All posts tagged: Spielberg

Steven Spielberg Says Sam Neill Will 'Never Be Forgotten' In Beautiful Tribute

Steven Spielberg Says Sam Neill Will 'Never Be Forgotten' In Beautiful Tribute

Published by Sam Flores

Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Steven Spielberg on the set of Jurassic Park in the early 1990s Steven Spielberg has paid a heartfelt tribute to the actor Sam Neill, who he directed in the first Jurassic Park movie. On Monday, the Oscar-winning filmmaker was among the Hollywood stars to pay their respects to Sam, following his death at the age of 78. In a statement to Variety, Spielberg shared how “saddened” he was by the loss, beginning by expressing his “gratitude” to filmmakers Roger Donaldson, Gilliam Armstrong, Graham Baker and Phillip Noyce “for casting Sam Neill in the roles in which he was so brilliant that brought him to my attention”, which led to him being cast in Jurassic Park. Spielberg enthused: “Sam was exceptionally collaborative. It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children. “I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him. Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, …

Real Life UFO Experts Say Spielberg Captures Reality In ‘Disclosure Day’

Real Life UFO Experts Say Spielberg Captures Reality In ‘Disclosure Day’

Published by Sam Flores

Above all else, Flowers says he appreciates how the film focuses on characters who try to blow the whistle on government knowledge. “I don’t know what the truth is, but I take the whistleblowers who have come forward to testify under oath in front of Congress seriously,” he says, adding that he hopes viewers take a message of hope and empathy from the film. “And the sense that the damage done from fear and secrecy is far worse than any short-term challenges we might face by having the courage to accept the truth.” For Paul Gutjahr, a professor at Indiana University Bloomington who studies American popular religion, Disclosure Day leaves no question that Spielberg is a “believer” in extraterrestrial life. But he also thinks the character of Jane Blankenship (Eve Hewson), a former nun who left her convent after a crisis of faith, speaks to Spielberg’s ambitions beyond simply making the case for aliens. Gutjahr notes that the Catholic Church in particular has already made great strides in confronting how its theology might accommodate the …

Steven Spielberg finally answers whether ET is slimy or dry

Steven Spielberg finally answers whether ET is slimy or dry

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Steven Spielberg has settled an unusual debate about whether E.T., the titular extraterrestrial of his beloved 1982 family classic, was slimy or dry. Starring a young Henry Thomas and a young Drew Barrymore, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial centered on the close bond between a young boy and a gentle alien who becomes stranded on Earth. The character of E.T., a wide-eyed, short and wrinkly being with an illuminated finger, was brought to life by a combination of real-life actors, animatronics and puppetry. Under certain lighting, his skin appeared at least slightly dewy. But according to The New York Times’s Rachel Abrams, the host of The Daily podcast, whether E.T. was slimy or dry has long divided her friend group. Laughing at the “wild” question while appearing as a guest on the podcast, Spielberg answered: “E.T. was a little moist but never slimy,” …

Who Might Be the Next Steven Spielberg?

Who Might Be the Next Steven Spielberg?

Published by Sam Flores

Let’s just get this out of the way right now: There’s only one Steven Spielberg. His filmmaking legacy is clear: genre-spanning work, delivered over six decades, that includes action-adventure blockbusters, gripping Oscar-winning dramas, critically acclaimed sci-fi, and so much more. He invented the summer blockbuster with Jaws, launched the Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park franchises, and made us all weep because of aliens and robots. Disclosure Day Universal Pictures/Everett Collection This week the Little Gold Men team explores Spielberg’s incredible body of work and examines his latest film, Disclosure Day. The movie (which has already earned more than $90 million worldwide) may be uneven, but it reminds us why Spielberg is one of the best: He’s an empathetic filmmaker who can ask the big questions about humanity through sci-fi epics. The Little Gold Men crew also wonders who among the next generation of filmmakers might be able to walk the same path—releasing big, bold tentpoles, but also winning over Oscar voters. Ryan Coogler, especially after the success of Sinners, feels like the most likely heir …

Stephen Spielberg Just Confirmed What E.T. Felt Like, And It's Gross

Stephen Spielberg Just Confirmed What E.T. Felt Like, And It's Gross

Published by Sam Flores

Speaking to the New York Times recently, director Steven Spielberg answered an E.T. question he said he’d never been asked before.  Host of NYT podcast The Daily, Rachel Abrams, said: “The question is not original, and it’s probably only for me, but, was E.T. slimy or dry?”  The Disclosure Day director laughingly replied, “That’s a wild question. “E.T. was a little moist,” he smiled, “but never slimy”.  He continued, “E.T. was only dry when E.T. got sick, and then E.T was dry… “When I hear the word ‘slimy’, I think it’s… Ridley [Scott, the director of sci-fi flicks like Alien]’s, you know… alien, when the teeth come out. That’s slimy. “E.T. never had the tendrils of drool,” Steven added (well, at least that’s… something?). “We didn’t go that far.”  Steven pushed back on Abram’s comment about the question not being original, too. “I’ve never been asked that question before. Ever,” he stated. The Standard has previously explained that the on-screen model was made from a metal animatronic base covered in foam latex. Whether Spielberg meant the actual …

