Over the past 40 years, Steven Spielberg has built up a legendary career filled with more blockbuster hits and critically acclaimed features than we could easily rattle off here. But how many people know the story behind Spielberg’s rise in Hollywood? Who remembers when Jaws was predicted to be an epic box office failure, or that Spielberg couldn’t even get into film school? If you’re rusty on your Spielberg trivia, a new HBO documentary is taking a deeper look at the famed director (and with the full cooperation of Spielberg himself).
Susan Lacy directed and produced Spielberg, a feature-length exploration of Spielberg’s long career in Hollywood, beginning with his early days in television and stretching all the way up to his current status as one of the most successful directors of all time. HBO’s first trailer for Spielberg features the title subject explaining how he comes up with great ideas under pressure, and recollecting on the first time that he felt like an insider.
Several cinematic luminaries also participated in the documentary to share their thoughts on Spielberg, including Martin Scorsese, Liam Neeson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Richard Dreyfuss, George Lucas, J.J. Abrams, and more. Along the way, Spielberg manages to articulate how and way his style has evolved over the years. In particular, Spielberg singles out Schindler’s List as a transformative experience both personally and as a director.
Spielberg will premiere on Saturday, October 7 on HBO.
What did you think about the first trailer for Spielberg? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!
Images: HBO/Universal Pictures
Want more Spielberg stuff?
- Ready Player One’s first trailer is a huge nostalgia trip
- Jurassic World Evolution lets you run your own theme park
- Five Came Back documentary shines a light on five heroic filmmakers
