In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered
many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure
films were seen as archetypes of modern Hollywood blockbuster
filmmaking. In later years, his films began addressing such issues as the Holocaust, slavery, war and terrorism. He is considered one of the most popular and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema.[5] He is also one of the co-founders of DreamWorks movie studio.
Spielberg won the Academy Award for Best Director for Schindler's List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998). Three of Spielberg's films—Jaws (1975), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and Jurassic Park (1993)—achieved box office
records, each becoming the highest-grossing film made at the time. To
date, the unadjusted gross of all Spielberg-directed films exceeds
$8.5 billion worldwide. Forbes puts Spielberg's wealth at $3.0 billion.[2]
was a restaurateur and concert pianist, and his father, Arnold
Spielberg (1917- ), was an electrical engineer involved in the
development of computers.[8] He spent his childhood in Haddon Township, New Jersey, where he saw one of his first films in a theater, as well as in Scottsdale, Arizona.[9]
Throughout his early teens, Spielberg made amateur 8 mm "adventure"
films with his friends, the first of which he shot at the Pinnacle Peak
Patio restaurant in Scottsdale. He charged admission (25 cents) to his
home films (which involved the wrecks he staged with his Lionel train
set) while his sister sold popcorn.
In 1958, he became a Boy Scout, and fulfilled a requirement for the photography merit badge by making a nine-minute 8 mm film entitled The Last Gunfight.[10]
Spielberg recalled years later to a magazine interviewer, "My dad's
still-camera was broken, so I asked the scoutmaster if I could tell a
story with my father's movie camera. He said yes, and I got an idea to
do a Western. I made it and got my merit badge. That was how it all
started."[11] At age 13, Spielberg won a prize for a 40-minute war film he titled Escape to Nowhere
which was based on a battle in east Africa. In 1963, at age 16,
Spielberg wrote and directed his first independent film, a 140-minute
science fiction adventure called Firelight (which would later inspire Close Encounters). The film, which had a budget of US$500, was shown in his local cinema and generated a profit of $1.[12] He also made several WWII films inspired by his father's war stories.
After his parents divorced, he moved to Saratoga, California with his father. His three sisters and mother remained in Arizona. He attended Arcadia High School in Phoenix, Arizona for three years; Spielberg graduated from Saratoga High School in 1965. It was during this time Spielberg attained the rank of Eagle Scout.
As a child, Spielberg faced difficulty reconciling being an Orthodox
Jew with the perception of him by other children he played with. "It
isn't something I enjoy admitting," he once said, "but when I was 7, 8, 9
years old, God forgive me, I was embarrassed because we were Orthodox
Jews. I was embarrassed by the outward perception of my parents' Jewish
practices. I was never really ashamed to be Jewish, but I was uneasy at
times. My grandfather always wore a long black coat, black hat and long
white beard. I was embarrassed to invite my friends over to the house,
because he might be in a corner davening [praying], and I wouldn't know
how to explain this to my WASP friends."[14] Spielberg also said he suffered from acts of anti-Semitic
prejudice in his early life: he later said, "In high school, I got
smacked and kicked around. Two bloody noses. It was horrible."[15]
After moving to California, he applied to attend the film school at University of Southern California School of Theater, Film and Television two separate times, but was unsuccessful. He subsequently became a student at California State University, Long Beach. While attending Long Beach State in the 1960s, Spielberg became a brother of Theta Chi Fraternity.
His actual career began when he returned to Universal Studios as an
unpaid, seven-day-a-week intern and guest of the editing department
(uncredited). After Spielberg became famous, USC awarded him an honorary
degree in 1994, and in 1996 he became a trustee of the university.[16][17]
In 2002, thirty-five years after starting college, Spielberg finished
his degree via independent projects at CSULB, and was awarded a B.A. in
Film Production and Electronic Arts with an option in Film/Video
Production.[17]
As an intern and guest of Universal Studios, Spielberg made his first short film for theatrical release, the 26-minute Amblin' (1968),[8] the title of which Spielberg later took as the name of his production company, Amblin Entertainment.
After Sidney Sheinberg, then the vice-president of production for
Universal's TV arm, saw the film, Spielberg became the youngest director
ever to be signed for a long-term deal with a major Hollywood studio
(Universal). He dropped out of Long Beach State in 1969 to take up the
television director contract at Universal Studios and began his career
as a professional director.[citation needed] In 1969, Variety announced that Spielberg would direct his first full length film, Malcolm Winkler,
written by Claudia Salter, produced by John Orland, with Frank Price
being the executive producer. However, because of the difficulty in
casting the key male role, the film was not made. Steven Spielberg also
attended Brookdale Community College for undergrad.
Career
Early career (1969–75)
His first professional TV job came when he was hired to do one of the segments for the 1969 pilot episode of Night Gallery. The segment, "Eyes," starred Joan Crawford,
and she and Spielberg were reportedly close friends until her death.
The episode is unusual in his body of work, in that the camerawork is
more highly stylized than his later, more "mature" films. After this,
and an episode of Marcus Welby, M.D., Spielberg got his first feature-length assignment: an episode of The Name of the Game called "L.A. 2017".
This futuristic science fiction episode impressed Universal Studios and
they signed him to a short contract. He did another segment on Night Gallery and did some work for shows such as Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law and The Psychiatrist before landing the first series episode of Columbo (previous episodes were actually TV films).
then a major best-selling book which had not yet been released as a
film. He fulfilled his contract by directing the TV film length pilot of
a show called Savage, starring Martin Landau. Spielberg's debut feature film was The Sugarland Express,
about a married couple who are chased by police as the couple tries to
regain custody of their baby. Spielberg's cinematography for the police
chase was praised by reviewers, and The Hollywood Reporter stated that "a major new director is on the horizon."[18] However, the film fared poorly at the box office and received a limited release.
