What a fascinating image. His body language shows sincere deference to an elder and an industry veteran, his eyes seem to say āIām paying very close attention and taking this very seriouslyā. Old man soul in a young manās body https://t.co/9BhRzpGkYr
