Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
name	Elisa Donovan
birth name	Lisa Adaline Donovan
birth date	February 03, 1971
birth place	Poughkeepsie, New York, U.S.
occupation	Actress
years active	1994–present
spouse	}}

Elisa Donovan (born February 3, 1971) is an American actress.

Biography

Early life

Donovan was born Lisa Adaline Donovan in Poughkeepsie, New York, the daughter of Charlotte and Jack Donovan, who was a business executive. She later changed her first name to "Elisa" when she had to join the stage union, Actor's Equity, because there was already an actress in that union named Lisa Donovan. She grew up on Long Island where she was an accomplished gymnast, dancer and equestrian. She began studying acting at age 12. She attended The New School, in New York City, where she studied writing, literature and acting. She moved to Los Angeles, in 1994, and got her first sitcom role on, "Blossom."

Career

Donovan's breakthrough role was in the film ''Clueless'' as Amber, Cher's nemesis. Donovan also reprised her role in the television series of the same name. Other notable roles included the film ''A Night at the Roxbury'', ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' as "Ginger LaMonica" and playing "Morgan Cavanaugh" on the television sitcom ''Sabrina, the Teenage Witch''. She has also recently played "Sharona" on Disney's "Sonny With a Chance," and will be seen in the upcoming films "Complacent" and "The Dog Who Saved Christmas." Donovan is currently starring in the web-series, ''The Lake,'' on TheWB.com. Additionally, Donavan is playing "Gayle," an insurance agent in the small town of "Maple Grove," in the popular web series, "In Gayle We Trust," on NBC.com. "Gayle" can also be seen on the American Family Insurance website, www.amfam.com. She has also recently (2009) had a part in the movie A Golden Christmas. In the film, she played Anna, the funny, younger sister of the main character. In 2006 she played a guest role in the NCIS episode "Dead and Unburied".

References

External links

Official website

Category:1971 births Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:Living people Category:People from Poughkeepsie, New York

de:Elisa Donovan fr:Elisa Donovan it:Elisa Donovan nl:Elisa Donovan pl:Elisa Donovan fi:Elisa Donovan

Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
name	Alfred Hitchcock
birth name	Alfred Joseph Hitchcock
birth date	August 13, 1899
birth place	Leytonstone, London, England
death date	April 29, 1980
death place	Bel Air, California, United States
other names	HitchThe Master of Suspense
occupation	Film director
years active	1921–76
religion	Roman Catholic
spouse	Alma Reville (1926–80; his death)
influenced	Stanley Kubrick, Tim Burton, Robert Zemeckis
website	}}

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in his native United Kingdom in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood. In 1956 he became an American citizen, while remaining a British subject.

Over a career spanning more than half a century, Hitchcock fashioned for himself a distinctive and recognisable directorial style. He pioneered the use of a camera made to move in a way that mimics a person's gaze, forcing viewers to engage in a form of voyeurism. He framed shots to maximise anxiety, fear, or empathy, and used innovative film editing. His stories frequently feature fugitives on the run from the law alongside "icy blonde" female characters. Many of Hitchcock's films have twist endings and thrilling plots featuring depictions of violence, murder, and crime, although many of the mysteries function as decoys or "MacGuffins" meant only to serve thematic elements in the film and the extremely complex psychological examinations of the characters. Hitchcock's films also borrow many themes from psychoanalysis and feature strong sexual undertones. Through his cameo appearances in his own films, interviews, film trailers, and the television program ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'', he became a cultural icon.

Hitchcock directed more than fifty feature films in a career spanning six decades. Often regarded as the greatest British filmmaker, he came first in a 2007 poll of film critics in Britain's ''Daily Telegraph'', which said: "Unquestionably the greatest filmmaker to emerge from these islands, Hitchcock did more than any director to shape modern cinema, which would be utterly different without him. His flair was for narrative, cruelly withholding crucial information (from his characters and from us) and engaging the emotions of the audience like no one else." The magazine ''MovieMaker'' has described him as the most influential filmmaker of all-time, and he is widely regarded as one of cinema's most significant artists.

Hitchcock's life

Hitchcock was born on 13 August 1899 in Leytonstone, London, the second son and youngest of three children of William Hitchcock (1862–1914), a greengrocer and poulterer, and Emma Jane Hitchcock (''née'' Whelan; 1863–1942). He was named after his father's brother, Alfred. Hitchcock was raised Catholic and was sent to the Jesuit Classic school St Ignatius' College in Stamford Hill, London. His mother and paternal grandmother were of Irish extraction. He often described his childhood as being very lonely and sheltered, a situation compounded by his obesity.

Hitchcock said he was sent by his father to the local police station with a note asking the officer to lock him away for ten minutes as punishment for behaving badly. This idea of being harshly treated or wrongfully accused is frequently reflected in Hitchcock's films. Hitchcock's mother would often make him address her while standing at the foot of her bed, especially if he behaved badly, forcing him to stand there for hours. These experiences would later be used for the portrayal of the character of Norman Bates in his movie ''Psycho''.

Hitchcock's father died when he was 14. In the same year, Hitchcock left St. Ignatius to study at the London County Council School of Engineering and Navigation in Poplar, London. After graduating, he became a draftsman and advertising designer with a cable company called Henley's.

It was while working at Henley's that he first started to dabble creatively. Upon the formation of the company's in-house publication ''The Henley Telegraph'' in 1919, Hitchcock started to submit short articles, eventually becoming one of its most prolific contributors. His first piece was ''Gas'' (1919), published in the very first issue, in which a young woman imagines that she is being assaulted one night in Paris – only for the twist to reveal that it was all just a hallucination in the dentist's chair, induced by the anaesthetic. His second piece was ''The Woman's Part'' (1919), which involves the conflicted emotions a husband feels as he watches his wife, an actress, perform onstage. ''Sordid'' (1920) surrounds an attempt to buy a sword from an antiques dealer, with another twist ending. The short story ''And There Was No Rainbow'' (1920) was Hitchcock's first brush with possibly censurable material. A young man goes out looking for a brothel, only to stumble into the house of his best friend's girl. ''What's Who?'' (1920), while being very funny, was also a precursor to the famous Abbott and Costello "Who's on First?" routine. ''The History of Pea Eating'' (1920) was a satirical disquisition on the various attempts mankind has made over the centuries to eat peas successfully. His final piece, ''Fedora'' (1921), was his shortest and most enigmatic contribution. It also gave a strikingly accurate description of his future wife, Alma (whom he had not met yet).

During this period, Hitchcock became intrigued by photography and started working in film production in London, working as a title-card designer for the London branch of what would become Paramount Pictures. In 1920, he received a full-time position at Islington Studios with its American owner, Famous Players-Lasky and their British successor, Gainsborough Pictures, designing the titles for silent movies. His rise from title designer to film director took five years.

Inter-war British career

Hitchcock's last collaboration with Graham Cutts led him to Germany in 1924. The film ''Die Prinzessin und der Geiger'' (UK title ''The Blackguard'', 1925), directed by Cutts and co-written by Hitchcock, was produced in the Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam near Berlin. Hitchcock also observed part of the making of F. W. Murnau's film ''Der letzte Mann'' (1924). He was very impressed with Murnau's work and later used many techniques for the set design in his own productions. In his book-length interview with François Truffaut, ''Hitchcock/Truffaut'' (Simon and Schuster, 1967), Hitchcock also said he was influenced by Fritz Lang's film ''Destiny'' (1921).

Hitchcock's first few films faced a string of bad luck. His first directing project came in 1922 with the aptly titled ''Number 13''. However, the production was cancelled due to financial problems and the few scenes that were finished at that point were apparently lost. In 1925, Michael Balcon of Gainsborough Pictures gave Hitchcock another opportunity for a directing credit with ''The Pleasure Garden'' made at UFA Studios in Germany; unfortunately, the film was a commercial flop. Next, Hitchcock directed a drama called ''The Mountain Eagle'' (possibly released under the title ''Fear o' God'' in the United States). This film was also eventually lost. In 1926, Hitchcock's luck changed with his first thriller, ''The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog''. The film, released in January 1927, was a major commercial and critical success in the United Kingdom. As with many of his earlier works, this film was influenced by Expressionist techniques Hitchcock had witnessed first-hand in Germany. Some commentators regard this piece as the first truly "Hitchcockian" film, incorporating such themes as the "wrong man".

