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The director, whose credits include some of the
biggest-grossing and best-loved works in cinema history,
including "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and "Jaws", has just
finished two films back to back: the semi-autobiographical "The
Fabelmans" and "West Side Story", a film of the classic Broadway
musical.
"Whatever seized me as a little kid is the same feeling I
retained all those decades later," he told reporters on Tuesday.
"When I find a book or a script or come up with an original idea
that I think would make a good movie: that excitement ...
supersedes everything."
Spielberg, professing he "loves to work and needs to work", is
finalising a script left unfinished by his friend Stanley
Kubrick at the time of his death in 1999.
"We're mounting a large production for HBO based on Stanley's
original script 'Napoleon'," he said. "A seven-part limited
series."
Reflecting on the past two years of frenetic film-making,
Spielberg said the pandemic prompted him to revisit his
childhood in "The Fabelmans".
"My mom used to say: 'I've given you so much good material. When
are you going to use that material?'" he said. "The fear I felt
about the pandemic gave me the courage to tell my personal
story."
Spielberg, known for his accessible, compelling movies, advised
would-be filmmakers to start with the story.
"If you want to be a movie director, first of all write," he
said. "Because it's the stories that are going to get an
audience to pay attention to you, not the shots."
(Reporting by Hanna Rantala; Writing by Thomas Escritt; Editing
by Richard Chang)
(Photo: Director Steven Spielberg gestures on the day he will
receive the Honorary Golden Bear Award for Lifetime Achievement
at the 73rd Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin,
Germany, February 21, 2023. REUTERS/Michele Tantussi)
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