Studio producers Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown offered Spielberg the director's chair for Jaws, a thriller-horror film based on the Peter Benchley
novel about an enormous killer shark. Spielberg has often referred to
the gruelling shoot as his professional crucible. Despite the film's
ultimate, enormous success, it was nearly shut down due to delays and
budget over-runs.
budget over-runs.
hit, winning three Academy Awards (for editing, original score and
sound) and grossing more than $470 million worldwide at the box office.
It also set the domestic record for box office gross, leading to what
the press described as "Jawsmania."[19] Jaws
made him a household name, as well as one of America's youngest
multi-millionaires, and allowed Spielberg a great deal of autonomy for
his future projects.[20] It was nominated for Best Picture and featured Spielberg's first of three collaborations with actor Richard Dreyfuss.
Mainstream breakthrough (1975–93)
was a critical and box office hit, giving Spielberg his first Best
Director nomination from the Academy as well as earning six other Academy Awards nominations. It won Oscars in two categories (Cinematography, Vilmos Zsigmond,
and a Special Achievement Award for Sound Effects Editing, Frank E.
Warner). This second blockbuster helped to secure Spielberg's rise. His
next film, 1941,
a big-budgeted World War II farce, was not nearly as successful and
though it grossed over $92.4 million dollars worldwide (and did make a
small profit for co-producing studios Columbia and Universal) it was
seen as a disappointment, mainly with the critics.
Spielberg then revisited his Close Encounters project and, with financial backing from Columbia Pictures, released Close Encounters: The Special Edition
in 1980. For this, Spielberg fixed some of the flaws he thought impeded
the original 1977 version of the film and also, at the behest of
Columbia, and as a condition of Spielberg revising the film, shot
additional footage showing the audience the interior of the mothership
seen at the end of the film (a decision Spielberg would later regret as
he felt the interior of the mothership should have remained a mystery).
Nevertheless, the re-release was a moderate success, while the 2001 DVD
release of the film restored the original ending.
 |
| Spielberg and Harrison Ford on the set of Raiders of the Lost Ark |
It became the biggest film at the box office in 1981, and the recipient
of numerous Oscar nominations including Best Director (Spielberg's
second nomination) and Best Picture (the second Spielberg film to be
nominated for Best Picture). Raiders is still considered a landmark example of the action-adventure genre. The film also led to Ford's casting in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner.[22]
It was the story of a young boy and the alien he befriends, who was
accidentally left behind by his companions and is attempting to return
home. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial went on to become the top-grossing film of all time. E.T. was also nominated for nine Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director.
Between 1982 and 1985, Spielberg produced three high-grossing films: Poltergeist (for which he also co-wrote the screenplay), a big-screen adaptation of The Twilight Zone (for which he directed the segment "Kick The Can"),[23] and The Goonies (Spielberg, executive producer, also wrote the story on which the screenplay was based).[24]
His next directorial feature was the Raiders prequel Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Teaming up once again with Lucas and Ford, the film was plagued with
uncertainty for the material and script. This film and the
Spielberg-produced Gremlins led to the creation of the PG-13 rating due to the high level of violence in films targeted at younger audiences. In spite of this, Temple of Doom
is rated PG by the MPAA, even though it is the darkest and, possibly,
most violent Indy film. Nonetheless, the film was still a huge
blockbuster hit in 1984. It was on this project that Spielberg also met
his future wife, actress Kate Capshaw.
 |
| Spielberg and Whoopi Goldberg on the set of The Color Purple |
nominations, including two for Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey.
However, much to the surprise of many, Spielberg did not get a Best
Director nomination. The Color Purple is the second of two Spielberg films not to be scored by John Williams, the first being Duel.
In 1987, as China began opening to Western capital investment,
Spielberg shot the first American film in Shanghai since the 1930s, an
adaptation of J. G. Ballard's autobiographical novel Empire of the Sun, starring John Malkovich and a young Christian Bale.
The film garnered much praise from critics and was nominated for
several Oscars, but did not yield substantial box office revenues.
Reviewer Andrew Sarris called it the best film of the year and later included it among the best films of the decade.[25] Spielberg was also a co-producer of the 1987 film *batteries not included.
in a supporting role as Indy's father. The film earned generally
positive reviews and was another box office success, becoming the
highest grossing film worldwide that year; its total box office receipts
even topped those of Tim Burton's much-anticipated film Batman, which had been the bigger hit domestically. Also in 1989, he re-united with actor Richard Dreyfuss for the romantic comedy-drama Always, about a daredevil pilot who extinguishes forest fires. Spielberg's first romantic film, Always was only a moderate success and had mixed reviews.
In 1991, Spielberg directed Hook, about a middle-aged Peter Pan, played by Robin Williams, who returns to Neverland.
Despite innumerable rewrites and creative changes coupled with mixed
reviews, the film proved popular with audiences, making over
$300 million worldwide (from a $70 million budget).
 |
| Spielberg on the set of Jurassic Park |
company, the film would eventually become the highest grossing film of
all time (at the worldwide box office) with $914.7 million. This would
be the third time that one of Spielberg's films became the highest
grossing film ever.
 |
1994–present
In 1987, as China began opening to Western capital investment,
Spielberg shot the first American film in Shanghai since the 1930s, an
adaptation of J. G. Ballard's autobiographical novel Empire of the Sun, starring John Malkovich and a young Christian Bale.
The film garnered much praise from critics and was nominated for
several Oscars, but did not yield substantial box office revenues.
Reviewer Andrew Sarris called it the best film of the year and later included it among the best films of the decade.[25] Spielberg was also a co-producer of the 1987 film *batteries not included.
in a supporting role as Indy's father. The film earned generally
positive reviews and was another box office success, becoming the
highest grossing film worldwide that year; its total box office receipts
even topped those of Tim Burton's much-anticipated film Batman, which had been the bigger hit domestically. Also in 1989, he re-united with actor Richard Dreyfuss for the romantic comedy-drama Always, about a daredevil pilot who extinguishes forest fires. Spielberg's first romantic film, Always was only a moderate success and had mixed reviews.
In 1991, Spielberg directed Hook, about a middle-aged Peter Pan, played by Robin Williams, who returns to Neverland.