Following the success of ''The Lodger'', Hitchcock hired a publicist to help enhance his growing reputation. On 2 December 1926, Hitchcock married his assistant director, Alma Reville at the Brompton Oratory in South Kensington. Their only child, daughter Patricia, was born on 7 July 1928. Alma was to become Hitchcock's closest collaborator. Alma's contribution to his films (some of which were credited on screen) had always been privately acknowledged by Hitchcock, as she was keen to avoid public attention.

In 1929, Hitchcock began work on his tenth film ''Blackmail''. While the film was still in production, the studio, British International Pictures (BIP), decided to convert it to sound. As an early 'talkie', the film is frequently cited by film historians as a landmark film, and is often considered to be the first British sound feature film. With the climax of the film taking place on the dome of the British Museum, ''Blackmail'' began the Hitchcock tradition of using famous landmarks as a backdrop for suspense sequences. In the PBS series ''The Men Who Made The Movies'', Hitchcock explained how he used early sound recording as a special element of the film, emphasising the word "knife" in a conversation with the woman suspected of murder. During this period, Hitchcock directed segments for a BIP musical film revue ''Elstree Calling'' (1930) and directed a short film featuring two ''Film Weekly'' scholarship winners, ''An Elastic Affair'' (1930). Another BIP musical revue, ''Harmony Heaven'' (1929), reportedly had minor input from Hitchcock, but his name does not appear in the credits.

In 1933, Hitchcock was once again working for Michael Balcon at Gaumont-British Picture Corporation. His first film for the company, ''The Man Who Knew Too Much'' (1934), was a success and his second, ''The 39 Steps'' (1935), is often considered one of the best films from his early period. This film was also one of the first to introduce the concept of the "MacGuffin", a plot device around which a whole story seems to revolve, but ultimately has nothing to do with the true meaning or ending of the story. In ''The 39 Steps'', the Macguffin is a stolen set of design plans. Hitchcock told French director François Truffaut:

There are two men sitting in a train going to Scotland and one man says to the other, "Excuse me, sir, but what is that strange parcel you have on the luggage rack above you?", "Oh", says the other, "that's a Macguffin.", "Well", says the first man, "what's a Macguffin?", The other answers, "It's an apparatus for trapping lions in the Scottish Highlands.", "But", says the first man, "there are no lions in the Scottish Highlands.", "Well", says the other, "then that's no Macguffin."

Hitchcock's next major success was his 1938 film ''The Lady Vanishes'', a fast-paced film about the search for a kindly old Englishwoman Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty), who disappears while on board a train in the fictional country of Bandrika.

By 1938, Hitchcock had become known for his alleged observation, "Actors are cattle". He once said that he first made this remark as early as the late 1920s, in connection to stage actors who were snobbish about motion pictures. However, Michael Redgrave said that Hitchcock had made the statement during the filming of ''The Lady Vanishes''. The phrase would haunt Hitchcock for years to come and would result in an incident during the filming of his 1941 production of ''Mr. & Mrs. Smith'', where Carole Lombard brought some heifers onto the set with name tags of Lombard, Robert Montgomery, and Gene Raymond, the stars of the film, to surprise the director. Hitchcock said he was misquoted: "I said 'Actors should be ''treated'' like cattle'."

At the end of the 1930s, David O. Selznick signed Hitchcock to a seven-year contract beginning in March 1939, when the Hitchcocks moved to the United States.

Hollywood

The suspense and the gallows humour that had become Hitchcock's trademark in film continued to appear in his productions. The working arrangements with Selznick were less than optimal. Selznick suffered from perennial money problems, and Hitchcock was often displeased with Selznick's creative control over his films. In a later interview, Hitchcock summarised the working relationship thus:

[Selznick] was the Big Producer. [...] Producer was king, The most flattering thing Mr. Selznick ever said about me—and it shows you the amount of control—he said I was the "only director" he'd "trust with a film".

Selznick loaned Hitchcock to the larger studios more often than producing Hitchcock's films himself. In addition, Selznick, as well as fellow independent producer Samuel Goldwyn, made only a few films each year, so Selznick did not always have projects for Hitchcock to direct. Goldwyn had also negotiated with Hitchcock on a possible contract, only to be outbid by Selznick. Hitchcock was quickly impressed with the superior resources of the American studios compared to the financial restrictions he had frequently encountered in England.

Hitchcock's fondness for his homeland resulted in numerous American films set in, or filmed in, the United Kingdom, including his penultimate film, ''Frenzy''.

With the prestigious Selznick picture ''Rebecca'' in 1940, Hitchcock made his first American movie, set in England and based on a novel by English author Daphne du Maurier. The film starred Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine. This Gothic melodrama explores the fears of a naïve young bride who enters a great English country home and must adapt to the extreme formality and coldness she finds there. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1940. The statuette was given to Selznick, as the film's producer. The film did not win the Best Director award for Hitchcock.

There were additional problems between Selznick and Hitchcock. Selznick was known to impose very restrictive rules upon Hitchcock, forcing him to shoot the film as Selznick wanted. At the same time, Selznick complained about Hitchcock's "goddamn jigsaw cutting", which meant that the producer did not have nearly the leeway to create his own film as he liked, but had to follow Hitchcock's vision of the finished product. ''Rebecca'' was the fourth longest of Hitchcock's films, at 130 minutes, exceeded only by ''The Paradine Case'' (132 minutes), ''North by Northwest'' (136 minutes), and ''Topaz'' (142 minutes).

Hitchcock's second American film, the European-set thriller ''Foreign Correspondent'' (1940), based on Vincent Sheean's ''Personal History'' and produced by Walter Wanger, was nominated for Best Picture that year. The movie was filmed in the first year of World War II and was apparently inspired by the rapidly changing events in Europe, as fictionally covered by an American newspaper reporter portrayed by Joel McCrea. The film mixed actual footage of European scenes and scenes filmed on a Hollywood back lot. In compliance with Hollywood's Production Code censorship, the film avoided direct references to Germany and Germans.

1940s films

Hitchcock's films during the 1940s were diverse, ranging from the romantic comedy ''Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' (1941) to the courtroom drama ''The Paradine Case'' (1947), to the dark and disturbing film noir ''Shadow of a Doubt'' (1943).

In September 1940, the Hitchcocks purchased the Cornwall Ranch, located near Scotts Valley in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The ranch became the primary residence of the Hitchcocks for the rest of their lives, although they kept their Bel Air home. ''Suspicion'' (1941) marked Hitchcock's first film as a producer as well as director. Hitchcock used the north coast of Santa Cruz, California for the English coastline sequence. This film was to be actor Cary Grant's first time working with Hitchcock, and it was one of the few times that Grant would be cast in a sinister role. Joan Fontaine won Best Actress Oscar and the New York Film Critics Circle Award for her "outstanding performance in ''Suspicion''". "Grant plays an irresponsible husband whose actions raise suspicion and anxiety in his wife (Fontaine)". In what critics regard as a classic scene, Hitchcock uses a light bulb to illuminate what might be a fatal glass of milk that Grant is bringing to his wife. In the book the movie is based on (''Before the Fact'' by Francis Iles), the Grant character is a killer, but Hitchcock and the studio felt Grant's image would be tarnished by that ending. Though a homicide would have suited him better, as he stated to François Truffaut, Hitchcock settled for an ambiguous finale.

''Saboteur'' (1942) was the first of two films that Hitchcock made for Universal, a studio where he would continue his career during his later years. Hitchcock was forced to use Universal contract players Robert Cummings and Priscilla Lane, both known for their work in comedies and light dramas. Breaking with Hollywood conventions of the time, Hitchcock did extensive location filming, especially in New York City, and depicted a confrontation between a suspected saboteur (Cummings) and a real saboteur (Norman Lloyd) atop the Statue of Liberty.

''Shadow of a Doubt'' (1943), Hitchcock's personal favourite of all his films and the second of the early Universal films, was about young Charlotte "Charlie" Newton (Teresa Wright), who suspects her beloved uncle Charlie Oakley (Joseph Cotten) of being a serial murderer. Critics have said that in its use of overlapping characters, dialogue, and closeups it has provided a generation of film theorists with psychoanalytic potential, including Jacques Lacan and Slavoj Žižek. Hitchcock again filmed extensively on location, this time in the Northern California city of Santa Rosa, California, during the summer of 1942. The director showcased his own personal fascination with crime and criminals when he had two of his characters discuss various ways of killing people, to the obvious annoyance of Charlotte.

