Steven Spielberg

Made films the shows talk about.

Wikidata Q8877: matched by corpus:resolve, told apart by the only person by that name on Wikidata.

Counted as director. The films the hosts said they directed, which the two lists below run through too: Jaws (1975); Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977); 1941 (1979); Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981); E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982); Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984); The Color Purple (1985); Empire of the Sun (1987); Hook (1991); Jurassic Park (1993); Schindler's List (1993); Amistad (1997); The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997); Saving Private Ryan (1998); A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001); Catch Me If You Can (2002); Minority Report (2002); War of the Worlds (2005); Lincoln (2012); West Side Story (2021); The Fabelmans (2022); Always; Duel; Munich; Ready Player One; The Post; unnamed spy movie with Tom Hanks. Count them as writer (1 film), actor (1 film), producer (12 films), studio (1 film) instead.

Draws on

What the speakers say they, or a film of theirs, drew on. Each is a speaker's account: “the maker said so” when they report the maker's own words, “the host's read” when the read is theirs.

James Bond films (the franchise): 4 lines

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they directed: James Bond films (the franchise) ⇒ Raiders of the Lost Ark (the maker said so: Spielberg's account of the Hawaii conversation with Lucas). Lucas pitched Raiders to Spielberg as a better, American take on the Bond idea Spielberg had been wanting to do.
    “I have the I have the same basic idea, but better, and it's this Raiders of the Lost Ark idea.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:49:39 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. career (career) · them, directly: James Bond films (the franchise) ⇒ Steven Spielberg (the maker said so: Spielberg's own account (he says he called Cubby Broccoli)). Spielberg begged Cubby Broccoli for a Bond job after Jaws and was refused, which fed the motive for Raiders.
    “Spielberg had been, says he had called Cubby Broccoli after Jaws came out being like, hello?”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:50:05 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  3. craft (craft) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they directed: James Bond films (the franchise) ⇒ Raiders of the Lost Ark (the host's read). The Cairo plane fight with the burly Nazi is called a straight James Bond henchman scene.
    “that's that's a flat out James Bond jaw scene.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:50:56 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.50 sure it was them)
  4. craft (craft) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they directed: James Bond films (the franchise) ⇒ Raiders of the Lost Ark (the host's read). Raiders borrowed the Bond villain structure: a refined man in a lair with separate gimmicky henchmen to fight.
    “that's a clear thing they lifted from James Bond very wisely, right?”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:50:59 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Stanley Kubrick: 4 lines

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Ready Player One, which they directed: Stanley Kubrick ⇒ Ready Player One (the host's read). The film contains a deeper homage to Kubrick, maybe its best part.
    “There is a much deeper and fascinating homage to Stanley Cooper.”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:08:46 · Sean Fennessey (0.85 sure it was them)
  2. career (unmade project taken up) · them, directly: Stanley Kubrick ⇒ Steven Spielberg (the host's read). Kubrick could not make A.I. because technology was not ready; Spielberg eventually did.
    “which obviously Steven Spielberg eventually makes.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Full Metal Jacket with Jon Gabrus (Ad-Free) · 0:35:14 · David Sims (0.60 sure it was them)
  3. unmapped (developed from unmade screenplay) · through A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), which they directed: Stanley Kubrick ⇒ A.I. Artificial Intelligence (the host's read). A.I. is the Kubrick screenplay that Spielberg made.
    “AI is the is the cubic screenplay that Spielberg made.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus with Richard Lawson (Ad-Free) · 0:34:08 · unknown (0.45 sure it was them)
  4. career (inherited project) · through A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), which they directed: Stanley Kubrick ⇒ A.I. Artificial Intelligence (the host's read). The speaker wonders whether Spielberg would mind A.I. being called half Kubrick's movie.
    “would he be offended in that kind of way of like, that's half Stanley's movie?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eyes Wide Shut with David Ehrlich (Ad-Free) · 0:13:25 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Chuck Jones: 3 lines

  1. craft (craft) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they directed: Chuck Jones ⇒ Raiders of the Lost Ark (the host's read). Spielberg's staging has a Chuck Jones element, going back to Chuck Jones as a cartoon influence.
    “how important Chuck Jones was to Steven Spielberg at the time”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:36:15 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.60 sure it was them)
  2. craft (craft) · through 1941 (1979), which they directed: Chuck Jones ⇒ 1941 (the host's read). 1941 is Chuck Jones trying to come to life; Raiders uses the same storytelling with narrative discipline.
    “that is a Chuck Jones cartoon trying to come to life.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:36:24 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.60 sure it was them)
  3. craft (craft) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they directed: Chuck Jones ⇒ Raiders of the Lost Ark (the host's read). The wordless anticipation and subversion of Wile E. Coyote shows up in Indy's silent action beats.
    “the importance of anticipation, and how to visually, uh, sort of indicate to the audience, what the character thinks is going to happen”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:39:05 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981): 3 lines, within their own work

  1. craft (shot design) · through Empire of the Sun (1987), which they directed: Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ Empire of the Sun (the host's read). Same slow reveal as Indiana Jones in pieces before the hero shot.
    “which similarly has the like Spielberg taking 5 minutes to show you Indiana Jones in pieces before you really get the hero shot”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 1:38:17 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. contrast (contrast) · through Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), which they directed: Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (the host's read). Willie Scott was built as the anti-Marion, which means doing the opposite of what works.
    “the anti-Marian means you're doing the opposite of what works.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:53:35 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.50 sure it was them)
  3. craft (craft) · through Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), which they directed: Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (the host's read). Temple of Doom was a prequel partly to avoid doing the Nazis again.
    “part of the calculation of making a Temple of Doom, a prequel was that he didn't want to just do the Nazis again.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:59:23 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

David Lean: 2 lines

  1. lineage (origin of project) · through Empire of the Sun (1987), which they directed: David Lean ⇒ Empire of the Sun (the host's read). Lean asked Spielberg to check on the rights, then lost interest and handed the novel to him.
    “He asks Spielberg to check in on the rights for him.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 0:57:53 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. unmapped (mentorship / elder filmmaker) · them, directly: David Lean ⇒ Steven Spielberg (the host's read). Spielberg befriended old masters (Lean, Kubrick, Wilder) who handed him their projects.
    “The sort of string of great older filmmakers who somehow, uh, collaborated with Spielberg, only for Spielberg to wind up directing their movies.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 0:58:01 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