Despite innumerable rewrites and creative changes coupled with mixed
reviews, the film proved popular with audiences, making over
$300 million worldwide (from a $70 million budget).
|
| Spielberg on the set of Jurassic Park |
company, the film would eventually become the highest grossing film of
all time (at the worldwide box office) with $914.7 million. This would
be the third time that one of Spielberg's films became the highest
grossing film ever.
|
1994–present
His next film, Amistad, was based on a true story (like Schindler's List),
specifically about an African slave rebellion. Despite decent reviews
from critics, it did not do well at the box office. Spielberg released Amistad under DreamWorks Pictures,[28] which issued all of his films from Amistad until Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in May 2008 (see below).
whose three older brothers were killed in the last twenty four hours of
action in France. The film was a huge box office success, grossing over
$481 million worldwide and was the biggest film of the year at the
North American box office (worldwide it made second place after Michael
Bay's Armageddon).
Spielberg won his second Academy Award for his direction. The film's
graphic, realistic depiction of combat violence influenced later war
films such as Black Hawk Down and Enemy at the Gates. The film was also the first major hit for DreamWorks, which co-produced the film with Paramount Pictures (as such, it was Spielberg's first release from the latter that was not part of the Indiana Jones series). Later, Spielberg and Tom Hanks produced a TV mini-series based on Stephen Ambrose's book Band of Brothers. The ten-part HBO mini-series follows Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Division's 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The series won a number of awards at the Golden Globes and the Emmys.
Spielberg and actor Tom Cruise collaborated for the first time for the futuristic neo-noir Minority Report, based upon the science fiction short story written by Philip K. Dick
about a Washington D.C. police captain in the year 2054 who has been
foreseen to murder a man he has not yet met. The film received strong
reviews with the review tallying website Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 92% approval rating, reporting that 206 out of the 225 reviews they tallied were positive.[29] The film earned over $358 million worldwide. Roger Ebert, who named it the best film of 2002, praised its breathtaking vision of the future as well as for the way Spielberg blended CGI with live-action.[30]
Spielberg's 2002 film Catch Me If You Can is about the daring adventures of a youthful con artist (played by Leonardo DiCaprio). It earned Christopher Walken an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The film is known for John Williams' score and its unique title sequence. It was a hit both commercially and critically.
Spielberg collaborated again with Tom Hanks along with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Stanley Tucci in 2004's The Terminal,
a warm-hearted comedy about a man of Eastern European descent who is
stranded in an airport. It received mixed reviews but performed
relatively well at the box office. In 2005, Empire magazine ranked Spielberg number one on a list of the greatest film directors of all time.
(a co-production of Paramount and DreamWorks), based on the H. G. Wells
book of the same name (Spielberg had been a huge fan of the book and
the original 1953 film). It starred Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning, and, as with past Spielberg films, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) provided the visual effects. Unlike E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which depicted friendly alien visitors, War of the Worlds featured violent invaders. The film was another huge box office smash, grossing over $591 million worldwide.
In early 2009, Spielberg shot the first film in a planned trilogy of motion capture films based on The Adventures of Tintin, written by Belgian artist Hergé,[35] with Peter Jackson. The Adventures of Tintin,
was not released until October 2011, due to the complexity of the
computer animation involved. The world premiere took place on October
22, 2011 in Brussels, Belgium.[36] The film was released in North American theaters on December 21, 2011, in Digital 3D and IMAX.[37] It received generally positive reviews from critics,[38] and grossed over $373 million worldwide.[39] The Adventures of Tintin won the award for Best Animated Feature Film at the Golden Globe Awards that year.[40] It is the first non-Pixar film to win the award since the category was first introduced.[41][42] Jackson has been announced to direct the second film,[43] which Spielberg will produce.
Spielberg followed that with War Horse, shot in England in the summer of 2010.[44] It was released just four days after The Adventures of Tintin, on December 25, 2011. The film, based on the novel of the same name written by Michael Morpurgo
and published in 1982, follows the long friendship between a British
boy and his horse Joey before and during World War I — the novel was
also adapted into a hit play in London which is still running there, as well as on Broadway. The film was released and distributed by Disney, with whom DreamWorks has made a 30-picture deal. War Horse received generally positive reviews from critics,[45] and was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture.[46]
Production credits
producer. He headed up the production team for several cartoons,
including the Warner Brothers hits Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Toonsylvania, and Freakazoid!, for which he collaborated with Jean MacCurdy and Tom Ruegger.
Due to his work on these series, in the official titles, most of them
say, "Steven Spielberg presents" as well as making numerous cameos on
the shows. Spielberg also produced the Don Bluth animated features, An American Tail and The Land Before Time, which were released by Universal Studios. He also served as one of the executive producers of Who Framed Roger Rabbit and its three related shorts (Tummy Trouble, Roller Coaster Rabbit, Trail Mix-Up), which were all released by Disney, under both the Walt Disney Pictures and the Touchstone Pictures banners. He was furthermore, for a short time, the executive producer of the long-running medical drama ER. In 1989, he brought the concept of The Dig to LucasArts.
He contributed to the project from that time until 1995 when the game
was released. He also collaborated with software publishers Knowledge Adventure on the multimedia game Steven Spielberg's Director's Chair,
which was released in 1996. Spielberg appears, as himself, in the game
to direct the player. The Spielberg name provided branding for a Lego Moviemaker kit, the proceeds of which went to the Starbright Foundation.
While the first season was moderately successful, the second season did
less well. Spielberg's name no longer appeared in the third season and
the show was cancelled mid way through it.
and Eastwood himself. He earned his twelfth Academy Award nomination
for the latter film as it was nominated for Best Picture. Spielberg
served as executive producer for Disturbia and the Transformers live action film with Brian Goldner, an employee of Hasbro. The film was directed by Michael Bay and written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, and Spielberg continued to collaborate on the sequels, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Transformers: Dark of the Moon. In 2011, he produced the J. J. Abrams science fiction thriller film Super 8 for Paramount Pictures.[49]
also co-producing'. The miniseries is believed to have cost
$250 million and is a 10-part war miniseries centered on the battles in
the Pacific Theater during World War II. Writer Bruce McKenna, who penned several installments of (Band of Brothers), was the head writer.