Working at 20th Century Fox, Hitchcock adapted a script of John Steinbeck's that chronicled the experiences of the survivors of a German U-boat attack in the film ''Lifeboat'' (1944). The action sequences were shot on the small boat. The locale also posed problems for Hitchcock's traditional cameo appearance. That was solved by having Hitchcock's image appear in a newspaper that William Bendix is reading in the boat, showing the director in a before-and-after advertisement for "Reduco-Obesity Slayer". While at Fox, Hitchcock seriously considered directing the film version of A.J. Cronin's novel about a Catholic priest in China, ''The Keys of the Kingdom'', but the plans for this fell through. John M. Stahl ended up directing the 1944 film, which was produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and starred Gregory Peck, among other luminaries.

Returning to England for an extended visit in late 1943 and early 1944, Hitchcock made two short films for the Ministry of Information, ''Bon Voyage'' and ''Aventure Malgache''. Made for the Free French, these were the only films Hitchcock made in the French language, and "feature typical Hitchcockian touches". In the 1990s, the two films were shown by Turner Classic Movies and released on home video.

In 1945, Hitchcock served as "treatment advisor" (in effect, a film editor) for a Holocaust documentary produced by the British Army. The film, which recorded the liberation of Nazi concentration camps, remained unreleased until 1985, when it was completed by PBS Frontline and distributed under the title ''Memory of the Camps''.

Hitchcock worked for Selznick again when he directed ''Spellbound'' (1945), which explored psychoanalysis and featured a dream sequence designed by Salvador Dalí. Gregory Peck plays amnesiac Dr. Anthony Edwardes under the treatment of analyst Dr. Peterson (Ingrid Bergman), who falls in love with him while trying to unlock his repressed past. The dream sequence as it actually appears in the film is considerably shorter than was originally envisioned, which was to be several minutes long, because it proved to be too disturbing for the audience. Some of the original musical score by Miklós Rózsa (which makes use of the theremin) was later adapted by the composer into a concert piano concerto.

''Notorious'' (1946) followed ''Spellbound''. According to Hitchcock, in his book-length interview with François Truffaut, Selznick sold the director, the two stars (Grant and Bergman) and the screenplay (by Ben Hecht) to RKO Radio Pictures as a "package" for $500,000 due to cost overruns on Selznick's ''Duel in the Sun'' (1946). ''Notorious'' starred Hitchcock regulars Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant, and features a plot about Nazis, uranium, and South America. It was a huge box office success and has remained one of Hitchcock's most acclaimed films. His use of uranium as a plot device led to Hitchcock's being briefly under FBI surveillance. McGilligan writes that Hitchcock consulted Dr. Robert Millikan of Caltech about the development of an atomic bomb. Selznick complained that the notion was "science fiction", only to be confronted by the news stories of the detonation of two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in August 1945.

After completing his final film for Selznick, ''The Paradine Case'' (a courtroom drama that critics found lost momentum because it apparently ran too long and exhausted its resource of ideas), Hitchcock filmed his first colour film, ''Rope'', which appeared in 1948. Here Hitchcock experimented with marshaling suspense in a confined environment, as he had done earlier with ''Lifeboat'' (1943). He also experimented with exceptionally long takes—up to ten minutes long. Featuring James Stewart in the leading role, ''Rope'' was the first of four films Stewart would make for Hitchcock. It was based on the Leopold and Loeb case of the 1920s. Somehow Hitchcock's cameraman managed to move the bulky, heavy Technicolor camera quickly around the set as it followed the continuous action of the long takes.

''Under Capricorn'' (1949), set in nineteenth-century Australia, also used the short-lived technique of long takes, but to a more limited extent. He again used Technicolor in this production, then returned to black-and-white films for several years. For ''Rope'' and ''Under Capricorn'', Hitchcock formed a production company with Sidney Bernstein called Transatlantic Pictures, which became inactive after these two unsuccessful pictures. Hitchcock continued to produce his own films for the rest of his life.

1950s: Peak years

In 1950, Hitchcock filmed ''Stage Fright'' on location in the UK. For the first time, Hitchcock matched one of Warner Bros.' biggest stars, Jane Wyman, with the sultry German actress Marlene Dietrich. Hitchcock used a number of prominent British actors, including Michael Wilding, Richard Todd, and Alastair Sim. This was Hitchcock's first production for Warner Bros., which had distributed ''Rope'' and ''Under Capricorn'', because Transatlantic Pictures was experiencing financial difficulties.

With the film ''Strangers on a Train'' (1951), based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith, Hitchcock combined many elements from his preceding films. Hitchcock approached Dashiell Hammett to write the dialogue but Raymond Chandler took over, then left over disagreements with the director. Two men casually meet and speculate on removing people who are causing them difficulty. One of the men takes this banter entirely seriously. With Farley Granger reprising some elements of his role from ''Rope'', ''Strangers'' continued the director's interest in the narrative possibilities of blackmail and murder. Robert Walker, previously known for "boy-next-door" roles, plays the villain.

MCA head Lew Wasserman, whose client list included James Stewart, Janet Leigh and other actors who would appear in Hitchcock's films, had a significant impact in packaging and marketing Hitchcock's films beginning in the 1950s.

Three very popular films starring Grace Kelly followed. ''Dial M for Murder'' (1954) was adapted from the popular stage play by Frederick Knott. Ray Milland plays the scheming villain, an ex-tennis pro who tries to murder his unfaithful wife Grace Kelly for her money. When she kills the hired assassin in self-defense, Milland manipulates the evidence to pin the death on his wife. Her lover, Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings), and Police Inspector Hubbard (John Williams), work urgently to save her from execution. Hitchcock experimented with 3D cinematography, although the film was not released in this format at first. However, it was shown in 3D in the early 1980s. The film marked a return to Technicolor productions for Hitchcock.

Hitchcock then moved to Paramount Pictures and filmed ''Rear Window'' (1954), starring James Stewart and Kelly again, as well as Thelma Ritter and Raymond Burr. Stewart's character, a photographer based on Robert Capa, must temporarily use a wheelchair; out of boredom he begins observing his neighbours across the courtyard, and becomes convinced one of them (Raymond Burr) has murdered his wife. Stewart tries to sway both his glamorous model-girlfriend (Kelly), which screenwriter John Michael Hayes based on his own wife, and his policeman buddy (Wendell Corey) to his theory, and eventually succeeds. Like ''Lifeboat'' and ''Rope'', the movie was photographed almost entirely within the confines of a small space: Stewart's tiny studio apartment overlooking the massive courtyard set. Hitchcock used closeups of Stewart's face to show his character's reactions to all he sees, "from the comic voyeurism directed at his neighbours to his helpless terror watching Kelly and Burr in the villain's apartment".

The third Kelly film, ''To Catch a Thief'' (1955), set in the French Riviera, paired Kelly with Cary Grant again. Grant plays retired thief John Robie, who becomes the prime suspect for a spate of robberies in the Riviera. An American heiress played by Kelly surmises his true identity, attempts to seduce him. "Despite the obvious age disparity between Grant and Kelly and a lightweight plot, the witty script (loaded with double-entendres) and the good-natured acting proved a commercial success." It was Hitchcock's last film with Kelly. She married Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1956, and the residents of her new land were against her making any more films.

Hitchcock successfully remade his own 1934 film ''The Man Who Knew Too Much'' in 1956, this time starring Stewart and Doris Day, who sang the theme song, "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" (which won the Oscar for "Best Original Song" and became a big hit for Day). They play a couple whose son is kidnapped to prevent them from interfering with an assassination.

''The Wrong Man'' (1957), Hitchcock's final film for Warner Brothers, was a low-key black-and-white production based on a real-life case of mistaken identity reported in Life Magazine in 1953. This was the only film of Hitchcock's to star Henry Fonda. Fonda plays a Stork Club musician mistaken for a liquor store thief who is arrested and tried for robbery while his wife (newcomer Vera Miles) emotionally collapses under the strain. Hitchcock told Truffaut that his lifelong fear of the police attracted him to the subject and was embedded in many scenes.

''Vertigo'' (1958) again starred Stewart, this time with Kim Novak and Barbara Bel Geddes. Stewart plays "Scottie", a former police investigator suffering from acrophobia, who develops an obsession with a woman he is shadowing (Novak). Scottie's obsession leads to tragedy, and this time Hitchcock does not opt for a happy ending. Though the film is widely considered a classic today, ''Vertigo'' met with negative reviews and poor box office receipts upon its release, and marked the last collaboration between Stewart and Hitchcock. The film is ranked second (behind ''Citizen Kane'') in the 2002 ''Sight & Sound'' decade poll. It was premiered in the San Sebastián International Film Festival, where Hitchcock won a Silver Seashell.