Empire of the Sun (1987): 2 lines, within their own work

  1. contrast (method contrast) · through Schindler's List (1993), which they directed: Empire of the Sun ⇒ Schindler's List (the host's read). On Schindler Spielberg refused to storyboard, almost as a reaction to criticism of the puppet-show control in Empire.
    “Schindler, the infamous thing, is that he was like, I won't storyboard this.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 0:31:40 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. unmapped (dry run) · through Schindler's List (1993), which they directed: Empire of the Sun ⇒ Schindler's List (the host's read). Schindler's List is the more successful grown-up film that erased Empire of the Sun from memory; it was seen as the dry run.
    “Look back as this was the dry run before he totally cracked it on Shell.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 0:30:35 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)

Jurassic Park (1993): 2 lines, within their own work

  1. lineage (sequel-comparison) · through The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), which they directed: Jurassic Park ⇒ The Lost World: Jurassic Park (the host's read). The hosts judge the sequel as normalizing the dinosaurs too fast and dropping the wonder-before-terror structure of the original.
    “This movie normalizes the dinosaurs way too much.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Lost World: Jurassic Park · 1:03:46 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  2. unmapped (technology showed it was possible) · through A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), which they directed: Jurassic Park ⇒ A.I. Artificial Intelligence (the host's read). The speaker says Kubrick, who first asked Spielberg to build a robot, saw Jurassic Park and reconsidered.
    “And then he sees Jurassic Park and he's once again like, well, wait a second.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eyes Wide Shut with David Ehrlich (Ad-Free) · 0:31:56 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

The Fabelmans (2022): 2 lines, within their own work

  1. theme (theme) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they directed: The Fabelmans ⇒ Raiders of the Lost Ark (the host's read). Marion's monkey scenes mirror Spielberg's mother's relationship with the monkey shown in The Fabelmans.
    “the relationship Marion has with the monkey, in that brief amount of screen time, feels so mirrored to his mother's relationship with the monkey”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:28:09 · unknown (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. theme (theme) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they directed: The Fabelmans ⇒ Raiders of the Lost Ark (the host's read). Marion is partly Spielberg's mother, which keeps her from being an idealized tough-girl fantasy.
    “it does feel like to some degree she's like his mom.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:28:40 · unknown (0.50 sure it was them)

Alien Resurrection (1997): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Jurassic Park (1993), which they directed: Alien Resurrection ⇒ Jurassic Park (the host's read). Aliens caged and taunted while hunting you feels like the raptors; raptors may be Alien rip-offs.
    “the raptors have a bit of an alien rip off vibe, honestly”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Resurrection · 0:46:01 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

Apocalypse Now (1979): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Saving Private Ryan (1998), which they directed: Apocalypse Now ⇒ Saving Private Ryan (the host's read). Two decades of Apocalypse Now, Platoon and Born made Ryan's grit necessary.
    “By the time Saving Private Ryan was released, moviegoers have spent two decades being confronted by the likes of Apocalypse Now in Platoon and born in the Fourth of July.”
    The Big Picture · 8. I Love America | Do We Get to Win This Time? · 1:00:36 · Brian Raftery (0.90 sure it was them)

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977): 1 line, within their own work

  1. theme (theme) · through E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), which they directed: Close Encounters of the Third Kind ⇒ E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (the host's read). Close Encounters sets a template for science fiction and for stories about families and divorce.
    “It sets a different kind of template for science fiction storytelling, for stories about families, for stories about obsession, for stories about divorce”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:19:05 · Sean Fennessey (0.85 sure it was them)

Flash Gordon (Republic serial): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they directed: Flash Gordon (Republic serial) ⇒ Raiders of the Lost Ark (the host's read). Lucas conceived Indiana Jones as a B-picture at A-picture scale, like the old Republic serials.
    “let's make a sort of B picture at an A picture scale, right?”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:46:47 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Godzilla (1998): 1 line

  1. unmapped (intent) · through The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), which they directed: Godzilla ⇒ The Lost World: Jurassic Park (the host's read). A host suggests Spielberg wanted to make a Godzilla-style fun monster movie, which explains the San Diego ending.
    “I've always wanted to make like a Godzilla movie.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Lost World: Jurassic Park · 0:26:03 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Gone with the Wind (1939): 1 line

  1. unmapped (scene reference) · through Empire of the Sun (1987), which they directed: Gone with the Wind ⇒ Empire of the Sun (the host's read). Jim stands before the Gone with the Wind poster, echoing Spielberg's remark to Alice Walker that it is one of his favorites.
    “I mean, you have that moment where he's standing in front of the giant gone with the wind poster, right?”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 1:31:05 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)

J.G. Ballard: 1 line

  1. lineage (source) · through Empire of the Sun (1987), which they directed: J.G. Ballard ⇒ Empire of the Sun (the host's read). The novel is darker than the film, which sanitized it and condensed characters.
    “There is definitely a lot of sanitizing happening and a lot of kind of condensing of characters and turning them into more of a more of a Hollywoody plot element.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 1:01:53 · Bilge Ebiri (0.75 sure it was them)

Jaws (1975): 1 line, within their own work

  1. craft (shot design) · through Empire of the Sun (1987), which they directed: Jaws ⇒ Empire of the Sun (the host's read). Spielberg reveals Malkovich in pieces like Jaws and Indiana Jones, withholding the hero shot.
    “he introduces him both like he's Jaws and like he's Indiana Jones”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 1:38:17 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

King Kong (2005): 1 line

  1. theme (plot trope) · through The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), which they directed: King Kong ⇒ The Lost World: Jurassic Park (the host's read). The T-Rex escaping a boat into a city is called a predictable King Kong move.
    “We've all seen King Kong.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Lost World: Jurassic Park · 1:24:22 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Michael Crichton: 1 line