In 2007, Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett co-produced On the Lot
a short-lived TV reality show about filmmaking. Despite this, he never
gave up working on television. He currently serves as one of the
executive producers on United States of Tara, a show created by Academy Award winner Diablo Cody which they developed together (Spielberg is uncredited as creator).
In 2011, Spielberg launched Falling Skies, a science fiction television series, on the TNT network. He developed the series with Robert Rodat and is credited as an executive producer. Spielberg is also producing the Fox TV series Terra Nova. Terra Nova
begins in the year 2149 when all life on the planet Earth is threatened
with extinction resulting in scientists opening a door that allows
people to travel back 85 million years to prehistoric times.[50][51] Spielberg also produced The River[52] and Smash.[53]
Acting credits
Steven Spielberg had cameo roles in The Blues Brothers, Gremlins, Vanilla Sky, and Austin Powers in Goldmember, as well as small uncredited cameos in a handful of other films, such as a life-station worker in Jaws.
He also made numerous cameo roles in the Warner Brothers cartoons he
produced, such as Animaniacs, and even made reference to some of his
films. Spielberg voiced himself in the film Paul, and in one episode of Tiny Toon Adventures titled Buster and Babs Go Hawaiian.
Involvement in video games
Upcoming and announced projects
Spielberg is currently in post-production on Lincoln, starring Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln and Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln.[59] Based on Doris Kearns Goodwin's bestseller Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, the film follows Lincoln's leadership during the final portion of the American Civil War. Written by Tony Kushner, the film was shot in Richmond, Virginia in late 2011[60] and will be released at Christmas of 2012 by Disney's Touchstone Pictures division in the United States[61] and Twentieth Century Fox overseas.[62]
In 2009, Spielberg reportedly tried to obtain the screen rights to make a film based on Microsoft's Halo series.[68] In September 2008, Steven Spielberg bought film rights for John Wyndham's novel Chocky and is interested in directing it. He is also interested in making an adaptation of A Steady Rain,[69] Pirate Latitudes,[70] The 39 Clues,[71] and Under the Dome,[72] along with a remake of When Worlds Collide.
In June 2006, Steven Spielberg announced he would direct a scientifically accurate film about "a group of explorers who travel through a worm hole and into another dimension",[75] from a treatment by Kip Thorne and producer Lynda Obst.[76]
In terms of casting and production itself, Spielberg has a known
penchant for working with actors and production members from his
previous films. For instance, he has cast Richard Dreyfuss in several films: Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Always. Aside from his role as Indiana Jones, Spielberg also cast Harrison Ford as a headteacher in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
(though the scene was ultimately cut). Although Spielberg directed him
only once (in Raiders of the Lost Ark, for which he voiced many of the
animals), veteran voice actor Frank Welker has lent his voice in a number of productions Spielberg has executively produced from Gremlins to its sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch, as well as The Land Before Time (and lending his voice to its sequels which Spielberg had no involvement in), Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and television shows such as Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, and SeaQuest DSV. Recently Spielberg has used Tom Hanks on several occasions and has cast him in Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can, and The Terminal. Spielberg also has collaborated with Tom Cruise twice on Minority Report and War of the Worlds. Spielberg has also cast Shia LaBeouf in five films: Transformers, Eagle Eye, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
Spielberg prefers working with production members with whom he has
developed an existing working relationship. An example of this is his
production relationship with Kathleen Kennedy who has served as producer on all his major films from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial to the recent Munich. Other working relationships include Allen Daviau, a childhood friend and cinematographer who shot the early Spielberg film Amblin and most of his films up to Empire of the Sun; Janusz Kamiński who has shot every Spielberg film since Schindler's List (see List of film director and cinematographer collaborations); and the film editor Michael Kahn who has edited every film directed by Spielberg from Close Encounters to Munich (except E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial). Most of the DVDs of Spielberg's films have documentaries by Laurent Bouzereau.
A famous example of Spielberg working with the same professionals is his long time collaboration with John Williams and the use of his musical scores in all of his films since The Sugarland Express (except The Color Purple and Twilight Zone: The Movie).
One of Spielberg's trademarks is his use of music by John Williams to
add to the visual impact of his scenes and to try and create a lasting
picture and sound of the film in the memories of the film audience.
These visual scenes often uses images of the sun (e.g. Empire of the Sun, Saving Private Ryan, the final scene of Jurassic Park, and the end credits of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
(where they ride into the sunset), of which the last two feature a
Williams score at that end scene. Spielberg is a contemporary of
filmmakers George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, John Milius, and Brian De Palma, collectively known as the "Movie Brats".
Aside from his principal role as a director, Spielberg has acted as a
producer for a considerable number of films, including early hits for Joe Dante and Robert Zemeckis.
Personal life
Marriages and children
From 1985 to 1989 Spielberg was married to actress Amy Irving. In their 1989 divorce settlement, she received $100 million from Spielberg after a judge controversially vacated a prenuptial agreement written on a napkin. Their divorce was recorded as the third most costly celebrity divorce in history.[83] Following the divorce, Spielberg and Irving shared custody of their son, Max Samuel.
