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A life in film Steven had to face rejections and obstacles in his film-creating efforts but his persistence and dedication transformed the obstacles into an alternative route to success. 1 At 12 years old Steven Spielberg was already visiting film shootings at Universal Studios in his office suit a packed lunch tucked into his briefcase. The young boy tried to immerse himself in film in any way possible. He had been given an administrative job at Universal Studios from a friend of his father's and every day even though he didn't have a legitimate security pass he would try to manipulate his way past the guards and into his personal paradise. Such persistence is hardly surprising from a boy whose lifelong conviction was to "Make sure you are right and go on!" (adopted from a 1954 Disney film). 2 When Steven was eight years old his father gave him a Brownie 8 mm film camera as his birthday present. Steven immediately began collecting footage of family events and he simulated action scenes with his miniature toy spacecraft populating his films with his neighborhood friends as actors. People quickly began to recognize his terrific talent and he won a prize for cinematography for his early westernThe Last Gunfight; years later he won a national contest for his film Escape to Nowhere. His film Firelight was twice analyzed by a national newspaper and was presented in the city theater as if it were a Hollywood premiere. By the time he was 17 years old Steven had established himself as a director with the artistic intuition of a man twice his age. 3 His achievements are certainly related to the personal obstacles and setbacks he faced from an early age. Steven's family moved often so that he was constantly trying to find his place in a turbulent environment with new people. Despite his natural intelligence Steven had a carefree attitude and put little effort into school. He consistently earned only a C average or lower. Socially he wasn't athletic or popular and since his conspicuous interest in film made him seem eccentric classmates shunned and mocked him. 4 His home life was not ideal either as his father's rigid engineering temperament could not understand his or his mother's artistic personalities. Steven would miss his father when he was gone for long work trips and then reverted to furiously arguing with him as soon as he returned. Finally when he was in high school his parents ended their unhappy marriage with a divorce. The theme of the lack of a father figure consistently infected Steven's films. 5 Unfriendly surroundings at home and school made Steven strive even harder to achieve in the film world. He applied to two of the best film schools in the country: the University of Southern California and the University of California Los Angeles. But even with a formidable 10 years of experiences in filmmaking and his friends at Universal Studios endorsing him his grades were too poor and he was flatly turned down at both institutions. 6 Unwilling to give up Steven entered the California State University where he hoped the program in TV and radio might open his way to Hollywood. Unfortunately the university was not suited to his experience and one academician recalled "Steven knew more about cameras mounts and lenses than anyone else in the department. He could teach there." Despite his manifest talent his low grades sabotaged transfer attempts forcing real film schools to withhold acceptance. 