  1. unmapped (adapted) · through Jurassic Park (1993), which they directed: Michael Crichton ⇒ Jurassic Park (the host's read). Named among the Crichton adaptations they could do another time.
    “we would not do Jurassic Park”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 0:18:30 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Pinocchio: 1 line

  1. unmapped (template) · through A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), which they directed: Pinocchio ⇒ A.I. Artificial Intelligence (the maker said so: Kubrick to the short story writer (Brian Aldiss), as the speaker tells it). Kubrick told the short story writer he wanted to combine the story with Pinocchio, per the speaker.
    “he was like, I want to take your story and combine it with Pinocchio.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eyes Wide Shut with David Ehrlich (Ad-Free) · 0:30:27 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Saving Private Ryan (1998): 1 line, within their own work

  1. unmapped (stylistic shift) · through Minority Report (2002), which they directed: Saving Private Ryan ⇒ Minority Report (the host's read). Saving Private Ryan was the biggest shift in Spielberg's signature style, letting him change languages for films like Minority Report and Munich.
    “Saving Private Ryan is, in my opinion, the single biggest shift in his signature style up until that point”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 2:18:41 · Griffin Newman (0.70 sure it was them)

The Lost World (1912): 1 line

  1. lineage (homage) · through The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), which they directed: The Lost World ⇒ The Lost World: Jurassic Park (the host's read). Crichton's sequel novel pays homage to Doyle's 1912 Lost World about an island of dinosaurs.
    “the novelist has also decided to sort of pay homage to Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 or whatever book, The Lost World.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Lost World: Jurassic Park · 0:25:44 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

The Shining (1980): 1 line

  1. lineage (homage) · through Ready Player One, which they directed: The Shining ⇒ Ready Player One (the host's read). Ready Player One has a fun sequence set in the hotel.
    “Ready player one, they go to the hotel.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Shining with Timothy Simons (Ad-Free) · 2:26:19 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

Drawn on by

What the speakers say drew on them or a film of theirs, marked the same way.

Empire of the Sun (1987): 2 lines, within their own work

  1. craft (shot design) · through Jaws (1975), which they directed: Jaws ⇒ Empire of the Sun (the host's read). Spielberg reveals Malkovich in pieces like Jaws and Indiana Jones, withholding the hero shot.
    “he introduces him both like he's Jaws and like he's Indiana Jones”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 1:38:17 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. craft (shot design) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they directed: Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ Empire of the Sun (the host's read). Same slow reveal as Indiana Jones in pieces before the hero shot.
    “which similarly has the like Spielberg taking 5 minutes to show you Indiana Jones in pieces before you really get the hero shot”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 1:38:17 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984): 2 lines, within their own work

  1. contrast (contrast) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they directed: Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (the host's read). Willie Scott was built as the anti-Marion, which means doing the opposite of what works.
    “the anti-Marian means you're doing the opposite of what works.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:53:35 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. craft (craft) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they directed: Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (the host's read). Temple of Doom was a prequel partly to avoid doing the Nazis again.
    “part of the calculation of making a Temple of Doom, a prequel was that he didn't want to just do the Nazis again.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:59:23 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981): 2 lines, within their own work

  1. theme (theme) · through The Fabelmans (2022), which they directed: The Fabelmans ⇒ Raiders of the Lost Ark (the host's read). Marion's monkey scenes mirror Spielberg's mother's relationship with the monkey shown in The Fabelmans.
    “the relationship Marion has with the monkey, in that brief amount of screen time, feels so mirrored to his mother's relationship with the monkey”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:28:09 · unknown (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. theme (theme) · through The Fabelmans (2022), which they directed: The Fabelmans ⇒ Raiders of the Lost Ark (the host's read). Marion is partly Spielberg's mother, which keeps her from being an idealized tough-girl fantasy.
    “it does feel like to some degree she's like his mom.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:28:40 · unknown (0.50 sure it was them)

Schindler's List (1993): 2 lines, within their own work

  1. contrast (method contrast) · through Empire of the Sun (1987), which they directed: Empire of the Sun ⇒ Schindler's List (the host's read). On Schindler Spielberg refused to storyboard, almost as a reaction to criticism of the puppet-show control in Empire.
    “Schindler, the infamous thing, is that he was like, I won't storyboard this.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 0:31:40 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. unmapped (dry run) · through Empire of the Sun (1987), which they directed: Empire of the Sun ⇒ Schindler's List (the host's read). Schindler's List is the more successful grown-up film that erased Empire of the Sun from memory; it was seen as the dry run.
    “Look back as this was the dry run before he totally cracked it on Shell.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 0:30:35 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)

Twister (1996): 2 lines

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Jaws (1975), which they directed: Jaws ⇒ Twister (the host's read). Jonas is the Jaws-mayor archetype, a money-motivated antagonist that became a stock character in every movie.
    “The mayor in Jaws is the character that kind of pushes against our lead person.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Twister’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan · 0:54:51 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. industry (industry) · through Jurassic Park (1993), which they directed: Jurassic Park ⇒ Twister (the host's read). Marketing a disaster around unknown leads follows Jurassic Park, where Sam Neill and Laura Dern were known but not famous.
    “coming off of Jurassic Park where it was like Sam Neil and Laura Dern were like well-known, but not famous.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Twister’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan · 1:53:21 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)

2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984): 1 line

  1. unmapped (tip of the hat) · through Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), which they directed: Close Encounters of the Third Kind ⇒ 2010: The Year We Make Contact (the host's read). Casting Balaban reads as a nod to Close Encounters; the speaker finds 2010 more in its shadow than 2001's.
    “And the Balaban casting feels like a real tip of the hat to that.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2010: The Year We Make Contact · 0:28:46 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001): 1 line, within their own work

  1. unmapped (technology showed it was possible) · through Jurassic Park (1993), which they directed: Jurassic Park ⇒ A.I. Artificial Intelligence (the host's read). The speaker says Kubrick, who first asked Spielberg to build a robot, saw Jurassic Park and reconsidered.
    “And then he sees Jurassic Park and he's once again like, well, wait a second.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eyes Wide Shut with David Ehrlich (Ad-Free) · 0:31:56 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Anaconda (1997): 1 line