Spielberg and Harrison Ford didn’t love divisive Indiana Jones movie

Spielberg and Harrison Ford didn’t love divisive Indiana Jones movie

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Indiana Jones fans are still furious about the alien twist in divisive 2008 sequel Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – but Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford weren’t happy about it, either. Star Wars filmmaker George Lucas, who produced the adventure franchise, was the one who wanted to introduce extra-terrestrials into the Indy universe, but the film’s director Spielberg and lead star Ford “kind of got into a fight” with him about it. “I wanted it to be kind of a War of the Worlds-sort of thing,” Lucas recalled to Vulture, revealing that Ford and Spielberg categorically told him: “We’re not going to do another science-fiction movie.” Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures) Producer Kathleen Kennedy added: “Steven was struggling with that movie. Harrison was struggling with the movie. They didn’t want to do a Raiders of the …

Steven Spielberg Responds To Emily Blunt Disclosure Day AI Claim

Steven Spielberg Responds To Emily Blunt Disclosure Day AI Claim

Published by Sam Flores

Steven Spielberg has clarified his stance on AI in cinema after Emily Blunt′ recent comments about their new film, Disclosure Day. In Spielberg’s new sci-fi blockbuster, Emily plays a local weatherwoman who begins speaking in an unusual, clicking alien language mid-broadcast, for reasons that become apparent over the course of the film. During a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, the British star opened up about the origins of these noises, claiming that Spielberg had told her: “You know, we could do it with AI, or you could do it.” “I was like, ‘I feel confident I can make some weird noises’,” she then quipped. Meanwhile, she also revealed to Hot Ones host Sean Evans that AI was something she was “a bit terrified of” when it was apparently presented to her as an option for her Disclosure Day character’s alien language. Emily Blunt in Disclosure Day Since then, Spielberg sat down with ITV News to discuss the film, during which Emily’s comments about him supposedly offering to create these sounds with generative AI were brought …

All 35 Steven Spielberg Movies, Ranked From Worst to Best

All 35 Steven Spielberg Movies, Ranked From Worst to Best

Published by Daniella Wilson

In Disclosure Day, the whole human race watches the same thing at the same time. It’s in the trailer, all those staring eyes full of wonder. No logical person today thinks a worldwide audience can still share a collective feeling from one mass viewing experience. But creating global emotional events is, or was, Steven Spielberg’s job. The great white shark. The extra-terrestrial. He made archaeology fun. He had a T. Rex. His hard-R war pictures earned boffo dollars. His name still epitomizes success, no matter if he hasn’t directed a hit this decade. Is Disclosure Day his summer comeback, another low-turnout late masterpiece, more wannabe spectacle, One of the Weird Ones? Even his failures belong in a museum. His best work feels personal, connecting audiences to each other and to their own childlike sense of awe. His gigantic filmography — he directed two films in one year, six different years! — is a cozy house he built for everyone. We’re gonna need a bigger home.  35. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) Image Credit: Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection Because this dinosaur sequel …

Why Taylor Swift Asked Steven Spielberg to Induct Her Into the Songwriters Hall of Fame

Why Taylor Swift Asked Steven Spielberg to Induct Her Into the Songwriters Hall of Fame

Published by Sam Flores

“What’s the security issue?” one event photographer asked another. “You know why there are security issues,” the second answered. “Taylor Swift is here.” On Thursday, the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City played host to a small pack of bomb-sniffing dogs, an army of security guards, miles of black partition curtains, and unsuspecting hotel-goers who seemed unfamiliar with the mechanics of the Marquis’s automatic revolving doors—all (or at least some) in anticipation of Swift’s arrival. But before there was Taylor Swift, the sea-parting mega-celebrity; Taylor Swift, the world-conquering music mogul; or even Taylor Swift, the pop star, there was Taylor Swift, the songwriter. That’s the Swift who was being honored at the 2026 Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala: the youngest woman ever to be inducted, and the second-youngest person overall, behind Stevie Wonder, who was inducted at the age of 32. Swift’s class of fellow inductees includes Alanis Morissette, Kiss’s Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, Kenny Loggins, Terry Britten and Graham Lyle, Walter Afanasieff, and Christopher “Tricky” Stewart. Paul Stanley, Taylor Swift and Nile …

With ‘Disclosure Day,’ Steven Spielberg Gives His Successors a Run for Their Money

With ‘Disclosure Day,’ Steven Spielberg Gives His Successors a Run for Their Money

Published by Jenni Sidey

This story contains minor spoilers for Disclosure Day. There are several master American filmmakers, absolute titans of the form, who have now reached a point where every time they announce a new movie, I feel at least a twinge of curiosity as to how it might play as their final work. I don’t say this to be morbid—I truly wish these figures a Clint Eastwood-length career, with an Eastwood-like number of elegiac farewells—but rather to steel myself, however slightly, for the inevitability that one day, for any number of reasons but likely all the same one, Martin Scorsese will stop making movies. Michael Mann will stop making movies. David Cronenberg will stop making movies. Steven Spielberg, somehow, will stop making movies. All of these directors have lately made films that could be interpreted as final statements, even if in most cases, they’re likely to keep working. And of this bunch, Spielberg seems the least oriented toward finality; most of his movies are too fast, too busy moving, for elegy. Even when they consist largely of …