7 Steven contrived to rectify the situation on his own by diverting his attention away from academics. He cleaned his old suit and briefcase and returned to visiting Universal Studios where he had worked as a boy. He discreetly sneaked into any department he could such as shooting rooms editing and sound-mixing studios and he quietly watched until he was discovered and ordered to leave. Introducing himself under the pretext of being either an actor director or producer he would invite people to dinner to make connections and learn as much as he could. Even though he was caught and expelled at least once a day he always returned to smuggle himself back in again. 8 Steven repeatedly tried to prove himself to the Universal executives while working in a cafeteria to save up money for equipment. He would discretely create scenes and then shoot and re-shoot his movies. He kept upgrading from 8 to 16 and finally 35 mm film before he was allowed a screening. Finally his film Amblin was given a chance in front of the executives. It was a short silent film and the plot differed greatly from the sci-fi and combat films that would later predominate Steven's career. Still the short film was awesome enough to win Steven only 21 years old a seven-year contract with Universal Studios. 9 After directing smaller TV dramas and low-budget projects Steven earned the chance to direct his big Hollywood debut: a thriller film starring a shark! Jaws was a box office hit and it made Steven famous. He continued his relationship with Universal Studios to produce the notable movies E.T. Jurassic Park and Schindler's List. 10 As his first producer said "It is not by any coincidence that Steven is in his present position." Instead it is Steven's committed spirit that has strengthened him in standing fast against all rejections prejudice and skepticism and driven him to keep moving onward. 斯皮尔伯格的电影人生 史蒂文在拍摄电影的努力过程中不得不面对无数拒绝和障碍，但他的坚持和付出将困难转变成了一条成功之道。 年仅12岁，史蒂文·斯皮尔伯格就已身着办公制服，公文包里带着午餐，光顾环球影视公司的电影拍摄了。这个男孩尽力通过各种方法让自己融入电影。他父亲的一位朋友曾给他一份在环球影视公司的行政工作。每天，即使他没有合法安检通行证，他依然设法绕过看守，进入自己的天堂。对于一位终身信念是“确定你是对的，然后勇往直前！”（出自一部1954年迪斯尼影片）的小男孩而言，这种坚持并不让人意外。 史蒂文8岁时，父亲送给他一部布朗尼8毫米电影摄像机作为生日礼物。史蒂文马上着手收集家庭事件的镜头，用自己的微型玩具飞船模拟动作场景，并让街坊朋友在他的影片中做演员。人们很快开始发现他惊人的才能：凭借早期西部片《最后的枪战》，他赢得一项摄影奖；几年后又凭电影《无处容身》在全国比赛中获胜。他的电影《火光》得到一家全国性报纸的两次评析，并在当地电影院像首映的好莱坞大片一样放映。到17岁时，史蒂文已经确立了自己导演的地位，并具有年龄大自己一倍的人才有的艺术直觉。 他的成就和他早年经历的那些障碍和挫折息息相关。史蒂文的家庭经常搬迁，于是他总要在动荡的环境、陌生的人群中寻找自己的位置。尽管天生聪明，史蒂文却态度散漫，对学业并不上心，平均成绩一直只能得C或更低。在社交方面，他体育上不擅长，也不受人欢迎。由于他的兴趣明显都在电影上，他看上去古里古怪，同学们不是躲着他就是取笑他。 由于工科出身的父亲性格呆板，不理解他和母亲的艺术个性，他的家庭生活也不理想。在父亲外出工作的漫长期间，史蒂文也会想念他，但一回家两人就又狂暴地争吵。最后，在他上高中时，父母离婚，结束了他们不幸福的婚姻。缺少父亲形象的主题一直影响着史蒂文的影片。 家庭和学校的冷漠环境让史蒂文更加努力，以期在电影界有所成就。他申请了两家国内最好的电影院校，南加州大学和加州大学洛杉矶分校。尽管有十年丰富的电影制作经验和环球影视公司朋友的支持，但是由于成绩太差，他仍被两个大学断然拒绝。 史蒂文不愿意就此放弃，去了加州州立大学。他希望在那里广播电视的专业学习能打开他通往好莱坞的道路。不幸的是，这所大学并不适合他这种经历的人。一位学者回忆道：“史蒂文比系里的任何人都更懂摄像机、底座、镜头等相关知识，他完全可以在那里任教。”尽管他才华出众，但学业成绩太低使他转学受挫，真正的电影学校都不接纳他。 史蒂文设法自己改变处境，将注意力从学业转移开来。他清理好旧制服和公文包，重新回到儿时曾工作过的环球影视公司。他悄悄地溜进任何他能进入的部门，像拍摄间、剪辑间、音效间等，静静地观看，直到被人发现并被赶走。他假装介绍自己是演员、导演或制片人，邀请别人一起吃饭来积攒人脉，并尽可能地学习。即使他每天至少有一次会被逮到并被赶走，但他总是回来再偷偷混进去。 史蒂文一边再三向环球公司管理层证明自己，一边在餐厅打工攒钱买设备。他将各场景单独进行创作，一次又一次地拍摄。在得到放映机会前，他不断升级胶片，从8毫米到16毫米，再到35毫米。最后，他的影片《漫步前行》终于有机会出现在管理层面前。这是一部无声短片，情节和史蒂文日后职业生涯中的主流科幻片和战争片大相径庭。不过那个短片依然足够精彩，为年仅21岁的史蒂文赢得了环球的七年合约。 在执导了多部小型电视剧和低成本项目后，史蒂文得到机会导演他的第一部好莱坞大片，一部关于鲨鱼的惊悚片！《大白鲨》成为了票房冠军，让史蒂文一举成名。他和环球继续合作，又拍摄了《外星人》、《侏罗纪公园》和《辛德勒的名单》等著名影片。 正如他的第一个制片人所言：“史蒂文能达到目前的地位绝非偶然。”相反，是史蒂文执著的精神让他能够脚踏实地，直面所有拒绝、偏见和怀疑，并推动他持续向前。 |