Late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s

By this time, Hitchcock had filmed in many areas of the United States. He followed ''Vertigo'' with three more successful films. Two are also recognised as among his very best films: ''North by Northwest'' (1959) and ''Psycho'' (1960). The third film was ''The Birds'' (1963).

In ''North by Northwest'', Cary Grant portrays Roger Thornhill, a Madison Avenue advertising executive who is mistaken for a government secret agent. He is hotly pursued by enemy agents across America, apparently one of them being Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint).

''Psycho'' is almost certainly Hitchcock's most well known film. Produced on a highly constrained budget of $800,000, it was shot in black-and-white on a spare set. The unprecedented violence of the shower scene, the early demise of the heroine, the innocent lives extinguished by a disturbed murderer were all hallmarks of Hitchcock, copied in many subsequent horror films. After completing ''Psycho'', Hitchcock moved to Universal, where he made the remainder of his films.

''The Birds'', inspired by a Daphne Du Maurier short story and by an actual news story about a mysterious infestation of birds in California, was Hitchcock's 49th film. He signed up Tippi Hedren as his latest blonde heroine opposite Rod Taylor. (On 13 April 2011, at the Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington, NY, Hedren stated in an interview with Turner Classic Movies' Ben Mankiewicz, prior to a screening of ''The Birds'', that because she refused Hitchcock’s sexual advances, Hitchcock effectively stunted her career.) The scenes of the birds attacking included hundreds of shots mixing actual and animated sequences. The cause of the birds' attack is left unanswered, "perhaps highlighting the mystery of forces unknown".

The latter two films were particularly notable for their unconventional soundtracks, both orchestrated by Bernard Herrmann: the screeching strings played in the murder scene in ''Psycho'' exceeded the limits of the time, and ''The Birds'' dispensed completely with conventional instruments, instead using an electronically produced soundtrack and an unaccompanied song by school children (just prior to the infamous attack at the historic Bodega Bay School). These films are considered his last great films, after which his output deteriorated. (although some critics, such as Robin Wood and Donald Spoto, contend that ''Marnie'', from 1964, is first-class Hitchcock, and some have argued that ''Frenzy'' is unfairly overlooked).

Failing health took its toll on Hitchcock, reducing his output during the last two decades of his career. Hitchcock filmed two spy thrillers. The first, ''Torn Curtain'' (1966), with Paul Newman and Julie Andrews, was a Cold War thriller. ''Torn Curtain'' displays the bitter end of the twelve-year collaboration between Hitchcock and composer Bernard Herrmann. Herrmann was fired when Hitchcock was unsatisfied with his score. In 1969, ''Topaz'', another Cold War-themed film (based on a Leon Uris novel), was released. Both received mixed reviews from critics but are nonetheless recognised as espionage thrillers.

In 1972, Hitchcock returned to London to film ''Frenzy'', his last major triumph. After two only moderately successful espionage films, the plot marks a return to the murder thriller genre that he made so many films out of earlier in his career. The basic story recycles his early film ''The Lodger''. Richard Blaney (Jon Finch), a volatile barkeeper with a history of explosive anger, becomes the prime suspect for the "Necktie Murders," which are actually committed by his friend Bob Rusk (Barry Foster). This time, Hitchcock makes the victim and villain twins, rather than opposites, as in ''Strangers on a Train''. Only one of them, however, has crossed the line to murder. For the first time, Hitchcock allowed nudity and profane language, which had before been taboo, in one of his films. He also shows rare sympathy for the chief inspector and his comic domestic life. Biographers have noted that Hitchcock had always pushed the limits of film censorship, often managing to fool Joseph Breen, the longtime head of Hollywood's Production Code. Many times Hitchcock slipped in subtle hints of improprieties forbidden by censorship until the mid-1960s. Yet Patrick McGilligan wrote that Breen and others often realised that Hitchcock was inserting such things and were actually amused as well as alarmed by Hitchcock's "inescapable inferences". Beginning with ''Torn Curtain'', Hitchcock was finally able to blatantly include plot elements previously forbidden in American films and this continued for the remainder of his film career.

''Family Plot'' (1976) was Hitchcock's last film. It related the escapades of "Madam" Blanche Tyler played by Barbara Harris, a fraudulent spiritualist, and her taxi driver lover Bruce Dern making a living from her phoney powers. William Devane, Karen Black and Cathleen Nesbitt co-starred. It was the only Hitchcock film scored by John Williams.

Last film work and death

Near the end of his life, Hitchcock had worked on the script for a projected spy thriller, ''The Short Night'', collaborating with screenwriters James Costigan and Ernest Lehman. Despite some preliminary work, the story was never filmed. This was due primarily to Hitchcock's own failing health and his concerns over the health of his wife, Alma, who had suffered a stroke. The script was eventually published posthumously, in a book on Hitchcock's last years.

Hitchcock died peacefully in his sleep on 29 April 1980, 9:17 am, due to renal failure in his Bel Air, Los Angeles, California home at the age of 80, survived by his wife and their daughter. His funeral service was held at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Beverly Hills. Hitchcock's body was cremated and his ashes were scattered over the Pacific Ocean.

Themes, plot devices and motifs

Hitchcock returned several times to cinematic devices such as suspense, the audience as voyeur, and his well-known "MacGuffin," an apparently minor detail serving as a pivot upon which the narrative turns.

Technical innovations

Hitchcock seemed to delight in the technical challenges of film making. In the film ''Lifeboat'', Hitchcock stages the entire action of the movie in a small boat, yet manages to keep the cinematography from monotonous repetition (his trademark cameo appearance was a dilemma, given the limitations of the setting; so Hitchcock appears in a fictitious magazine for a weight loss product). Similarly, the entire action in ''Rear Window'' either takes place in or is seen from a single apartment. In ''Spellbound'', two unprecedented point-of-view shots were achieved by constructing a large wooden hand (which would appear to belong to the character whose point of view the camera took) and out-sized props for it to hold: a bucket-sized glass of milk and a large wooden gun. For added novelty and impact, the climactic gunshot was hand-coloured red on some copies of the black-and-white print of the film.

''Rope'' (1948) was another technical challenge: a film that appears to have been shot entirely in a single take. The film was actually shot in 10 takes ranging from four and a half to 10 minutes each; a 10 minute length of film being the maximum a camera's film magazine could hold. Some transitions between reels were hidden by having a dark object fill the entire screen for a moment. Hitchcock used those points to hide the cut, and began the next take with the camera in the same place.

Hitchcock's 1958 film ''Vertigo'' contains a camera technique developed by Irmin Roberts that has been imitated and re-used many times by filmmakers, wherein the image appears to "stretch". This is achieved by moving the camera in the opposite direction of the camera's zoom. It has become known by many nicknames, including Dolly zoom, "Zolly," "Hitchcock Zoom," and "Vertigo Effect."

Signature appearances in his films

Hitchcock appeared briefly in many of his own films. For example, he is seen struggling to get a double bass onto a train, or walking dogs in the background.

Psychology of characters

Hitchcock's films sometimes feature characters struggling in their relationships with their mothers. In ''North by Northwest'' (1959), Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant's character) is an innocent man ridiculed by his mother for insisting that shadowy, murderous men are after him. In ''The Birds'' (1963), the Rod Taylor character, an innocent man, finds his world under attack by vicious birds, and struggles to free himself of a clinging mother (Jessica Tandy). The killer in ''Frenzy'' (1972) has a loathing of women but idolises his mother. The villain Bruno in ''Strangers on a Train'' hates his father, but has an incredibly close relationship with his mother (played by Marion Lorne). Sebastian (Claude Rains) in ''Notorious'' has a clearly conflictual relationship with his mother, who is (correctly) suspicious of his new bride Alicia Huberman (Ingrid Bergman). Norman Bates has troubles with his mother in ''Psycho''.