 |
| Spielberg and Kate Capshaw |
There are seven children in the Spielberg-Capshaw family:
- Jessica Capshaw (born August 9, 1976) – daughter from Kate Capshaw's previous marriage to Robert Capshaw
- Max Samuel Spielberg (born June 13, 1985) – son from Spielberg's previous marriage to actress Amy Irving
- Theo Spielberg (born 1988) – son adopted by Capshaw before her marriage to Spielberg, who later also adopted him[86]
- Sasha Rebecca Spielberg (born May 14, 1990, Los Angeles)[87]
- Sawyer Avery Spielberg (born March 10, 1992, Los Angeles)[88]
- Mikaela George (born February 28, 1996) – adopted with Kate Capshaw
- Destry Allyn Spielberg (born December 1, 1996)
Forbes magazine places Spielberg's personal net worth at $3.0 billion.[89]
Recognition
- Spielberg usually supports U.S. Democratic Party
candidates. He has donated over $800,000 to the Democratic party and
its nominees. He has been a close friend of former President Bill Clinton and worked with the President for the USA Millennium celebrations. He directed an 18-minute film for the project, scored by John Williams and entitled The American Journey. It was shown at America's Millennium Gala on December 31, 1999, in the National Mall at the Reflecting Pool at the base of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.[91]
- Spielberg resigned as a member of the national advisory board of the Boy Scouts of America in 2001 because of his disapproval of the organization's anti-homosexuality stance.[92][93]
- Spielberg joined Jeffrey Katzenberg and Haim Saban in endorsing the re-election of Hollywood friend Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Republican Governor of California, on August 7, 2006.
- In 2007 the Arab League voted to boycott Spielberg's movies after he donated $1 million for relief efforts in Israel during the 2006 Lebanon War.[94][95]
- On February 20, 2007, Spielberg, Katzenberg, and David Geffen invited Democrats to a fundraiser for Barack Obama.[96] However, on June 14, 2007, Spielberg endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton
(D-NY) for President. While Geffen and Katzenberg supported Obama,
Spielberg was always a supporter of Hillary Clinton. However Spielberg
directed a video for Obama at the DNC in August 2008 and attended Obama's inauguration.
- In February 2008, Spielberg pulled out of his role as advisor to the 2008 Summer Olympics in response to the Chinese government's inaction over the War in Darfur.[97] Spielberg said in a statement that "I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue business as usual." It also said that "Sudan's
government bears the bulk of the responsibility for these on-going
crimes, but the international community, and particularly China, should
be doing more.."[98] The International Olympic Committee respected Spielberg's decision, but IOC president Jacques Rogge admitted in an interview that "[Spielberg] certainly would have brought a lot to the opening ceremony in terms of creativity."[99] Spielberg's statement drew criticism from Chinese officials and state-run media calling his criticism "unfair".[100]
- In September 2008, Spielberg and his wife offered their support to same-sex marriage, by issuing a statement following their donation of $100,000 to the "No on Proposition 8" campaign fund, a figure equal to the amount of money Brad Pitt donated to the same campaign less than a week prior.[101]
Since playing Pong while filming Jaws in 1974, Spielberg has been an avid video gamer. He owns a Wii, a PlayStation 3, a PSP, and Xbox 360, and enjoys playing first-person shooters such as the Medal of Honor series and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. He has also criticized the use of cut scenes
in games, calling them intrusive, and feels making story flow naturally
into the gameplay is a challenge for future game developers.[108]
Stalking
 |
| Diana Napolis |
for life in a mental institution before pleading guilty to stalking and
released on probation with a condition that she have no contact with
either Spielberg or Hewitt.[109][110][111][112]
Spielberg was a target of the 2002 white supremacist terror plot.[113]
Jonathan Norman was arrested after making two attempts to enter Spielberg's Pacific Palisades home in June and July 1997. Norman was jailed for 25 years.
Spielberg has won three Academy Awards. He has been nominated for six Academy Awards for the category of Best Director, winning two of them (Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan), and seven of the films he directed were up for the Best Picture Oscar (Schindler's List won). In 1987 he was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award for his work as a creative producer.
Drawing from his own experiences in Scouting, Spielberg helped the Boy Scouts of America develop a merit badge in cinematography. The badge was launched at the 1989 National Scout Jamboree, which Spielberg attended, and where he personally counseled many boys in their work on requirements.
That same year, 1989, saw the release of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The opening scene shows a teenage Indiana Jones in scout uniform bearing the rank of a Life Scout.
Spielberg stated he made Indiana Jones a Boy Scout in honor of his
experience in Scouting. For his career accomplishments and service to
others, Spielberg was awarded the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.[116]
In 1998 he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit with Ribbon of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Award was presented to him by President Roman Herzog in recognition of his film Schindler's List and his Shoa-Foundation.[117]
In 1999, Spielberg received an honorary degree from Brown University. Spielberg was also awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service by Secretary of Defense William Cohen at the Pentagon on August 11, 1999; Cohen presented the award in recognition of Spielberg's film Saving Private Ryan.
In 2001, he was honored as an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) by Queen Elizabeth II.[118][119][120]
In 2004 he was admitted as knight of the Légion d'honneur by president Jacques Chirac.[121] On July 15, 2006, Spielberg was also awarded the Gold Hugo Lifetime Achievement Award at the Summer Gala of the Chicago International Film Festival,[122] and also was awarded a Kennedy Center honour on December 3. The tribute to Spielberg featured a short, filmed biography narrated by Tom Hanks and included thank-yous from World War II veterans for Saving Private Ryan, as well as a performance of the finale to Leonard Bernstein's Candide, conducted by John Williams (Spielberg's frequent composer).
In June 2008, Spielberg received Arizona State University's Hugh Downs Award for Communication Excellence.[126]
On the 22th of October 2011 he was admitted as a Commander of the Belgian Order of the Crown. He was given the badge on a red neck ribbon by the Belgian Federal Minister of Finance Didier Reynders. The Commander is the third highest rank of the Order of the Crown.
