For director Steven Spielberg, this misstep in the film is a bit early and a bit difficult. At the age of 12 he wowed his fellow scouts with his first short film Western. A year later, an unhappy and troubled high school student leads a high school student in an ambitious war film. He's not the first. And it certainly won't be the last. Spielberg was born in Cincinnati in 1946 and moved to New Jersey with his family when he was three years old. There he saw his first film and watched television on his family's first television. But it wasn't until 10-year-old Spielberg and his family arrived in Arizona in 1957 that he focused on storytelling in films as a child and adult.
Although filmmaking was an unusual college activity in the 1950s and 1960s, Spielberg clearly found his calling. On March 24, 1964, he presented his first film , Shulah, at a local theater with a budget of less than $600. At this point, the aspiring writer-director had been making films for seven years, and it was only a matter of time before his first film came out. "I knew after my third or fourth little 8mm epic that it was going to be a career, not just a hobby," he later said.
Her love of cinema, nurtured by her family and community, was a way of overcoming the difficult circumstances of her upbringing. These include her estranged father, her parents' failed marriage, and her struggles with abuse and relationships.
Spielberg began making films for his Boy Scout troop
When he arrived in Arizona, his parents, Leah and Arnold Spielberg, had the opportunity to encourage their son as a future director. Spielberg's father gave control of his 8mm camera to Steven to document the family's journey. (Then he began filming the epic accident between his two electric trains.)
Stephen loves the Scouts, but he needs achievements to climb the ranks. In the summer of 1958, his father offered him a degree in photography by making films. The resulting nine-minute film (known as Gunfight , The Last Gun , The Last Gun , or The Last Skirmish) hypnotizes Stephen's companions. His success allowed him to photograph an upcoming expedition. Most importantly, Stephen experienced what it feels like to have an audience who are passionate about his work.
Making the film boosted Spielberg's confidence
In Arizona, Spielberg considered himself an outsider. He was a Jewish boy surrounded by pagans and the self-proclaimed "skinny and unpopular" "mathematician". Some of his classmates called him "Play Bug".
While making films, Spielberg found a way to connect with those around him. He photographed neighborhood children, including aspiring Wonder Woman actress Lynda Carter, and included them in his films.
In 1959, when Spielberg was in the seventh grade, he began filming combat troops in World War II. The film, which combined documentary footage of fighter planes with scenes shot by Spielberg, was followed by another World War II film, Escape to Nowhere . Spielberg had so much control and respect on set that he was even able to direct the bully onto the project.
Later, one attendee explained how he worked with Spielberg. "He became such a different person that I admired him as a seventh grade student. He got all the soccer players, lined up all the players and told them what to do. There's a lesson at home or in college. He was the guy that had a sparkle in his eyes."
Cinema is a family affair for Spielberg
Growing up, Stephen resented his father Arnold for working too much. According to Stephen, it was his father who caused stress in his parents' marriage.
However, his father was a huge supporter of Stephen's childhood film projects. Arnold not only gave his son his first camera, he also offered him financial support (film wasn't and isn't cheap) and helped him get a photography license. Arnold even helped Steven get permission to film the real (but fictional) B-51 and Fighter Squad .
His mother Leah also supports him, sometimes in unconventional ways. If Steven wants to skip class to shoot a tape, Leah will write a note to justify his absence. He admits that Steven was not a good student and believes in his future so much that he names his son "Cecil B. Well, Spielberg".
Stephen often screens Disney films, which are free for non-commercial use, at his home, sometimes including his own short film before the main event. Entrance fees were donated to the Berry Institute Home for Mentally Handicapped Children.
Stephen's three younger sisters sell drinks on this show. They were allowed to keep part of this income, but the rest went to their brother's film productions. Snacks aside, the girls worked in front of and behind the camera in Stephen's production.
As a teenager, Spielberg focused on dream movies
Stephen's first date in fifth grade doesn't go well. Arnold, who accompanied the couple, watched as the girl rested her head on Stephen's arm. So he and Leia rebuked their son and warned him about immorality. As a result, Steven didn't go out much in his teenage years, and filmmaking took up most of his time and money.
Stephen took cinema so seriously that he decided to direct his first feature film project as a teenager. He wrote a 67-page UFO abduction screenplay and composed the music for Firelight . Stephen has successfully persuaded a number of people and organizations to support his filmmaking endeavours. Baptist Hospital in Phoenix allowed him to film in the infirmary, while American Airlines allowed him to film between his arrival at Sky Harbor Airport and his next flight departure.
On March 24, 1964, Firelight premiered in downtown Phoenix. The film cost less than $600 and made a small operating profit. Although Stephen later called Firelight "one of the five worst films of all time", one local reviewer said: "ignorance".