Hitchcock heroines tend to be lovely, cool blondes who seem proper at first but, when aroused by passion or danger, respond in a more sensual, animal, or even criminal way. The famous victims in ''The Lodger'' are all blondes. In ''The 39 Steps'', Hitchcock's glamorous blonde star, Madeleine Carroll, is put in handcuffs. In ''Marnie'' (1964), the title character (played by Tippi Hedren) is a thief. In ''To Catch a Thief'' (1955), Francie (Grace Kelly) offers to help a man she believes is a burglar. In ''Rear Window'', Lisa (Grace Kelly again) risks her life by breaking into Lars Thorwald's apartment. The best known example is in ''Psycho'' where Janet Leigh's unfortunate character steals $40,000 and is murdered by a reclusive psychopath. Hitchcock's last blonde heroine was—years after Dany Robin and her "daughter" Claude Jade in ''Topaz''—Barbara Harris as a phony psychic turned amateur sleuth in his final film, 1976's ''Family Plot''. In the same film, the diamond smuggler played by Karen Black could also fit that role, as she wears a long blonde wig in various scenes and becomes increasingly uncomfortable about her line of work.

Some critics and Hitchcock scholars, including Donald Spoto and Roger Ebert, agree that ''Vertigo'' represents the director's most personal and revealing film, dealing with the obsessions of a man who crafts a woman into the woman he desires. ''Vertigo'' explores more frankly and at greater length his interest in the relation between sex and death than any other film in his filmography.

Hitchcock often said that his favourite film (of his own work) was ''Shadow of a Doubt''.

Style of working

Writing

Hitchcock once commented, "The writer and I plan out the entire script down to the smallest detail, and when we're finished all that's left to do is to shoot the film. Actually, it's only when one enters the studio that one enters the area of compromise. Really, the novelist has the best casting since he doesn't have to cope with the actors and all the rest." In an interview with Roger Ebert in 1969, Hitchcock elaborated further: }}

In ''Writing with Hitchcock'', a book-length study of Hitchcock's working method with his writers, author Steven DeRosa noted that "Although he rarely did any actual 'writing', especially on his Hollywood productions, Hitchcock supervised and guided his writers through every draft, insisting on a strict attention to detail and a preference for telling the story through visual rather than verbal means. While this exasperated some writers, others admitted the director inspired them to do their very best work. Hitchcock often emphasised that he took no screen credit for the writing of his films. However, over time the work of many of his writers has been attributed solely to Hitchcock’s creative genius, a misconception he rarely went out of his way to correct. Notwithstanding his technical brilliance as a director, Hitchcock relied on his writers a great deal."

Storyboards and production

Hitchcock's films were strongly believed to have been extensively storyboarded to the finest detail by the majority of commentators over the years. He was reported to have never even bothered looking through the viewfinder, since he did not need to do so, though in publicity photos he was shown doing so. He also used this as an excuse to never have to change his films from his initial vision. If a studio asked him to change a film, he would claim that it was already shot in a single way, and that there were no alternate takes to consider.

However, this view of Hitchcock as a director who relied more on pre-production than on the actual production itself has been challenged by the book ''Hitchcock At Work'', written by Bill Krohn, the American correspondent of ''Cahiers du cinéma''. Krohn, after investigating several script revisions, notes to other production personnel written by or to Hitchcock alongside inspection of storyboards, and other production material, has observed that Hitchcock's work often deviated from how the screenplay was written or how the film was originally envisioned. He noted that the myth of storyboards in relation to Hitchcock, often regurgitated by generations of commentators on his movies was to a great degree perpetuated by Hitchcock himself or the publicity arm of the studios. A great example would be the celebrated crop spraying sequence of ''North by Northwest'' which was not storyboarded at all. After the scene was filmed, the publicity department asked Hitchcock to make storyboards to promote the film and Hitchcock in turn hired an artist to match the scenes in detail.

Even when storyboards were made, scenes that were shot differed from it significantly. Krohn's extensive analysis of the production of Hitchcock classics like ''Notorious'' reveals that Hitchcock was flexible enough to change a film's conception during its production. Another example Krohn notes is the American remake of ''The Man Who Knew Too Much,'' whose shooting schedule commenced without a finished script and moreover went over schedule, something that, as Krohn notes, was not an uncommon occurrence on many of Hitchcock's films, including ''Strangers on a Train'' and ''Topaz''. While Hitchcock did do a great deal of preparation for all his movies, he was fully cognizant that the actual film-making process often deviated from the best laid plans and was flexible to adapt to the changes and needs of production as his films were not free from the normal hassles faced and common routines utilised during many other film productions.

Krohn's work also sheds light on Hitchcock's practice of generally shooting in chronological order, which he notes sent many films over budget and over schedule and, more importantly, differed from the standard operating procedure of Hollywood in the Studio System Era. Equally important is Hitchcock's tendency to shoot alternate takes of scenes. This differed from coverage in that the films were not necessarily shot from varying angles so as to give the editor options to shape the film how he/she chooses (often under the producer's aegis). Rather they represented Hitchcock's tendency of giving himself options in the editing room, where he would provide advice to his editors after viewing a rough cut of the work. According to Krohn, this and a great deal of other information revealed through his research of Hitchcock's personal papers, script revisions and the like refute the notion of Hitchcock as a director who was always in control of his films, whose vision of his films did not change during production, which Krohn notes has remained the central long-standing myth of Alfred Hitchcock.

His fastidiousness and attention to detail also found its way into each film poster for his films. Hitchcock preferred to work with the best talent of his day—film poster designers such as Bill Gold and Saul Bass—and kept them busy with countless rounds of revision until he felt that the single image of the poster accurately represented his entire film.

Approach to actors

Similarly, much of Hitchcock's supposed dislike of actors has been exaggerated. Hitchcock simply did not tolerate the method approach, as he believed that actors should only concentrate on their performances and leave work on script and character to the directors and screenwriters. In a ''Sight and Sound'' interview, he stated that, 'the method actor is OK in the theatre because he has a free space to move about. But when it comes to cutting the face and what he sees and so forth, there must be some discipline'. During the making of ''Lifeboat'', Walter Slezak, who played the German character, stated that Hitchcock knew the mechanics of acting better than anyone he knew. Several critics have observed that despite his reputation as a man who disliked actors, several actors who worked with him gave fine, often brilliant performances and these performances contribute to the film's success.

For Hitchcock, the actors, like the props, were part of the film's setting, as he said to Truffaut:

In my opinion, the chief requisite for an actor is the ability to do nothing well, which is by no means as easy as it sounds. He should be willing to be utilised and wholly integrated into the picture by the director and the camera. He must allow the camera to determine the proper emphasis and the most effective dramatic highlights.

Regarding Hitchcock's sometimes less than pleasant relationship with actors, there was a persistent rumour that he had said that actors were cattle. Hitchcock addressed this story in his interview with Francois Truffaut:

I'm not quite sure in what context I might have made such a statement. It may have been made...when we used actors who were simultaneously performing in stage plays. When they had a matinee, and I suspected they were allowing themselves plenty of time for a very leisurely lunch. And this meant that we had to shoot our scenes at breakneck speed so that the actors could get out on time. I couldn't help feeling that if they'd been really conscientious, they'd have swallowed their sandwich in the cab, on the way to the theatre, and get there in time to put on their make-up and go on stage. I had no use for that kind of actor.

Carole Lombard, tweaking Hitchcock and drumming up a little publicity, brought some cows along with her when she reported to the set of ''Mr. and Mrs. Smith''. for the sum of $40,000. Known as the 1870 Cornwall Ranch or 'Heart o' the Mountain', the property was perched high above Scotts Valley, California, at the end of Canham Road. The Hitchcocks resided there from 1940 to 1972. The Hitchcocks became close friends with the parents of Joan Fontaine, after she starred in his film, ''Rebecca''. Years later, after a break-in at his estate, Hitchcock replaced all of the accumulated paintings with studio-made copies. The family sold the estate in 1974, six years before Hitchcock's death.

Hitchcock and family also purchased a second home in late 1942 at 10957 Bellagio Road in Los Angeles, just across from the Bel Air Country Club.

''Rebecca'' was the only Hitchcock film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture (though the award did not go to Hitchcock but to producer David O. Selznick); four other films were nominated. In 1967, he was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award for lifetime achievement. He never won an Academy Award for direction of a film.

Television, radio, and books

Along with Walt Disney, Hitchcock was among the first prominent motion picture producers to fully envisage just how popular the medium of television would become. From 1955 to 1965, Hitchcock was the host and producer of a television series titled ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents''. While his films had made Hitchcock's name strongly associated with suspense, the TV series made Hitchcock a celebrity himself. His irony-tinged voice and signature droll delivery, gallows humour, iconic image and mannerisms became instantly recognisable and were often the subject of parody.