Praise and criticism
Film
In 2005, Steven Spielberg was rated the greatest film director of all time by Empire Magazine.[127]
After watching the unconventional, off-center camera techniques of Jaws, Alfred Hitchcock praised "young Spielberg," saying "He's the first one of us who doesn't see the proscenium arch." Or, to paraphrase, he was the first mainstream director to think outside the visual dynamics of the theater,[128] although that didn't stop Hitchcock from removing Spielberg from the set of Family Plot, his last film.[129]
Some of Spielberg's most famous fans include film legends Robert Aldrich,[130] Ingmar Bergman,[131] Werner Herzog,[132] Stanley Kubrick,[133] David Lean,[134] Sidney Lumet,[135] Roman Polanski,[136] Martin Scorsese,[137] Francois Truffaut,[138] David Lynch[139] and Zhang Yimou.[140]
Subsequently, Spielberg's movies have also influenced many directors that followed, including Adam Green, J.J Abrams,[141] Paul Thomas Anderson,[142] Neill Blomkamp,[143] James Cameron,[144] Guillermo del Toro,[145] Roland Emmerich,[146] David Fincher, Peter Jackson,[147] Kal Ng,[148] Robert Rodriguez,[149] John Sayles,[150] Ridley Scott,[151] John Singleton,[152] Kevin Smith,[153] Steven Soderbergh and Quentin Tarantino.[154]
British film critic Tom Shone
has said of Spielberg, "If you have to point to any one director of the
last twenty-five years in whose work the medium of film was most fully
itself – where we found out what it does best when left to its own
devices, it has to be that guy."[155] Jess Cagle, the managing editor of Entertainment Weekly, called Spielberg "...arguably (well, who would argue?) the greatest filmmaker in history."[156]
Critics of mainstream film such as Ray Carney and American artist and actor Crispin Glover (who starred in the Spielberg-produced Back to the Future and also sued Spielberg for using Glover's likeness in Back to the Future Part II)[161] claim that Spielberg's films lack depth and do not take risks.[162][163]
In August 2007, Ai Weiwei, artistic designer for the Beijing Olympic Stadium,
known as the "Bird's Nest", accused those choreographing the Olympic
opening ceremony, including Spielberg, of failing to live up to their
responsibility as artists. Ai said, "It's disgusting. I don't like
anyone who shamelessly abuses their profession, who makes no moral
judgment."[171]
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival | Grand Prize | Duel | Won |
| 1974 | Cannes Film Festival | Best Screenplay | The Sugarland Express | Won |
| Cannes Film Festival | Palme d'Or | The Sugarland Express | Nominated | |
| 1975 | Writers Guild of America | Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen | The Sugarland Express | Nominated |
| 1976 | BAFTA Award | Best Director | Jaws | Nominated |
| Directors Guild of America | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Jaws | Nominated | |
| Golden Globe | Best Director | Jaws | Nominated | |
| 1978 | Academy Award | Best Director | Close Encounters of the Third Kind | Nominated |
| Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | Best Director | Close Encounters of the Third Kind | Won | |
| Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | Best Writing | Close Encounters of the Third Kind | Won | |
| Directors Guild of America | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Close Encounters of the Third Kind | Nominated | |
| Golden Globe | Best Director | Close Encounters of the Third Kind | Nominated | |
| Golden Globe | Best Screenplay | Close Encounters of the Third Kind | Nominated | |
| Writers Guild of America | Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen | Close Encounters of the Third Kind | Nominated | |
| 1979 | BAFTA Award | Best Director | Close Encounters of the Third Kind | Nominated |
| BAFTA Award | Best Screenplay | Close Encounters of the Third Kind | Nominated | |
| 1982 | Academy Award | Best Director | Raiders of the Lost Ark | Nominated |
| Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | Best Director | Raiders of the Lost Ark | Won | |
| American Movie Awards | Best Director | Raiders of the Lost Ark | Won | |
| Boston Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Director | Raiders of the Lost Ark | Won | |
| César Award | Best Foreign Film | Raiders of the Lost Ark | Nominated | |
| Directors Guild of America | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Raiders of the Lost Ark | Nominated | |
| Golden Globe | Best Director | Raiders of the Lost Ark | Nominated | |
| Kinema Junpo Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Raiders of the Lost Ark | Won | |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | Best Director | E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial | Won | |
| New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Director | E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial | Nominated | |
| ShoWest | Director of the Year | Won | ||
| 1983 | Academy Award | Best Director | E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial | Nominated |
| Academy Award | Best Picture | E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial | Nominated | |
| Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | Best Director | E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial | Nominated | |
| BAFTA Award | Best Direction | E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial | Nominated | |
| BAFTA Award | Best Film | E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial | Nominated | |
| Blue Ribbon Award | Best Foreign Language Film | E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial | Won | |
| Boston Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Director | E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial | Won | |
| César Awards | Best Foreign Film | E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial | Nominated | |
| David di Donatello Awards | Best Foreign Director | E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial | Won | |
| Directors Guild of America | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial | Nominated | |
| Fotogramas de Plata | Best Foreign Film | E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial | Won | |
| Golden Globe | Best Director | E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial | Nominated | |
| Hasty Pudding Theatricals | Man of the Year | Won | ||
| Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Director | E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial | Won | |
| Kinema Junpo Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial | Won | |
| Kinema Junpo Awards | Readers' Choice Award | E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial | Won | |
| National Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Director | E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial | Won | |
| Sant Jordi Awards | Mejor Película Infantil | E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial | Won | |
| 1984 | Fantasporto | Best Film | Twilight Zone: The Movie | Nominated |
| Giffoni Film Festival | Nocciola d'Oro | Won | ||
| 1985 | Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | Best Director | Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom | Nominated |
| 1986 | Academy Award | Best Picture | The Color Purple | Nominated |
| BAFTA Award | Academy Fellowship | Won | ||
| David di Donatello Awards | Best Foreign Producer | Back to the Future | Won | |
| Directors Guild of America | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | The Color Purple | Won | |