  1. lineage (ripple effect) · through Jurassic Park (1993), which they directed: Jurassic Park ⇒ Anaconda (the host's read). Anaconda is called the final lapping of the Jurassic Park creature-feature wave.
    “that's like the final lapping of the Jurassic Park ripple, sort of washing up on the beach.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Lost World: Jurassic Park · 1:37:19 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Arachnophobia: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Jaws (1975), which they directed: Jaws ⇒ Arachnophobia (the host's read). Arachnophobia is Jaws with spiders.
    “it's sort of like Jaws, but with spiders”
    The Big Picture · The 1990 Movie Draft · 1:34:36 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Chris Columbus: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · them, directly: Steven Spielberg ⇒ Chris Columbus (the host's read). The closest Hughes and Spielberg crossed was Spielberg protege Chris Columbus directing Home Alone.
    “Chris Columbus was a Spielberg protégé and he ended up directing Home Alone.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Weird Science’ With Bill Simmons and Kyle Brandt · 1:26:38 · Kyle Brandt (0.55 sure it was them)

Chris Pratt: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they directed: Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ Chris Pratt (the host's read). The wrong lessons from Indiana Jones were taken by later action heroes like Pratt.
    “the lessons that we took from that character that like Chris Pratt took maybe from that character are not the ones that I think we should have been taking”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:09:40 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)

Christopher Robin (2018): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Hook (1991), which they directed: Hook ⇒ Christopher Robin (the host's read). Hook foreshadowed reboot culture; Christopher Robin is basically Hook again.
    “Like, we're actually literally getting a version of Hook this year with Christopher Robin, the new Winnie the Pooh movie”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:31:49 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982): 1 line, within their own work

  1. theme (theme) · through Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), which they directed: Close Encounters of the Third Kind ⇒ E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (the host's read). Close Encounters sets a template for science fiction and for stories about families and divorce.
    “It sets a different kind of template for science fiction storytelling, for stories about families, for stories about obsession, for stories about divorce”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:19:05 · Sean Fennessey (0.85 sure it was them)

Friday the 13th (1980): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Jaws (1975), which they directed: Jaws ⇒ Friday the 13th (the host's read). Friday took Jaws' device of music for a villain you cannot see.
    “the Jaws music for the villain you can't see.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Friday the 13th’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan · 0:46:35 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)

Independence Day (1996): 1 line

  1. craft (borrowed style) · them, directly: Steven Spielberg ⇒ Independence Day (the host's read). Independence Day cribs the Spielberg look of actors slowly standing up to stare at something dramatic.
    “And then independence, like cribs a lot of that.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Lost World: Jurassic Park · 0:21:20 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008): 1 line

  1. career (career) · through Schindler's List (1993), which they directed: Schindler's List ⇒ Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (the maker said so: Spielberg's statement while making Crystal Skull). After Schindler's List Spielberg refused to do cartoon Nazis in Crystal Skull.
    “I'm not going back to doing cartoon Nazis post Schindler's list.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:58:54 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.60 sure it was them)

Interstellar (2014): 1 line

  1. unmapped (development history) · them, directly: Steven Spielberg ⇒ Interstellar (the host's read). Interstellar was developed by Spielberg and Jonathan Nolan and is closer to Spielberg in its first script.
    “Jonathan Nolan's script for Interstellar is interesting, but it's more Spielberg.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 2:00:35 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

Jurassic World (2015): 1 line

  1. unmapped (misreading) · through Jurassic Park (1993), which they directed: Jurassic Park ⇒ Jurassic World (the host's read). Spielberg's line that the T-Rex is the hero of Jurassic Park was taken too literally by Trevorrow in Jurassic World.
    “Which Colin Trevor took way too literally in making Jurassic World.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Lost World: Jurassic Park · 1:08:10 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Jurassic Park (1993), which they directed: Jurassic Park ⇒ Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (the host's read). The sequels are a spinoff of Spielberg's imagination though he only executive produces them.
    “even though he's just an executive producer on those movies, it is this interesting spinoff of his imagination.”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:08:07 · Sean Fennessey (0.85 sure it was them)

Mamma Mia! (2008): 1 line

  1. craft (craft) · through West Side Story (2021), which they directed: West Side Story ⇒ Mamma Mia! (the host's read). In Dancing Queen, Baranski and Streep's chiffon skirts allow one Jerome Robbins-style moment that echoes West Side Story.
    “they do like one Jerome Robbins, like, uh, sachet moment.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · 1:17:19 · Amanda Dobbins (0.50 sure it was them)

Mercy (2026): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Minority Report (2002), which they directed: Minority Report ⇒ Mercy (the host's read). Mercy's AI-as-justice-machine premise is an idea Minority Report explored earlier.
    “Like minority report explores this idea of what if we use technology to better, like better control criminal activity in the world.”
    The Big Picture · The 10 Most Misused Stars in Hollywood and the Gnarly Magic of ‘Send Help’ · 0:20:46 · Amanda Dobbins (0.50 sure it was them)

Minority Report (2002): 1 line, within their own work

  1. unmapped (stylistic shift) · through Saving Private Ryan (1998), which they directed: Saving Private Ryan ⇒ Minority Report (the host's read). Saving Private Ryan was the biggest shift in Spielberg's signature style, letting him change languages for films like Minority Report and Munich.
    “Saving Private Ryan is, in my opinion, the single biggest shift in his signature style up until that point”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 2:18:41 · Griffin Newman (0.70 sure it was them)

Nope (2022): 1 line

  1. lineage (influence) · through Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), which they directed: Close Encounters of the Third Kind ⇒ Nope (the host's read). Sean says Nope is as much a Spielberg movie as any he has seen in a long time, with Close Encounters the usual touchstone, and notes the shared theme of looking up and trying to see.
    “nope is as much a Spielberg movie as any movie I've seen in a long, long time.”
    The Big Picture · The Top Five Movies of 2022 · 1:31:29 · Sean Fennessey (0.85 sure it was them)