The title-theme of the show pictured a minimalist caricature of Hitchcock's profile (he drew it himself; it is composed of only nine strokes), which his real silhouette then filled. His introductions before the stories in his program always included some sort of wry humour, such as the description of a recent multi-person execution hampered by having only one electric chair, while two are now shown with a sign "Two chairs—no waiting!" He directed a few episodes of the TV series himself, and he upset a number of movie production companies when he insisted on using his TV production crew to produce his motion picture ''Psycho''. In the late 1980s, a new version of ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' was produced for television, making use of Hitchcock's original introductions in a colourised form.

''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' was parodied by Friz Freleng's 1961 cartoon ''The Last Hungry Cat'', which contains a plot similar to ''Blackmail''.

"Hitch" used a curious little tune by the French composer Charles Gounod (1818–1893), the composer of the 1859 opera ''Faust'', as the theme "song" for his television programs, after it was suggested to him by composer Bernard Herrmann. Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra included the piece, ''Funeral March of a Marionette'', in one of their extended play 45 rpm discs for RCA Victor during the 1950s.

Hitchcock appears as a character in the popular juvenile detective book series, ''Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators''. The long-running detective series was created by Robert Arthur, who wrote the first several books, although other authors took over after he left the series. The Three Investigators—Jupiter Jones, Bob Andrews and Peter Crenshaw—were amateur detectives, slightly younger than the Hardy Boys. In the introduction to each book, "Alfred Hitchcock" introduces the mystery, and he sometimes refers a case to the boys to solve. At the end of each book, the boys report to Hitchcock, and sometimes give him a memento of their case.

When the real Hitchcock died, the fictional Hitchcock in the Three Investigators books was replaced by a retired detective named Hector Sebastian. At this time, the series title was changed from ''Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators'' to ''The Three Investigators''.

At the height of Hitchcock's success, he was also asked to introduce a set of books with his name attached. The series was a collection of short stories by popular short-story writers, primarily focused on suspense and thrillers. These titles included ''Alfred Hitchcock's Anthology'', ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories to be Read with the Door Locked'', ''Alfred Hitchcock's Monster Museum'', ''Alfred Hitchcock's Supernatural Tales of Terror and Suspense'', ''Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbinders in Suspense'', ''Alfred Hitchcock's Witch's Brew'', ''Alfred Hitchcock's Ghostly Gallery'', ''Alfred Hitchcock's A Hangman's Dozen'' and ''Alfred Hitchcock's Haunted Houseful.'' Hitchcock himself was not actually involved in the reading, reviewing, editing or selection of the short stories; in fact, even his introductions were ghost-written. The entire extent of his involvement with the project was to lend his name and collect a check.

Some notable writers whose works were used in the collection include Shirley Jackson (''Strangers in Town'', ''The Lottery''), T.H. White (''The Once and Future King''), Robert Bloch, H. G. Wells (''The War of the Worlds''), Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Mark Twain and the creator of ''The Three Investigators'', Robert Arthur.

Hitchcock also wrote a mystery story for ''Look'' magazine in 1943, "The Murder of Monty Woolley". This was a sequence of captioned photographs inviting the reader to inspect the pictures for clues to the murderer's identity; Hitchcock cast the performers as themselves; such as Woolley, Doris Merrick and make up man Guy Pearce, whom Hitchcock identified, in the last photo, as the murderer. The article was reprinted in ''Games'' Magazine in November/December 1980.

In September 2010 BBC Radio 7 broadcast a series of five fifteen-minute programs entitled ''The Late Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' with Michael Roberts impersonating Alfred Hitchcock for introductory/concluding comments and reading the stories in his own voice. These five stories were originally intended for the television series, but were rejected because of their rather gruesome nature:

"The Waxwork" by A. M. Burrage (broadcast 13 September 2010)

"Sredni Vashtar" by Saki (broadcast 14 September 2010)

"The Perfectionist" by Margaret St. Clair (broadcast 15 September 2010)

"Being a Murderer Myself" by Arthur Williams (broadcast 16 September 2010)

"The Dancing Partner" by Jerome K. Jerome (broadcast 17 September 2010)

Filmography

Frequently cast actors and actresses

7 films: Clare Greet: ''Number 13'' (1922), ''The Ring'' (1927), ''The Manxman'' (1929), ''Murder!'' (1930), ''The Man Who Knew Too Much'' (1934), ''Sabotage'' (1936), ''Jamaica Inn'' (1939)

6 films: Leo G. Carroll: ''Rebecca'' (1940), ''Suspicion'' (1941), ''Spellbound'' (1945), ''The Paradine Case'' (1947), ''Strangers on a Train'' (1951), and ''North By Northwest'' (1959)

4 films: Cary Grant: ''Suspicion'' (1941), ''Notorious'' (1946), ''To Catch a Thief'' (1955), and ''North By Northwest'' (1959)

4 films: James Stewart: ''Rope'' (1948), ''Rear Window'' (1954), ''The Man Who Knew Too Much'' (1956), and ''Vertigo'' (1958)

4 films: Edmund Gwenn: ''The Skin Game'' (1931), ''Waltzes from Vienna'' (1934), ''Foreign Correspondent'' (1940), and ''The Trouble with Harry'' (1955)

3 films: Ingrid Bergman: ''Spellbound'' (1945), ''Notorious'' (1946), and ''Under Capricorn'' (1949)

3 films: Grace Kelly: ''Dial M for Murder'' (1954), ''Rear Window'' (1954), and ''To Catch a Thief'' (1955)

3 films: Basil Radford: ''Young and Innocent'' (1937), ''The Lady Vanishes'' (1938), ''Jamaica Inn'' (1939)

3 films: John Williams: ''The Paradine Case'' (1947), ''Dial M for Murder'', (1954), and ''To Catch a Thief'' (1955)

3 films: Patricia Hitchcock: ''Stage Fright'' (1950), ''Strangers on a Train'' (1951), ''Psycho'' (1960)

Frequent collaborators

;Actors and actresses

Sara Allgood

Murray Alper

Ingrid Bergman

Paul Bryar

Donald Calthrop

Leonard Carey

Leo G. Carroll

Edward Chapman

Joseph Cotton (Actor – Hitchcock Movies & TV Series)

Hume Cronyn (also as writer)

Violet Farebrother

Bess Flowers

Cary Grant

Clare Greet

Edmund Gwenn

Gordon Harker

Tom Helmore

Patricia Hitchcock (daughter)

Ian Hunter

Isabel Jeans

Hannah Jones

Malcolm Keen

Grace Kelly

Phyllis Konstam

John Longden

Percy Marmont

Vera Miles (Actor – Hitchcock Movies & TV Series)

Basil Radford

Jeffrey Sayre

James Stewart

John Williams

Tippi Hedren

;Screenwriters

Charles Bennett

James Bridie

Joan Harrison

John Michael Hayes

Ben Hecht

Angus MacPhail

Eliot Stannard

;Film crew

Fred Ahern – Production Manager

Michael Balcon – Producer

Jack Barron – Makeup

Saul Bass – Main titles design

Robert F. Boyle – Art Director/Production Designer

Henry Bumstead – Art Director

Robert Burks – Cinematographer

Herbert Coleman – Assistant Director/Producer

Jack E. Cox – Cinematographer

Graham Cutts – Director

Lowell J. Farrell – Assistant Director

Charles Frend – Film Editor

Bill Gold – Film poster designer

Hilton A. Green – Assistant Director

Bobby Greene – First Assistant Camera

Edith Head – Costume Designer

Bernard Herrmann – Music Composer

J. McMillan Johnson – Art Director/Production Designer

Barbara Keon – Production Assistant

Emile Kuri – Set Decoration

Bryan Langley – Cinematographer/Assistant Camera

Louis Levy – Musical Director/Music Composer

Norman Lloyd – Producer/Director

John Maxwell – Producer

Daniel McCauley – Assistant Director

Frank Mills – Assistant Director

George Milo – Set Decoration

Ivor Montagu – Editor/Producer

Hal Pereira – Art Director

Michael Powell – Still Photographer/Assistant Camera

Alma Reville (wife) – Assistant Director/Writer

Rita Riggs – Costume Designer

Peggy Robertson – Assistant

Emile de Ruelle – Film Editor

William Russell – Sound Recordist

David O. Selznick – Producer

Harry Stradling – Cinematographer/Director of Photography

Lois Thurman – Script Supervisor

Dimitri Tiomkin – Music Composer

George Tomasini – Film Editor

Joseph A. Valentine – Cinematographer

Gaetano di Ventimiglia – Cinematographer

Waldon O. Watson – Sound Recordist

Franz Waxman – Music Composer

Albert Whitlock – Matte Painter

William H. Ziegler – Film Editor

See also

Alfred Hitchcock filmography

Drew Casper

List of unproduced Hitchcock projects

List of film collaborations

List of Alfred Hitchcock cameo appearances

Bibliography

Leitch, Thomas: ''The Encyclopedia of Alfred Hitchcock'' (ISBN 978-0-8160-4387-3). Checkmark Books, 2002. A single-volume encyclopaedia of all things about Alfred Hitchcock.