| Emmy Award | Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series | Steven Spielberg Presents Amazing Stories | Nominated | |
| Golden Globe | Best Director | The Color Purple | Nominated | |
| Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Director | The Color Purple | Won | |
| 1987 | Academy Award | Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award | Won | |
| Blue Ribbon Award | Best Foreign Language Film | The Color Purple | Won | |
| Christopher Award | Best Picture | Empire of the Sun | Won | |
| National Board of Review | Best Director | Empire of the Sun | Won | |
| 1988 | Directors Guild of America | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Empire of the Sun | Nominated |
| Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Director | Empire of the Sun | Won | |
| 1989 | American Cinematheque Award | American Cinematheque Award | Won | |
| 1990 | American Cinema Editors | Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award | Won | |
| Retirement Research Foundation | Television and Theatrical Film Fiction | Dad | Won | |
| 1991 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Animated Program | Tiny Toon Adventures | Won |
| Emmy Award | Outstanding Animated Program | Tiny Toon Adventures | Nominated | |
| 1992 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Animated Program | Tiny Toon Adventures | Nominated |
| 1993 | Boston Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Director | Schindler's List | Won |
| Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Animated Program | Tiny Toon Adventures | Won | |
| New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Director | Schindler's List | Nominated | |
| Venice Film Festival | Career Golden Lion | Won | ||
| 1994 | Academy Award | Best Director | Schindler's List | Won |
| Academy Award | Best Picture | Schindler's List | Won | |
| Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | President's Award | Won | ||
| Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | Best Director | Jurassic Park | Won | |
| Amanda Awards | Best Foreign Film | Schindler's List | Won | |
| American Society of Cinematographers | Board of the Governors Award | Won | ||
| Australian Film Institute | Best Foreign Film | Schindler's List | Nominated | |
| BAFTA Award | Best Film | Schindler's List | Won | |
| BAFTA Award | David Lean Award for Direction | Schindler's List | Won | |
| Blue Ribbon Award | Best Foreign Language Film | Jurassic Park | Won | |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | Best Director | Schindler's List | Won | |
| Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards | Best Director | Schindler's List | Won | |
| David di Donatello Awards | Best Foreign Film | Schindler's List | Nominated | |
| Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Animated Children's Program | Animaniacs | Nominated | |
| Directors Guild of America | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Schindler's List | Won | |
| Golden Globe | Best Director | Schindler's List | Won | |
| Hochi Film Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Schindler's List | Won | |
| Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Director | Schindler's List | Won | |
| Mainichi Film Concours | Best Foreign Language Film | Jurassic Park | Won | |
| National Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Director | Schindler's List | Won | |
| PGA Award | Motion Picture Producer of the Year Award | Schindler's List | Won | |
| People's Choice Awards | People's Choice Awards Honoree | Won | ||
| ShoWest | Director of the Year | Won | ||
| Society of Camera Operators | Governors' Award | Won | ||
| Young Artist Awards | Jackie Coogan Award | Won | ||
| 1995 | American Film Institute | Life Achievement Award | Won | |
| César Awards | Honorary César | Won | ||
| César Awards | Best Foreign Film | Schindler's List | Nominated | |
| Czech Lions | Best Foreign Language Film | Jurassic Park | Won | |
| Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Animated Children's Program | Animaniacs | Nominated | |
| Emmy Award | Outstanding Animated Program | Tiny Toons' Night Ghoulery | Nominated | |
| Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists | Best Director | Schindler's List | Nominated | |
| Kinema Junpo Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Schindler's List | Won | |
| London Critics Circle Film Awards | Director of the Year | Schindler's List | Won | |
| Mainichi Film Concours | Best Foreign Language Film | Schindler's List | Won | |
| 1996 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Children's Animated Program | Animaniacs | Won |
| Emmy Award | Outstanding Animated Program | A Pinky & the Brain Christmas Special | Won | |
| 1997 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Children's Animated Program | Animaniacs | Won |
| Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Special Class Animated Program | Freakazoid! | Won | |
| Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Children's Animated Program | Pinky and the Brain | Nominated | |
| 1998 | Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | Best Director | The Lost World: Jurassic Park | Nominated |
| David di Donatello Awards | Best Foreign Film | Amistad | Nominated | |
| Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Children's Animated Program | Animaniacs | Nominated | |
| Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Children's Animated Program | Pinky and the Brain | Nominated | |
| Directors Guild of America | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Amistad | Nominated | |
| European Film Awards | Screen International Award | Saving Private Ryan | Nominated | |
| Golden Globe | Best Direcor | Amistad | Nominated | |
| Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards | Best Director | Saving Private Ryan | Won | |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | Best Director | Saving Private Ryan | Won | |
| PGA Awards | Theatrical Motion Picture | Amistad | Won | |
| PGA Award | Motion Picture Producer of the Year Award | Amistad | Nominated | |
| Rembrandt Awards | Best Director | The Lost World: Jurassic Park | Won | |
| Russian Guild of Film Critics | Best Foreign Film | Saving Private Ryan | Nominated | |
| Satellite Awards | Best Director | Amistad | Nominated | |
| Satellite Awards | Best Motion Picture - Drama | Amistad | Nominated | |
| Toronto Film Critics Association Awards | Best Director | Saving Private | Won | |
| 1999 | Academy Award | Best Director | Saving Private Ryan | Won |
| Academy Award | Best Picture | Saving Private Ryan | Nominated | |
| Amanda Awards | Best Foreign Film | Saving Private Ryan | Nominated | |
| BAFTA Award | Best Film | Saving Private Ryan | Nominated | |
| BAFTA Award | David Lean Award for Direction | Saving Private Ryan | Nominated | |
| Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards | Best Director | Saving Private Ryan | Won | |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | Best Director | Saving Private Ryan | Nominated | |
| Czech Lions | Best Foreign Language Film | Saving Private Ryan | Won | |
| César Awards | Best Foreign Film | Saving Private Ryan | Nominated | |
| Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Special Class Animated Program | Pinky and the Brain | Won | |
| Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Children's Animated Program | Animaniacs | Nominated | |
| Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Children's Animated Program | Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain | Nominated | |