Shazam! (2019): 1 line

  1. craft (craft) · through War of the Worlds (2005), which they directed: War of the Worlds ⇒ Shazam! (the maker said so: Sandberg, in this interview). Sandberg wanted buildings to explode as in Spielberg's War of the Worlds when the tripods fire.
    “the buildings explode in War of the Worlds, the Spielbergs, you know, when the tripods shoot through the buildings”
    The Big Picture · 'Shazam!’ and the Future of the DCEU With David F. Sandberg | Interview · 0:26:01 · David F. Sandberg (0.70 sure it was them)

Soderbergh's silent Raiders remix: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they directed: Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ Soderbergh's silent Raiders remix (the host's read). Soderbergh re-cut Raiders silent, black and white, over The Social Network score.
    “It's basically his silent film remix of Raiders, black and white film with the social network score playing over it”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:10:25 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)

Spartacus (1960): 1 line

  1. unmapped (led to restoration) · them, directly: Steven Spielberg ⇒ Spartacus (the host's read). Spielberg talked Kubrick into letting the film be restored and re-released.
    “and Spielberg knew him then. and was like, well, they're, you know, the American cinema tech or whoever wants to do this.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus with Richard Lawson (Ad-Free) · 2:01:51 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Starman (1984): 1 line

  1. industry (studio rivalry / shadow) · through E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), which they directed: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ⇒ Starman (the host's read). Columbia chose Starman over Night Skies, which Universal turned into E.T., so Starman carried the stigma of the one that got away and then looked like a ripoff.
    “Uh, so they let go of night skies and let Universal acquire and turnaround.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 0:24:25 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

Stranger Things: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), which they directed: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ⇒ Stranger Things (the host's read). E.T. has been so imitated, in films and TV like Stranger Things, that the original feels less rewarding.
    “so many people have like basically based entire film franchises or television shows Stranger Things off of that”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:33:46 · unknown (0.50 sure it was them)

The Color of Money (1986): 1 line

  1. craft (camera-movement coverage) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they directed: Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ The Color of Money (the host's read). Scorsese covers scenes with morphing moving master shots, like Spielberg's quick efficient coverage, to stay under schedule.
    “But he's doing like all this Spielberg, like coverage with camera movement.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Color of Money with Chris Ryan · 1:21:44 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

The Horizon Experiment (comic): 1 line

  1. contrast (contrast) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they directed: Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ The Horizon Experiment (comic) (the host's read). A current comic flips Indiana Jones into someone taking things out of museums back to adventure.
    “a comic book out right now called the Horizon experiment by the guys that did the good Asian”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:24:12 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.80 sure it was them)

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997): 1 line, within their own work

  1. lineage (sequel-comparison) · through Jurassic Park (1993), which they directed: Jurassic Park ⇒ The Lost World: Jurassic Park (the host's read). The hosts judge the sequel as normalizing the dinosaurs too fast and dropping the wonder-before-terror structure of the original.
    “This movie normalizes the dinosaurs way too much.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Lost World: Jurassic Park · 1:03:46 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

The Thin Red Line (1998): 1 line

  1. industry (industry) · through Saving Private Ryan (1998), which they directed: Saving Private Ryan ⇒ The Thin Red Line (the host's read). Ryan spearheaded a WWII revival that included The Thin Red Line and others.
    “It also spearheaded Hollywood's World War II revival.”
    The Big Picture · 8. I Love America | Do We Get to Win This Time? · 0:59:33 · Brian Raftery (0.90 sure it was them)

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020): 1 line

  1. people (people) · them, directly: Steven Spielberg ⇒ The Trial of the Chicago 7 (the host's read). Spielberg long wanted to make it and encouraged Sorkin to write the script.
    “Steven Spielberg had always wanted to make this movie.”
    The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 1:31:53 · Sean Fennessey (0.80 sure it was them)

Tropic Thunder (2008): 1 line

  1. lineage (inspiration) · through Empire of the Sun (1987), which they directed: Empire of the Sun ⇒ Tropic Thunder (the host's read). Ben Stiller, on the Empire set as a young actor, was inspired by actors playing at suffering to make Tropic Thunder two decades later.
    “Which, of course, this is one of this movie's greatest, like, lasting legacies is that this, this is what inspires Tropic Thunder.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 1:49:05 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)

Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024): 1 line

  1. craft (plot structure) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they directed: Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (the host's read). The film fails to tie its Indiana-Jones-style MacGuffin to the Wallace-Gromit relationship.
    “They fail to make the, um, the plot, the sort of like Indiana Jones-S McGuffin of what they're up against directly relate to Wallace and Gromit's relationship.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 2:11:21 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

What the speakers said they did

Directing (90) everyone in directing

Other (19) everyone in other

Producing (12) everyone in producing

Writing (1) everyone in writing

Acting (1) everyone in acting

Studio (1) everyone in studio

What was said about them, by kind

career (11)