McGilligan, Patrick: ''Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light''. Regan Books, 2003. A comprehensive biography of the director.

References

Further reading

Auiler, Dan: ''Hitchcock's notebooks: an authorised and illustrated look inside the creative mind of Alfred Hitchcock''. New York, Avon Books, 1999. Much useful background to the films.

Barr, Charles: ''English Hitchcock''. Cameron & Hollis, 1999. On the early films of the director.

Conrad, Peter: ''The Hitchcock Murders''. Faber and Faber, 2000. A highly personal and idiosyncratic discussion of Hitchcock's oeuvre.

DeRosa, Steven: ''Writing with Hitchcock''. Faber and Faber, 2001. An examination of the collaboration between Hitchcock and screenwriter John Michael Hayes, his most frequent writing collaborator in Hollywood. Their films include ''Rear Window'' and ''The Man Who Knew Too Much''.

Deutelbaum, Marshall; Poague, Leland (ed.): ''A Hitchcock Reader''. Iowa State University Press, 1986. A wide-ranging collection of scholarly essays on Hitchcock.

Durgnat, Raymond: ''The strange case of Alfred Hitchcock'' Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1974 OCLC 1233570

Durgnat, Raymond; James, Nick; Gross, Larry: ''Hitchcock'' British Film Institute, 1999 OCLC 42209162

Durgnat, Raymond: ''A long hard look at Psycho'' London: British Film Institute Pub., 2002 OCLC 48883020

Giblin, Gary: ''Alfred Hitchcock's London''. Midnight Marquee Press, 2006, (Paperback: ISBN 978-1-887664-67-7)

Gottlieb, Sidney: ''Hitchcock on Hitchcock''. Faber and Faber, 1995. Articles, lectures, etc. by Hitchcock himself. Basic reading on the director and his films.

Gottlieb, Sidney: ''Alfred Hitchcock: Interviews''. University Press of Mississippi, 2003. A collection of Hitchcock interviews.

Grams, Martin, Jr. & Wikstrom, Patrik: ''The Alfred Hitchcock Presents Companion''. OTR Pub, 2001, (Paperback: ISBN 978-0-9703310-1-4)

Haeffner, Nicholas: ''Alfred Hitchcock''. Longman, 2005. An undergraduate-level text.

Hitchcock, Patricia; Bouzereau, Laurent: ''Alma Hitchcock: The Woman Behind the Man''. Berkley, 2003.

Krohn, Bill: ''Hitchcock at Work''. Phaidon, 2000. Translated from the award-winning French edition. The nitty-gritty of Hitchcock's filmmaking from scripting to post-production.

Leff, Leonard J.: ''Hitchcock and Selznick''. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1987. An in-depth examination of the rich collaboration between Hitchcock and David O Selznick.

McDevitt, Jim; San Juan, Eric: ''A Year of Hitchcock: 52 Weeks with the Master of Suspense''. Scarecrow Press, 2009, (ISBN 978-0-8108-6388-0). A comprehensive film-by-film examination of Hitchcock's artistic development from 1927 through 1976.

Modleski, Tania: ''The Women Who Knew Too Much: Hitchcock And Feminist Theory''. Routledge, 2005 (2nd edition). A collection of critical essays on Hitchcock and his films; argues that Hitchcock's portrayal of women was ambivalent, rather than simply misogynist or sympathetic (as widely thought).

Mogg, Ken. ''The Alfred Hitchcock Story''. Titan, 2008 (revised edition). Note: the original 1999 UK edition, from Titan, and the 2008 re-issue world-wide, also from Titan, have significantly more text than the 1999 abridged US edition from Taylor Publishing. New material on all the films.

Paglia, Camille. ''The Birds''. British Film Institute, January 2008 ISBN 978-0-85170-651-1

Rebello, Stephen: ''Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho''. St. Martin's, 1990. Intimately researched and detailed history of the making of ''Psycho,''.

Rohmer, Eric; Chabrol, Claude. ''Hitchcock, the first forty-four films'' (ISBN 978-0-8044-2743-2). F. Ungar, 1979. First book-long study of Hitchock art and probably still the best one.

Rothman, William. ''The Murderous Gaze''. Harvard Press, 1980. Auteur study that looks at several Hitchcock films intimately.

Spoto, Donald: ''The Art of Alfred Hitchcock''. Anchor Books, 1992. The first detailed critical survey of Hitchcock's work by an American.

Spoto, Donald: ''The Dark Side of Genius''. Ballantine Books, 1983. A biography of Hitchcock, featuring a controversial exploration of Hitchcock's psychology.

Taylor, Alan: ''Jacobean Visions: Webster, Hitchcock and the Google Culture'', Peter Lang, 2007.

Truffaut, François: ''Hitchcock''. Simon and Schuster, 1985. A series of interviews of Hitchcock by the influential French director.

Vest, James: ''Hitchcock and France: The Forging of an Auteur''. Praeger Publishers, 2003. A study of Hitchcock's interest in French culture and the manner by which French critics, such as Truffaut, came to regard him in such high esteem.

Weibel, Adrian: ''Spannung bei Hitchcock. Zur Funktionsweise der auktorialen Suspense.'' (ISBN 978-3-8260-3681-1) Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann, 2008

Wikstrom, Patrik & Grams, Martin, Jr.: ''The Alfred Hitchcock Presents Companion''. OTR Pub, 2001, (Paperback: ISBN 978-0-9703310-1-4)

Wood, Robin: ''Hitchcock's Films Revisited''. Columbia University Press, 2002 (2nd edition). A much-cited collection of critical essays, now supplemented and annotated in this second edition with additional insights and changes that time and personal experience have brought to the author (including his own coming-out as a gay man).

Contains interviews with Alfred Hitchcock and a discussion of the making of ''The Man Who Knew Too Much'' (1934) and ''Secret Agent'' (1936), which co-starred classic film actor Peter Lorre.

External links

Category:1899 births Category:1980 deaths Category:19th-century English people Category:American film directors Category:American film producers Category:American people of English descent Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American television directors Category:Deaths from renal failure Category:English film directors Category:English film producers Category:English emigrants to the United States Category:English people of Irish descent Category:English Roman Catholics Category:English television directors Category:English-language film directors Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:Old Ignatians Category:People from Leytonstone

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Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
name	Leonardo DiCaprio
birth name	Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio
birth date	November 11, 1974
birth place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
occupation	Actor, film producer
years active	1989–present
website	http://www.leonardodicaprio.com/ }}

Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''The Aviator'' (2004). In addition, he has won a Silver Bear, a Chlotrudis Award and a Satellite Award among others, and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, DiCaprio started his career by appearing in television commercials prior to landing recurring roles in TV series such as the soap opera ''Santa Barbara'' and the sitcom ''Growing Pains'' in the early 1990s. He made his film debut in the comedic sci-fi horror film ''Critters 3'' (1991) and received first notable critical praise for his performance in ''This Boy's Life'' (1993). DiCaprio obtained recognition for his subsequent work in supporting roles in ''What's Eating Gilbert Grape'' (1993) and ''Marvin's Room'' (1996), as well as leading roles in ''The Basketball Diaries'' (1995) and ''Romeo + Juliet'' (1996), before achieving international fame in James Cameron's ''Titanic'' (1997).

Since the 2000s, DiCaprio has been nominated for awards for his work in such films as ''Catch Me If You Can'' (2002), ''Gangs of New York'' (2002), ''The Aviator'' (2004), ''Blood Diamond'' (2006), ''The Departed'' (2006), and ''Revolutionary Road'' (2008). His latest films ''Shutter Island'' (2010) and ''Inception'' (2010) rank among the biggest commercial successes of his career. DiCaprio owns a production company named Appian Way Productions, whose productions include the films ''Gardener of Eden'' (2007) and ''Orphan'' (2009).

A committed environmentalist, DiCaprio has received praise from environmental groups for his activism.

