Verified Spielberg Trivia

As the worlds most famous filmmaker, there are literally thousands of stories and anecdotes surrounding the man that are thrown around the internet relating to his film projects and his life overall. So I thought I would share some of the things I have been told on a one to one basis by the people I know who have personally worked with him, some of which I find really interesting.

• Steven was forcibly removed from the set of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Family Plot” in 1976 – he had sneaked onto the set after the release of “Jaws”, in the hope of meeting his idol.
• All of the main performers in “Saving Private Ryan” were forced to undergo a brutal week-long military boot camp in order to gain experience as soldiers: except Matt Damon. Steven did this deliberately so that there would be some genuine resentment from his fellow cast members, which would show on screen.
• When John Williams first saw “Schindler’s List”, he was so moved he had to leave the room and take a walk to collect his thoughts. On his return he told Steven “You deserve a better composer for this!”. Steven’s reply was “I know, but they’re all dead.”
• Martin Scorsese while editing “Taxi Driver” had trouble making a cut during the final violent scenes in the movie, so he “Called in Stevie Spielberg, who helped me make the cut.” My Film School lecturer by the way never believed this, he hated Spielberg and spent three years berating everything he did. When Scorsese mentioned this on camera in a documentary and confirmed it, I have never felt to vilified and delighted!
• Steven appears as a clerk in the final few scenes of “The Blues Brothers” opposite John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd.
• The well from Marty’s photo in “Back to the Future”, in which we see his siblings gradually disappear is located in the garden of Amblin Entertainments offices (Spielberg’s production company) on the Universal lot. Photo below, plus see the featured image above of Steven having fun in the same well in 1984, where you can see “Bruce” the shark from “Jaws” who also resides in there! 
• During a chase scene in “Duel”, Dennis Weavers character sees what he believes to be a police car which raises his hopes. When the car is seen fully, it turns out to be a pest exterminators car named “Grebleips” (Which is Spielberg spelt backwards!).
• In the opening sequence of “Back to the Future” you can briefly see one man hanging off the minute-hand of a large clock, just as Doc Brown would do later at the end of the film.
  This foreshadowing was Steven also paying homage to the 1923 silent film “Safety Last” starring Harold Lloyd.
• MCA/Universal President Sid Sheinberg became a father figure to Steven after he first walked (without permission) onto the Universal lot in the early 1970’s. Sheinberg first gave Thomas Keneally’s book “Schindler’s Ark” to Steven when it was published in 1982, to which he commented “It would make a hell of a story. Is it true?”. The studio bought the rights to the book, and despite trying to get other directors to make the film (such as Polanski, Scorsese, Pollack) Steven finally felt after a great deal of time that he was emotionally and artistically able to take on the project. For “Schindler’s List” Steven didn’t accept a single penny in salary nor any proceeds in perpetuity for making the movie.
• Remember seeing this pirate in the movie “Hook”? Look again – it’s Glenn Close dressed as a man! Typical of Steven’s sense of humour!

Hope you enjoyed these, I do have many more. Feel free to comment below!

 

Kubrick Kicks Back

This extraordinary letter by #StanleyKubrick written to an MGM executive is both to the point and hilarious!!

5 Film Crew Jobs Revealed

Ever glanced at the credits of a movie and wondered “What on earth is a Best Boy?”. Some of the positions on a film crew can have very obscure names, so here is a general list of five film crew roles people often wonder about. Do note they can vary in detail depending on the size of the film and nature of the production.

• First Assistant Director – Responsible for making sure that the cast and crew keep working and making sure that the film doesn’t go over budget or beyond schedule, so that the director doesn’t have to (making the director look good!). They can sometimes be the most unpopular person on set, as they are always watching the clock and motivating people to get moving.
• Unit Production Manager – Organises locations, schedules, hotel rooms, often hires members of the crew and deals with the public a lot more than any other person. Helps the producer hire people needed and often organises payroll.
• Gaffer – this person works closely under the Director of Photography and is responsible for lighting equipment on set. They rig lights, implement filters if needed as required by the DOP and usually come armed with several large vans full of different lighting equipment, cables and stands etc..
• Key Grip – this person is in charge of the “Grip” department who are responsible for carrying and transporting all of the lighting, camera dollies and equipment onto location or set. They hire their own crew, decides what pieces of equipment need to be used and actually does a lot of the work themselves.
• Best Boy – an immediate assistant to either the Key Grip or the Gaffer. Not generally known but the terms “best boy” and “gaffer” come from old shipping lingo: whenever a ship would lie in harbour, any landlubber who needed assistance with moving furniture or goods would go down to the pier and hire the ship’s gaffer (who rigged the boat’s sails) and his “best boy”.

Hope that enlightened you! Any other roles you are wondering about, don’t hesitate to comment below! 🙂