  1. career (career theory): Empire of the Sun → Steven Spielberg. Bilge argues Spielberg's 70s and 80s films are seen through a child's eyes and his later ones through a parent's eyes.
    “I have this theory that early period of his career, you know, 70s, 80s, that his films really can be best be understood as being from the point of view of a child.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 0:22:49 · Bilge Ebiri (0.90 sure it was them)
  2. career (career): John Williams → Steven Spielberg. Williams is part of Spielberg's people, who apply what they know about assembling a movie and tip it darker for Empire of the Sun.
    “it really is Spielberg and his people, including John Williams, trying to take like what they know about how to put together a movie.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 0:30:20 · Bilge Ebiri (0.70 sure it was them)
  3. career (career): Steven Spielberg → James Bond films (the franchise). Spielberg begged Cubby Broccoli for a Bond job after Jaws and was refused, which fed the motive for Raiders.
    “Spielberg had been, says he had called Cubby Broccoli after Jaws came out being like, hello?”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:50:05 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  4. career (career): Steven Spielberg → Tom Cruise. Spielberg stopped working with Cruise around the time people wondered whether Cruise was nuts.
    “And then Spielberg stops working with him then?”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 0:09:14 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  5. career (career): Jurassic Park → Steven Spielberg. Jurassic Park is the midpoint of Spielberg's career, blending spectacle with childhood and humanity.
    “it is kind of the perfect middle ground, the median point of Spielberg's career.”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:07:39 · Sean Fennessey (0.85 sure it was them)
  6. career (career): Close Encounters of the Third Kind → Steven Spielberg. Close Encounters carries Spielberg's parents' divorce; Dreyfuss's character is part Spielberg, part his father.
    “And that Richard Dreyfus character being one part Spielberg, and like the idea of wonder and wanting to vanish, and one part his dad kind of abandoning his kids”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:22:39 · Chris Ryan (0.60 sure it was them)
  7. career (career): Janusz Kaminski → Steven Spielberg. Minority Report is maybe the fourth or fifth film Kaminski shot for Spielberg, after A.I., Saving Private Ryan and Amistad, which were real-world where this one is dreamlike.
    “maybe the 4th or the 5th movie that, um, Yanush Kaminsky made with it.”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:28:27 · Chris Ryan (0.60 sure it was them)
  8. career (career): Steven Spielberg → Steven Spielberg. Spielberg is the best popcorn movie director ever.
    “So yeah, he's probably the best popcorn movie director ever.”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:44:03 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)
  9. career (career): Duel → Steven Spielberg. Duel was Spielberg's first real movie and the best TV movie ever.
    “Duel was the best TV movie ever.”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:59:49 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  10. career (unmade project taken up): Stanley Kubrick → Steven Spielberg. Kubrick could not make A.I. because technology was not ready; Spielberg eventually did.
    “which obviously Steven Spielberg eventually makes.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Full Metal Jacket with Jon Gabrus (Ad-Free) · 0:35:14 · David Sims (0.60 sure it was them)
  11. career (career): Ryan Coogler → Steven Spielberg. Coogler is called the new Spielberg for innate commercial instincts plus personal film-making.
    “this is the key to Kugler, which is why I think he's the new Spielberg, is that he innately has very commercial instincts.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:15:01 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

contrast (5)

  1. contrast (contrast): Steven Spielberg → Hitchcock. Precise directors usually dictate to actors like Hitchcock, but Spielberg stays collaborative.
    “most filmmakers who are this precise in their craft, have a tendency to go towards the sort of like Hitchcock”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:54:57 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. contrast (contrast): Quentin Tarantino → Steven Spielberg. Spielberg would not do a talk-show couch turn the way Tarantino did.
    “That is Steven Spielberg doesn't do that.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Reservoir Dogs’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:27:29 · Bill Simmons (0.60 sure it was them)
  3. contrast (contrast): Steven Spielberg → Michael Mann. Mann is fastidious and obsessed; Spielberg is all over the place, childlike wonder one film, Oscar bait the next.
    “And Spielberg's just kind of all over the place and it's like, oh, the wonder, the childish wonder.”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:53:19 · Bill Simmons (0.75 sure it was them)
  4. contrast (contrast): Steven Spielberg → Francis Ford Coppola. Coppola and Scorsese are viewed romantically for loving their work; Spielberg isn't.
    “Whereas like with Scorsese and with Coppola, Coppola, who really his career completely fell apart in the early 80s”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:55:02 · Bill Simmons (0.75 sure it was them)
  5. contrast (contrast): George Lucas → Steven Spielberg. Spielberg tweaked E.T. and realized he hated having done that, unlike Lucas.
    “you hear about like Spielberg tweaking ET and immediately realizing like, I hated that I ever did that.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:53:57 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)

craft (2)

  1. craft (directing style): Steven Spielberg → Ed Wood. Spielberg called out where to look mid-take during the long projector shot, like Ed Wood calling directions.
    “It was almost like Ed Wood going, walk through the door.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Sherlock Jr. / The Navigator with James Urbaniak · 0:19:21 · James Urbaniak (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. craft (borrowed style): Independence Day → Steven Spielberg. Independence Day cribs the Spielberg look of actors slowly standing up to stare at something dramatic.
    “And then independence, like cribs a lot of that.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Lost World: Jurassic Park · 0:21:20 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

industry (3)

  1. industry (industry): Steven Spielberg → Martin Scorsese. Most-featured directors: Spielberg 9, Tony Scott 9, Michael Mann 8, Scorsese 8.
    “Spielberg 9, Tony Scott 9.”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 1:02:28 · Bill Simmons (0.60 sure it was them)
  2. industry (industry): Gremlins 2: The New Batch → Steven Spielberg. Gremlins 2 was produced by Spielberg and directed by Joe Dante.
    “produced by Spielberg and Joe Dante”
    The Big Picture · The 1990 Movie Draft · 1:13:45 · Sean Fennessey (0.80 sure it was them)
  3. industry (industry): Arachnophobia → Steven Spielberg. Arachnophobia is the Amblin movie Spielberg did not direct; Frank Marshall did.
    “that's sort of like the er amblin movie that was not directed by Steven Spielberg”
    The Big Picture · The 1990 Movie Draft · 1:34:28 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

lineage (1)

  1. lineage (lineage): Chris Columbus → Steven Spielberg. The closest Hughes and Spielberg crossed was Spielberg protege Chris Columbus directing Home Alone.
    “Chris Columbus was a Spielberg protégé and he ended up directing Home Alone.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Weird Science’ With Bill Simmons and Kyle Brandt · 1:26:38 · Kyle Brandt (0.55 sure it was them)

people (12)

