Chapter Eighteen: Spielberg

  Having settled the matter of Industrial Light & Magic, Song Tang again thought about the director's situation. For this script "Jurassic Park", whether to shoot it himself or hand it over to Steven Spielberg, the original director, was a bit uncertain.

  Originally, Song Tang wanted to shoot the classic "The Shawshank Redemption" this year, and "The Shawshank Redemption" is adapted from Stephen King's "Different Seasons" collection of "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption". However, so far, Stephen King has not given himself a clear answer. Without Stephen's consent, "The Shawshank Redemption" cannot be made into a movie no matter what.

  After some deliberation, Song Tang still decided to hand over the script of "Jurassic Park" to Steven Spielberg for filming. He himself would have to personally visit Spielberg and try to get the adaptation rights back, because if he couldn't, "The Shawshank Redemption" might be released in '94, colliding with "Forrest Gump" just like before, and although it won seven Oscar nominations, it would become a classic without a crown. As one of Song Tang's favorite films, he didn't want to leave any regrets in his film history, so no matter what, he had to make this movie himself this year.

  Having made up his mind, he then had his general manager George arrange a meeting with Steven.

  In the quiet café, Song Tang carefully sized up the famous director sitting in front of him. Steven, 46 years old this year, was not very tall and wore glasses, with a civilized air about him that was characteristic of his Jewish heritage. His large beard gave off a unique artistic flair. Looking at the great director before him, Song Tang couldn't help but recall the information he had gathered about Steven.

  Steven Spielberg was born on December 18, 1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father was a computer expert and his mother was a classical musician. Spielberg had a fascination with adventure and fantasy from an early age and spent much time thinking about these subjects. On his twelfth birthday, his father gave him a movie camera which further sparked his interest in filmmaking.

  After graduating from the University of California, he had a chance to interview with the general manager of Universal Television in 1971 and soon became the youngest director to sign a long-term contract with Hollywood film studios. Universal signed him to a three-picture deal. The first movie was Duel, adapted by Richard Matheson, which told an absurd story about a large truck trying to push a small car off the road. Spielberg directed this TV movie in just ten days. This $300,000 film earned Universal several million dollars when it was released in Europe, stunning the industry. Based on the excellent quality of Spielberg's work, British critic Dilys Powell highly praised the film, which had a significant impact on Spielberg's film career.

  His first job in the television industry was as a part of the 1969 television series "Night Gallery" - "Eyes", starring Joan Crawford, who gave her full support to this 22-year-old newcomer and remained friends with him for life. This TV series holds a unique position in his works, being highly stylized compared to many of his later "mature" films. He then directed another episode of the television series "Marcus Welby", as well as an episode of the science fiction series ".2017", which caught the attention of Universal Studios and led to them signing him for a short-term contract.

  At the time of The Exorcist's great success, a TV movie about demonic possession was in production. Under his contract, Spielberg directed one episode of this series, "Slaves".

  Spielberg's first theatrical film was The Sugarland Express, about a couple who are chased by the police as they try to regain custody of their baby. Spielberg's directorial skills were praised and he was hailed as "the most exciting new talent since Orson Welles" by The Hollywood Reporter. It also marked the first collaboration between Spielberg and composer John Williams, who would go on to score all but two of Spielberg's films. Despite this, The Sugarland Express was not a commercial success and was only given a limited release.

  Spielberg, who was born to fantasize, liked to shoot themes like sharks, space men and snakes. Soon, he directed a large crew and a mechanical shark to shoot his first blockbuster "Jaws". The thrilling scenes in the film earned Hollywood $401 million at the box office, stunning the entire film industry. Next, Spielberg combined his personality with people's desire for fantasy and stimulation, and from 1977 on, he successively directed and produced many blockbusters such as "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark". These films gave audiences a sense of wonder and excitement with their fantastical storylines, causing a huge sensation. Among them, "E.T." was particularly notable for its portrayal of humans encountering extraterrestrial life, giving audiences a vast space for fantasy and psychological stimulation, making Spielberg almost a household name in America. The film earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Director. By then, his fantastical directing style had already taken shape.

  However, Spielberg's creative scope also has limitations. His highly skilled and mature expression techniques formed a sharp contrast with the monotonous content of his films. In order to broaden his directorial path, he directed a biographical film "The Color Purple" for the first time in 1985. In this film, Spielberg abandoned his previous light-hearted stories, took the essence of the award-winning novel, and realistically portrayed the bitter and strong life of a black woman. However, due to various reasons, the film was nominated for eleven awards but did not win any at that year's Oscars ceremony, which is deeply regrettable. Nevertheless, Spielberg, who still had some classical spirit at that time, refused to compromise with the masses. Two years later, he went to Shanghai, China to shoot "Empire of the Sun", a film rich in connotation. Unfortunately, this work, nominated by the American Film Critics Association as the best film, again missed the Oscars that year.

  Undeterred by his setbacks, Spielberg entered the 1990s with a bang. In 1991, he released Hook to great success.

  What a strong and never-give-up great director, worthy of being hailed as one of the greatest directors in film history. It seems that Steven's success is not accidental! Without 100% effort, there is no 100% success, Song Tang couldn't help but sigh.

  "Mr. Steven Spielberg, I have a script here and I don't know if you're interested in taking it on!" After Song Tang and Steven got to know each other for a while, Song Tang expressed the purpose of inviting Steven over.

  "May I take a look at the script first, Mr. Song?" For Steven now, although he often shoots films for Universal, after all, it is an employment relationship. The contract he signed with Universal has long expired, and there are no scripts to shoot now. Although Steven doesn't know why Song Tang invited him to shoot the film, he is happy to take a look at the content of the script.

  "Of course, a science fiction script, about dinosaurs, adapted from Michael Crichton's 'Jurassic Park'." Song Tang handed the script to Steven while introducing it.

  "Oh, really? That's a very interesting sci-fi novel. I'm now looking forward to your script, and I can hardly wait." Steven heard Song Tang introduce it and immediately became interested, eagerly taking the script handed over by Song Tang and starting to read it.

  Very novel and very sci-fi, quite different from ordinary movies, this is Steven's first impression when he saw the script.

  Song Tang sat there, sipping his hot coffee, quietly waiting for Steven's response, Song Tang was confident that Steven would accept this film.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, it didn't take long for Steven to roughly browse through it and then decide to take over this film.

  After seeing Steven's reaction, Song Tang immediately knew Steven's choice. Song Tang knew that his adapted script had moved Steven, or rather, Steven's own script had moved himself, because the script was adapted by Song Tang based on his past life after watching "Jurassic Park", although there were some differences, but the overall framework was still the same.

  (PS: Today's first update, continue writing, estimated next update will be around dusk!)