Product Description

Intimate family photos and interviews reveal Spielberg behind the scenes

From Jaws to E.T. to Schindler's List to Saving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg has created many of the most popular and respected movies ever made. Now, through extensive interviews with Spielberg's family, with the stars of his films, and with the people he has worked with most closely, Susan Goldman Rubin presents the definitive portrait of a man whose childhood paved the path he would take as an artist.

A wealth of behind-the-scenes information allows readers to look at the creative process up close. Full of never-before-seen, one-of-a-kind family photographs, this fast-paced biography will inspire young people everywhere.

A chapter is devoted to the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, the nonprofit organization Spielberg established to videotape and preserve the testimonies of Holocaust survivors, and a portion of the profits from this book will go to support the foundation's work.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1016425 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 96 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Fans of film will revel in this behind-the-scenes look at Spielberg's childhood, movies and the choices that led to his stellar career. Rubin (Margaret Bourke-White; Frank Lloyd Wright) quotes liberally from articles plus interviews she conducted with Spielberg, his family, mentors, colleagues and actors. A portrait soon emerges of a director who drew upon his childhood fears ("of trees, of clouds, the wind, the dark," even a clown doll) to feed his tremendous imagination and who began filming his first feature-length film, Firelight, at 16. Rubin corroborates Spielberg's own assertion that each of his movie ideas originates from a childhood memory (e.g., "Poltergeist is about all the terrible things I did to my younger sisters," he says). This biography offers glimpses into the making of movies and also reveals little-known aspects of the director's journey, including how he created a 26-minute, 35-mm film called Amblin' solely to show to Universal Studios (when Universal offered him a seven-year contract to direct television shows, he left college). Family photographs and film stills help document Spielberg's progress. Ultimately, the finest special effect from this peek at the man behind Jaws, E.T. and Saving Private Ryan may be its convincing message that anything is possible when one perseveres and follows his or her dream. Ages 9-12.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Gr 6-9-A comprehensive look at the child, the man, and the creative genius. Based on the author's interviews with family and associates, and those previously given by Spielberg himself, the text provides readers with insight into the filmmaker's life and the motivation and imagination behind some of his biggest films. Divided into chapters based on his movies, the book begins with Firelight, the home movie Spielberg made when he was a teenager, and concludes with A.I., released in 2001. Readers be warned: not all of his films are included. The discussion of each film includes background information and how the filmmaker turned life events into hits such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. The author devotes a chapter to discussion of the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation that Spielberg founded. Actual movie stills and numerous behind-the-scenes and family photographs are included.

Shauna Yusko, King County Library System, Bellevue, WA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 5-8. Even as a young boy, armed with the family's 8mm Brownie camera, Steven Spielberg had an innate ability to tell stories visually and creatively. Rubin recounts Spielberg's energetic life, showing how his childhood shaped the scripts he would later write and direct. Rubin gives only a rare glimpse of Spielberg's life off the set, but drawing on interviews with family members, she crafts a detailed portrait of the mischievous storyteller continually wrapped up in his latest movie project, and examines his career from the made-for-television movie Duel through Saving Private Ryan. Her tone throughout is upbeat, trumpeting his commercial success and downplaying his critics. The text is livelier than standard series fare, but it is really the format, with short chapters and large, colorful photos, that makes this book so appealing. Randy Meyer
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

An exciting read with beautiful photos!
This is a beautiful little book. I enjoyed reading Ms. Rubin's text just as much as the photos. It reads more like a novel than a bio. including little known facts and personal interviews of his family and friends. She makes a point to illustrate the early influences of Steven's family and school life that later became themes for his movies. It is a very intimate look into Speilburg's personal and professional journey. Ms. Rubin has included many formerly unpublished photos. It all adds up to a wonderful read and certainly a lovely addition to your library, especially if you are a fan of Spielberg's work.

A Beautiful Quality Book.
Great book for the 9-14 age group or anyone older looking for a light read. Lots and lots of interesting pictures of Spieberg's childhood, early career and blockbuster movies and behind-the-scene production. Well written and a high quality book.

Great Photographs and Information
This is a pretty good decent sized book about both Spielberg's life growing up and his most successful movies such as Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, ET, Jurrasic Park and Saving Private Ryan to name a few. There are some great colour photographs from the movies along with a lot of information. If you like the films he has done or are interested in his life then this would have to be one of the best books out there on that subject.