  1. people (people): George Lucas → Steven Spielberg. Their friendship is the mythology: two sides of the same coin, like the Beatles and Rolling Stones.
    “here's like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones inspiring each other.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:41:14 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. people (people): Steven Spielberg → Michael Kahn. Spielberg and his editor Michael Kahn have a lifelong working relationship, and Kahn is the one who makes Spielberg look effortless.
    “you know, relationship between him and his editor and him, and he does, he makes things look effortless”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:34:10 · Griffin Newman or David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  3. people (producer hits): Steven Spielberg → Who Framed Roger Rabbit. While directing less, Spielberg was producing blockbusters such as Roger Rabbit, Back to the Future, Goonies and Gremlins.
    “Roger Rabbit, back to the future, Goonies, Gremlins, guy's got a golden touch, right?”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Lost World: Jurassic Park · 0:05:40 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  4. people (casting origin): Steven Spielberg → Swingers. A host speculates Spielberg cast Vince Vaughn after seeing dailies of Swingers.
    “Spielberg seeing swingers, probably seeing dailies of swingers and being like, this guy is obviously going to be a big deal.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Lost World: Jurassic Park · 0:48:19 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  5. people (people): Twister → Steven Spielberg. Spielberg executive produced and Amblin is a production company, giving the film a wide-eyed wonder-and-fear Spielberg feel.
    “and the Steven Spielberg executive produced it.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Twister’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan · 0:05:51 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)
  6. people (director tendency): Catch Me If You Can → Steven Spielberg. Spielberg is prone to daddy-issues movies, which explains Catch Me's backstory.
    “Spielberg is obviously prone to daddy issues movies.”
    The Big Picture · The 25 Best Movies of the Century: No. 11 - 'The Wolf of Wall Street’ · 0:36:51 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  7. people (auteur credit): War of the Worlds → Steven Spielberg. War of the Worlds is out because it is truly a Spielberg movie even though Cruise is terrific.
    “that truly is a Spielberg movie.”
    The Big Picture · The Tom Cruise Hall of Fame · 1:16:42 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  8. people (auteur credit): Minority Report → Steven Spielberg. Minority Report is judged a Spielberg achievement more than a Cruise one and gets cut.
    “because that is a Steven Spielberg achievement rather than a Tom Cruise achievement.”
    The Big Picture · The Tom Cruise Hall of Fame · 1:36:10 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)
  9. people (people): The Trial of the Chicago 7 → Steven Spielberg. Spielberg long wanted to make it and encouraged Sorkin to write the script.
    “Steven Spielberg had always wanted to make this movie.”
    The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 1:31:53 · Sean Fennessey (0.80 sure it was them)
  10. people (attached director): Steven Spielberg → The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Spielberg wanted to make it with Tom Cruise at Amblin but did Jurassic Park and Schindler's List instead.
    “Spielberg wants to make it. With Tom Cruise.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with Richard Lawson (Ad-Free) · 0:37:35 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  11. people (tried to cast): Steven Spielberg → Jack Nicholson. Spielberg reportedly tried hard to get Nicholson for a cameo in Ready Player One.
    “I had heard how hard Spielberg tried to get him for Ready Player one.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 0:21:18 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  12. people (solo writer-director): Steven Spielberg → Stanley Kubrick. Written and directed by is rare for Kubrick; A.I. was the same for Spielberg later.
    “It is, the rare written and directed by, yeah, much like AI later for Spielberg.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · A Clockwork Orange with Alex Ross Perry (Ad-Free) · 1:23:45 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

programming (1)

  1. programming (programming): Mel Brooks → Steven Spielberg. Brooks is seeded too low and is ahead of Spielberg, the longest remaining filmography.
    “Mel Brooks is someone who, I think we seeded too low.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2022 MARCH MADNESS UPDATE 2 PRESENTED BY THE CHIP REPORT · 0:17:17 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

theme (2)

  1. theme (theme): Empire of the Sun → Steven Spielberg. Unlike his other childhood films, Empire shows adulthood through a child's eyes.
    “But this is a film where you are seeing adulthood through the eyes of a child.”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:16:01 · Chris Ryan (0.85 sure it was them)
  2. theme (Spielberg comparison): Steven Spielberg → 2010: The Year We Make Contact. 2010 is likened to a less sentimental, more serious-minded Spielberg.
    “Like this is very much kind of doing a less sentimental, more serious-minded Spielberg.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2010: The Year We Make Contact · 0:28:53 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)

unmapped (12)

  1. unmapped (near-miss): Rain Man → Steven Spielberg. Many A-list actors and directors chased the Rain Man script, including Spielberg almost making it with Bill Murray in the Hoffman part.
    “you know, Spielberg almost makes it with Bill Murray in the Hoffman part.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Color of Money with Chris Ryan · 1:34:55 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  2. unmapped (mentorship / elder filmmaker): David Lean → Steven Spielberg. Spielberg befriended old masters (Lean, Kubrick, Wilder) who handed him their projects.
    “The sort of string of great older filmmakers who somehow, uh, collaborated with Spielberg, only for Spielberg to wind up directing their movies.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 0:58:01 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  3. unmapped (development history): Interstellar → Steven Spielberg. Interstellar was developed by Spielberg and Jonathan Nolan and is closer to Spielberg in its first script.
    “Jonathan Nolan's script for Interstellar is interesting, but it's more Spielberg.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 2:00:35 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  4. unmapped (champion): Steven Spielberg → What About Bob?. Spielberg paid out of pocket to campaign for Bill Murray for best actor.
    “Steven Spielberg like paid out of pocket to run a best actor campaign for Bill Murray”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · An Angel at My Table with Dana Stevens · 1:34:32 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  5. unmapped (praise): Pete Postlethwaite → Steven Spielberg. Spielberg reportedly called Postlethwaite one of the best actors he had worked with; they also worked together on Amistad.
    “Spielberg said after, I guess, during the making of this film, Pipostle Fate was one of, if not the best actors he'd ever worked with.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Lost World: Jurassic Park · 0:56:26 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  6. unmapped (creator's own verdict): Hook → Steven Spielberg. Spielberg himself calls Hook a disaster and his biggest mistake, so hosts argue nostalgia should not rehabilitate it.
    “he says he thinks hook sucks.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Lost World: Jurassic Park · 1:38:21 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  7. unmapped (made by someone else): Catch Me If You Can → Steven Spielberg. Fincher was linked to Catch Me If You Can, which Spielberg made.
    “which Spielberg makes.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Panic Room with Eva Anderson (Ad-Free) · 0:41:24 · David Sims (0.70 sure it was them)
  8. unmapped (friends): Stanley Kubrick → Steven Spielberg. Kubrick and Spielberg were very close.
    “obviously Kubrick and Spielberg very close”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Shining with Timothy Simons (Ad-Free) · 2:26:31 · David Sims (0.35 sure it was them)
  9. unmapped (set up the series): Steven Spielberg → seaQuest DSV. The speaker says Spielberg set up seaQuest, making Scheider an elder statesman lending legitimacy to a show with a talking dolphin.
    “In the 90s, Spielberg like sort of throws in the bone and sets up Sequest, DSV”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2010: The Year We Make Contact · 0:30:05 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  10. unmapped (owns print): Steven Spielberg → 2001: A Space Odyssey. Spielberg owns a print and has a screening room but still went alone to see Nolan's version.
    “he owns a print of 2001 and he's got a screening room”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2001: A Space Odyssey with Jordan Hoffman (Ad-Free) · 0:20:47 · Jordan Hoffman (0.50 sure it was them)
  11. unmapped (led to restoration): Steven Spielberg → Spartacus. Spielberg talked Kubrick into letting the film be restored and re-released.
    “and Spielberg knew him then. and was like, well, they're, you know, the American cinema tech or whoever wants to do this.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus with Richard Lawson (Ad-Free) · 2:01:51 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  12. unmapped (praise): Pete Postlethwaite → Steven Spielberg. Spielberg reportedly called Postlethwaite the best actor in the world around The Lost World and Amistad.
    “Spielberg called Postlethwaite, the best actor working”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien 3 · 0:52:50 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

