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Steven Spielberg is known for his blockbuster-scale sci-fi films with a strong emotional core. While he has ventured into serious dramatic territory and has succeeded with films likeSchindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan,andThe Post, his contribution to genre-filmmaking is unparalleled.
Before the filmmaker made the iconicE.T. The Extra-Terrestrial,Spielberg ventured into sci-fi territory immediately after the Summer hitJaws. WithClose Encounters of the Third Kind, Spielberg seemed to have his first stint at the UFO film. LikeE.T., the film seemed to connect to his parents, which he only to realize after an interviewer pointed it out.
Steven Spielberg Thanked An Interviewer For Noticing The Personal Connection InClose Encounters of the Third Kind
AfterJawsbecame the highest-grossing film of all time upon its release,Steven Spielbergwent against type and rejected the offer for a sequel. He instead chose to make a film based on an idea that he wanted to develop right after his second filmThe Sugarland Express. The filmmaker began developing the sci-fi filmClose Encounters of the Third Kind.
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According to theGolden Globes, Spielberg first got the inspiration forClose Encounterswhen his father took him to watch a meteor shower in the middle of the night. The event reportedly inspired the filmmaker to make the amateur filmFirelight, which he directed when he was eighteen years old.
However, the childhood incident turned out to be just one of the many personal connections he made in the film. Thelate James Liptonasked Spielberg in an interview if the UFO communicating with a musical phrase was a reference to his father and mother’s professions as a computer engineer and a concert pianist, respectively. Spielberg said,
That’s a very good question; I like that. I’d love to say I intended that, and I realized that was my mother and father, but not until this moment. … Thank you for that.
The video showed that the moment when Spielberg realized the connection was met with cheers from the audience.
Steven Spielberg Said That He Got The Idea ForE.T.While MakingClose Encounters of the Third Kind
Steven Spielberg has established himself as one of the best sci-fi film directors of all time. With films likeJurassic Park, A.I. Artificial Intelligence,andMinority Report, Spielberg proved he could tackle heavy themes through the genre. However, his deeply personal stories mounted on a sci-fi scale likeE.T. the Extra-Terrestrialare still special.
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He began his journey in the sci-fi realm withClose Encounters with the Third Kind, which he says also inspired his masterpieceE.T. Talking about the film and its connection to his parent’s divorce, Spielberg spoke at theTCM Film Festivalabout working on a story on divorce while filmingClose Encounters. He said,
We’re shooting this scene and I suddenly thought wait a second, what if that little creature never went back to the ship? What if the creature was part of a foreign exchange program? Dreyfuss goes, he stays or she stays. And what was the feeling that I had: what if I turn my story about divorce into a story about children, a family, trying to fill the great need and creating such responsibility – a divorce creates great responsibility especially if you have siblings, we all take care of each other.
Though Spielberg would go on to direct the classic after making two more films, includingRaiders of the Lost Ark, the seeds ofE.T.had already been planted in his brain.
Close Encounters of the Third Kindis available to rent on Apple TV.
Nishanth A
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2417
Nishanth A is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows with over 2,000 articles published. He has been an entertainment journalist for the past two years and a scriptwriter at various corporations before that, working on educational content. With a Communications, English Literature, and Psychology triple major, Nishanth usually covers news and analyses on Star Trek, particularly Strange New Worlds and The Next Generation; Doctor Who, the DCU, and more.A Nolan fan, Nishanth spends his time exploring the filmographies of various directors with an auteurial style or can be found making short movies of his own. He has also contributed as a feature writer for Film Companion, focusing on the South division.