| Directors Guild of America | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Saving Private Ryan | Won | |
| Empire Award | Best Director | Saving Private Ryan | Won | |
| Golden Globe | Best Director | Saving Private Ryan | Won | |
| Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists | Best Foreign Director | Saving Private Ryan | Won | |
| Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Director | Saving Private Ryan | Won | |
| London Critics Circle Film Awards | Director of the Year | Saving Private Ryan | Nominated | |
| Online Film Critics Society Awards | Best Director | Saving Private Ryan | Won | |
| PGA Awards | Milestone Award | Won | ||
| PGA Awards | Motion Picture Producer of the Year Award | Saving Private Ryan | Won | |
| Satellite Awards | Best Director | Saving Private Ryan | Nominated | |
| Satellite Awards | Best Motion Picture - Drama | Saving Private Ryan | Nominated | |
| Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards | Best Director | Saving Private Ryan | Won | |
| 2000 | Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Children's Animated Program | Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain | Won |
| Directors Guild of America | Lifetime Achievement Award | Won | ||
| Image Awards | Vanguard Award | Won | ||
| PGA Awards | PGA Hall of Fame - Motion Pictures | E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial | Won | |
| 2001 | National Board of Review | Billy Wilder Award | Won | |
| Venice Film Festival | Future Film Festival Digital Award | A.I. Artificial Intelligence | Won | |
| 2002 | Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | Best Writing | A.I. Artificial Intelligence | Won |
| Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | Best Director | A.I. Artificial Intelligence | Nominated | |
| Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards | Best Director | Minority Report | Nominated | |
| Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards | Best Director | Catch Me If You Can | Nominated | |
| Christopher Award | Television and Cable | Band of Brothers | Won | |
| Emmy Award | Outstanding Miniseries | Band of Brothers | Won | |
| Emmy Award | Outstanding Non-Fiction Special | We Stand Alone Together | Nominated | |
| Empire Award | Best Director | A.I. Artificial Intelligence | Nominated | |
| European Film Awards | Screen International Award | Minority Report | Nominated | |
| Golden Globe | Best Director | A.I. Artificial Intelligence | Nominated | |
| Hollywood Film Festival | Hollywood Movie of the Year | Minority Report | Won | |
| Mainichi Film Concours | Best Foreign Language Film | A.I. Artificial Intelligence | Won | |
| Online Film Critics Society Awards | Best Screenplay | A.I. Artificial Intelligence | Nominated | |
| PGA Awards | Television Producer of the Year Award in Longform | Band of Brothers | Won | |
| ShoWest | Lifetime Achievement Award | Won | ||
| 2003 | Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | Best Director | Minority Report | Won |
| Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards | Best Director | Catch Me If You Can Minority Report | Won | |
| César Awards | Best Foreign Film | Minority Report | Nominated | |
| Emmy Award | Outstanding Miniseries | Taken | Won | |
| Empire Awards | Best Director | Minority Report | Won | |
| Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists | Best Foreign Director | Minority Report | Nominated | |
| Online Film Critics Society Awards | Best Director | Minority Report | Nominated | |
| SFX Awards | Best SF or Fantasy Film Director | Minority Report | Nominated | |
| Walk of Fame | Motion Picture | Won | ||
| 2004 | David di Donatello Awards | Special David | Won | |
| Tokyo International Film Festival | Akira Kurosawa Award | Won | ||
| 2005 | American Film Institute | AFI Movie of the Year | Munich | Won |
| Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards | Best Director | Munich | Won | |
| 2006 | American Film Institute | AFI Movie of the Year | Letters from Iwo Jima | Won |
| Academy Award | Best Achievement in Directing | Munich | Nominated | |
| Academy Award | Best Motion Picture of the Year | Munich | Nominated | |
| Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | Best Director | War of the Worlds | Nominated | |
| Art Directors Guild | Contribution to Cinematic Imagery Award | Won | ||
| Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards | Best Director | Munich | Nominated | |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | Best Director | Munich | Nominated | |
| Chicago International Film Festival | Lifetime Achievement Award | Won | ||
| Directors Guild of America | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Munich | Nominated | |
| Emmy Award | Outstanding Miniseries | Into the West | Nominated | |
| Empire Awards | Best Director | War of the Worlds | Nominated | |
| Golden Eagle Awards | Best Foreign Film | Munich | Nominated | |
| Golden Globe | Best Director | Munich | Nominated | |
| International Emmy Awards | Founders Award | Won | ||
| Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Director | Munich | Won | |
| Online Film Critics Society Awards | Best Director | Munich | Nominated | |
| PGA Awards | Television Producer of the Year Award in Longform | Into the West | Nominated | |
| Western Heritage Awards | Outstanding Television Feature Film | Into the West | Won | |
| 2007 | Academy Award | Best Motion Picture of the Year | Letters from Iwo Jima | Nominated |
| 2008 | Golden Globe | Cecil B. DeMille Award | Won | |
| Visual Effects Society Awards | Lifetime Achievement Award | Won | ||
| 2009 | Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | Best Director | Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Nominated |
| BAFTA Award | Best Casual Game | Boom Blox | Won | |
| 2010 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Miniseries | The Pacific | Won |
| Motion Picture Sound Editors | Film Maker's Award | Won | ||
| 2011 | American Film Institute | AFI Movie of the Year | War Horse | Won |
| PGA Award | Television Producer of the Year Award in Longform | The Pacific | Won | |
| Satellite Awards | Best Director | War Horse | Nominated | |
| Western Heritage Awards | Outstanding Theatrical Motion Picture | True Grit | Won | |
| 2012 | Academy Award | Best Motion Picture of the Year | War Horse | Nominated |
| Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | Best Director | The Adventures of Tintin | Nominated | |
| BAFTA Award | Best Animated Film | The Adventures of Tintin | Nominated | |
| Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards | Best Director | War Horse | Nominated | |
| Empire Awards | Best Director | War Horse | Nominated | |
| PGA Awards | Lifetime Achievement Award in Motion Pictures | Won | ||
| Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures | The Adventures of Tintin | Won | ||
| Theatrical Motion Picture | War Horse | Nominated | ||
| Golden Globe | Best Animated Feature Film | The Adventures of Tintin | Won | |
| Robert Festival | Best American Film | The Adventures of Tintin | Nominated |
- 1998 Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
- 2001 Knight Commander, Order of the British Empire (Honorary)
- 2003 Knight Grand Cross Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
- 2006 Kennedy Center Honors
- 2009 Liberty Medal[172]
- 2011 Commander, Order of the Crown (Belgium)[173]
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