verdict (2)

  1. verdict (verdict): Hook → Steven Spielberg. Spielberg himself said he lacked faith in Hook's meat and covered with bigger sets and colors.
    “I didn't have a lot of faith in the meat of the movie, and I cover for it by being like, make the sense bigger”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:35:37 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. verdict (verdict): Schindler's List → Steven Spielberg. Bill suspected Spielberg did it for an Oscar, which he admits isn't fair.
    “he's doing this because he wants to win an Oscar?”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:53:26 · Bill Simmons (0.75 sure it was them)

what-if (3)

  1. what-if (what-if): Steven Spielberg → John Hughes. Movie swap: Spielberg directs Weird Science and Hughes directs The Goonies, which he produced.
    “I would have Spielberg direct, weird science, and I would have Hughes direct, uh, the Goonies, which he produced”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Weird Science’ With Bill Simmons and Kyle Brandt · 1:26:44 · Kyle Brandt (0.55 sure it was them)
  2. what-if (what-if): Twister → Steven Spielberg. Spielberg was initially attached to direct, as he was for every movie in the 90s, before Jan de Bont took over.
    “Spielberg initially attached to direct, which I think was the case for every single movie in the 90s”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Twister’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan · 1:16:39 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)
  3. what-if (what-if): The Butterfly Effect → Steven Spielberg. Sean wants the Butterfly Effect redone with Spielberg and Colin Farrell and a better script.
    “what if this was Steven Spielberg and Colin Farrell”
    The Big Picture · 300th Episode Ask-Us-Anything Mailbag Spectacular · 0:36:37 · Sean Fennessey (0.85 sure it was them)

Fun items about them

  1. fun, about Steven Spielberg: Bilge's unified field theory: Spielberg's early films are from a child's point of view, the later ones from a parent's, with Hook as the pivot where he realizes he is a parent.
    “Halfway through hook. Spielberg realizes I'm a parent.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 0:23:25 · Bilge Ebiri (0.90 sure it was them)
  2. fun, about Steven Spielberg: Bendis, who never knew until The Fabelmans, is stunned that young Spielberg lived with a pet monkey, which the film's Marion scenes echo.
    “He lived with the monkey.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:36:39 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.80 sure it was them)
  3. fun, about Steven Spielberg: Bendis's mom sold Spielberg to him as the guy who gave his mother a Bloomingdale's card with no limit, the aspirational image of success.
    “Steven Spielberg gave his mother, uh, uh, a Bloomingdale's card with no limit.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:37:19 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.80 sure it was them)
  4. fun, about Steven Spielberg: In the making-of documentary Spielberg, in love with Kate Capshaw, looks into the camera and says Indiana Jones did not get the girl.
    “Indiana Jones didn't get the girl.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:07:05 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.85 sure it was them)
  5. fun, about Steven Spielberg: On the Fabelmans set, Spielberg greeted Urbaniak with a pun on 'thanks for having me.'
    “And Steven Spielberg said, thanks for being had, which was cute.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Sherlock Jr. / The Navigator with James Urbaniak · 0:18:00 · James Urbaniak (0.90 sure it was them)
  6. fun, about Steven Spielberg: Famous video of Spielberg at home watching the Oscar nominations expecting a Jaws best director nod and not getting it; he then spent about twenty years chasing an Oscar.
    “he's sitting there in shock because he was so ready to get a best director nomination.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Lost World: Jurassic Park · 0:03:26 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  7. fun, about Steven Spielberg: Between Jurassic Park and Lost World, Spielberg released a PC and Mac video game, Steven Spielberg's Director's Chair, while building DreamWorks.
    “He releases the video game. Steven Spielberg director's chair for PC and Mac.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Lost World: Jurassic Park · 0:06:20 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  8. fun, about Steven Spielberg: The hosts argue DreamWorks was the biggest blank check ever: a whole studio built on Spielberg's career as collateral.
    “And you and I would both argue that is the biggest blank check that any filmmakers ever had.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Lost World: Jurassic Park · 0:07:12 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  9. fun, about Steven Spielberg: Per the internet, Spielberg loved Murray so much he spent $250,000 of his own money campaigning for an Oscar nomination.
    “Steven Spielberg loved Murray so much in this movie that he spent 250,000 of his own money”
    The Rewatchables · ‘What About Bob?’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Van Lathan · 0:58:54 · Bill Simmons (0.90 sure it was them)
  10. fun, about Steven Spielberg: The Soderbergh Raiders remix: Hardcore Chris Ryan content.
    “Hardcore Chris Ryan content.”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:10:35 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)
  11. fun, about Steven Spielberg: The 'hit by a car in 1986' test: how would he be remembered at his peak?
    “if you just got hit by a car at the peak of your career, how would people remember you?”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:51:08 · Bill Simmons (0.80 sure it was them)
  12. fun, about Steven Spielberg: At the Village East Nolan screening, Jordan watched Spielberg arrive alone by town car, despite owning a print.
    “he owns a print of 2001 and he's got a screening room, but he was like, you know what?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2001: A Space Odyssey with Jordan Hoffman (Ad-Free) · 0:20:47 · Jordan Hoffman (0.50 sure it was them)