Early life and family

DiCaprio, an only child, was born in Los Angeles, California. His German-born mother, Irmelin (née Indenbirken), is a former legal secretary, and his father, George DiCaprio, is an underground comic artist and producer/distributor of comic books. DiCaprio's mother moved from Oer-Erkenschwick at the Ruhr, Germany, to the U.S. during the 1950s, while DiCaprio's father is a fourth-generation American of half south-Italian (from the Naples region) and half German descent (from Bavaria in southern Germany). DiCaprio's maternal grandmother, Helene Indenbirken (1915–2008), who was born Yelena Smirnova, was a Russian immigrant to Germany. In a 2010 conversation with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, DiCaprio stated that two of his grandparents were Russian.

DiCaprio's parents met while attending college and subsequently moved to Los Angeles. He was named Leonardo because his pregnant mother was looking at a Leonardo da Vinci painting in a museum in Italy when DiCaprio first kicked. DiCaprio was raised Catholic. His parents divorced when he was a year old and he lived mostly with his mother.

DiCaprio and his mother lived in several Los Angeles neighborhoods, such as Echo Park, and at 1874 Hillhurst Avenue, Los Feliz district (which was later converted into a local public library), while his mother worked several jobs to support them. He attended Seeds Elementary School and graduated from John Marshall High School a few blocks away, after attending the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies for four years.

Career

Early career

DiCaprio's career began with his appearance in several commercials and educational films. After being booted off the set of children's television series ''Romper Room'' for being disruptive at the age of five, DiCaprio followed his older stepbrother Adam Farrar into television commercials, landing an ad for Matchbox cars at 14. In 1990, he got his break on television when he was cast in the short-lived series based on the movie ''Parenthood''. After ''Parenthood'', DiCaprio had bit parts on several shows, including ''The New Lassie'' and ''Roseanne'', as well as a brief stint on the soap opera ''Santa Barbara'', playing the young Mason Capwell. His involvement in ''Parenthood'' and the daily soap earned him a nomination for the Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor each.

1991–1995

His debut film role was in the comedic sci-fi horror film ''Critters 3'', in which he played the stepson of an evil landlord, a role that DiCaprio described as "your average, no-depth, standard kid with blond hair." Released in 1991, the movie went direct-to-video. Soon after, he became a recurring cast member on the ABC sitcom ''Growing Pains'', playing Luke Brower, a homeless boy who is taken in by the Seaver family. DiCaprio made his big screen breakthrough in 1992, when he was handpicked by Robert De Niro out of 400 young actors to play the lead role in ''This Boy's Life'', co-starring Ellen Barkin and De Niro himself.

Later in 1993, DiCaprio co-starred as the mentally handicapped brother to Johnny Depp in ''What's Eating Gilbert Grape'', a comic-tragic odyssey of a dysfunctional Iowa family. Director Lasse Hallström admitted he was initially looking for a less good-looking actor but finally settled on DiCaprio as he had emerged as "the most observant [actor]" among all auditioners. Budgeted at US$11.0 million, the film became a financial and critical success, resulting in a domestic box office total of US$9.1 million and various accolades for DiCaprio, who was awarded the National Board of Review Award and nominated for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for his portrayal. ''New York Times'' critic Janet Maslin praised DiCaprio's performance, writing "the film's real show-stopping turn comes from Mr. DiCaprio, who makes Arnie's many tics so startling and vivid that at first he is difficult to watch. The performance has a sharp, desperate intensity from beginning to end."

DiCaprio's first effort of 1995 was Sam Raimi's ''The Quick and the Dead'', a western film in which he appeared alongside Gene Hackman, Sharon Stone, and Russell Crowe, playing the role of Hackman's alleged son named Kid. Sony Pictures was dubious over DiCaprio's casting, and as a result, Stone decided to pay for the actor's salary herself. The film was released to a dismal box office performance, barely grossing US$18.5 million in the United States, and received mixed reviews from critics. Jonathan Rosenbaum from the ''Chicago Reader'' observed that "Raimi tries to do a Sergio Leone, and though ''The Quick and the Dead'' is highly enjoyable in spots, it doesn't come across as very convincing." Afterwards DiCaprio starred in ''Total Eclipse'', a fictionalized account of the homosexual relationship between Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine, played by David Thewlis. He replaced River Phoenix in the role of Rimbaud, who had died during pre-production on the project. A minor arthouse success, the film grossed US$0.34 million throughout its domestic theatrical run.

DiCaprio appeared alongside friends Kevin Connolly and Tobey Maguire in the mostly improvised short film called ''Don's Plum'' as a favor to aspiring director R.D. Robb. When Robb decided to expand the black-and-white film to feature length however, DiCaprio and Maguire obtained its blocking, arguing that they never intended to make it a theatrical release as it would have commercial value thanks to their stardom. Nevertheless, the film eventually premiered at the 2001 Berlin International Film Festival, where it was well-received by critics, with ''Time Out New York'' writer Mike D'Angelo calling it "the best film [I saw] in Berlin." DiCaprio's last film of the year 1995 was ''The Basketball Diaries'', a biopic about Jim Carroll.

1996–2001

In 1996, DiCaprio appeared opposite Claire Danes in Baz Luhrmann's film ''Romeo + Juliet'', an abridged modernization of William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy of the same name which retained the original Shakespearean dialogue. The project was one of the first films to cash in on DiCaprio's future star-status, with a worldwide box office take of $147 million.

Later that year, he starred in Jerry Zaks' family drama ''Marvin's Room'', reuniting with Robert De Niro. Based on Scott McPherson's screenplay adaptation of his own 1991 stage play of the same name, the film revolves around two sisters, played by Meryl Streep and Diane Keaton, who are reunited through tragedy after 17 years of estrangement. DiCaprio portrayed the character of Hank, Streep's troubled son, who has been committed to a mental asylum for setting fire to his mother's house. On his Chlotrudis Award-winning performance, Lisa Schwarzbaum of ''Entertainment Weekly'' commented: "The deeply gifted DiCaprio [..] keeps right up with these older pros [Keaton and Streep]. The three are so full-bodied and so powerfully affecting that you're carried along on the pleasure of being in the presence of their extraordinary talent."

In 1997, DiCaprio starred in James Cameron's ''Titanic'' (1997), alongside Kate Winslet. Cast as twenty-year-old Jack Dawson, a penniless Wisconsin man who wins two tickets for the third-class on the fated RMS ''Titanic'', DiCaprio initially refused to portray the character but was eventually encouraged to pursue the role by Cameron who strongly believed in his acting ability. Against expectations, the film went on to become the highest-grossing film to date (it was surpassed in 2010 by Cameron's directorial follow-up, ''Avatar''), grossing more than US$1.843 billion in box-office receipts worldwide, and transformed DiCaprio into a commercial movie superstar, resulting in fan worship among teenage girls and young women in general that became known as "Leo-Mania." He was nominated for most of the high-profile awards, including a second Golden Globe nomination. Upon the success of ''Titanic'', DiCaprio stated in 2000: "I have no connection with me during that whole ''Titanic'' phenomenon and what my face became around the world [...] I'll never reach that state of popularity again, and I don't expect to. It's not something I'm going to try to achieve either."

The following year, DiCaprio made a self-mocking cameo appearance in Woody Allen's caustic satire of the fame industry, ''Celebrity'' (1998). That year, he also starred in the dual roles of the villainous King Louis XIV and his secret, sympathetic twin brother Philippe in Randall Wallace's ''The Man in the Iron Mask'', based on the same-titled 1939 film. Despite receiving a rather mixed to negative response, the film became a box office success, grossing US$180 million internationally. Though DiCaprio's performance was generally well-received, with ''Entertainment Weekly'' critic Owen Gleiberman writing that "the shockingly androgynous DiCaprio looks barely old enough to be playing anyone with hormones, but he's a fluid and instinctive actor, with the face of a mischievous angel," he was awarded a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Couple for both incarnations the following year.

DiCaprio's next project was the drama film ''The Beach'' (2000), an adaption of Alex Garland's same-titled 1996 novel. Starring alongside Tilda Swinton and Virginie Ledoyen, he played an American backpacking tourist looking for the perfect way of life in a secret island commune in the Gulf of Thailand. Budgeted at $US50 million, the film became a financial success, grossing $US144 million worldwide, but as with DiCaprio's previous project, the film was largely panned by critics. Todd McCarthy of ''Variety'' noted that "Richard [DiCaprio's role] is too much the American Everyman and not enough of a well-defined individual to entirely capture one's interest and imagination, and DiCaprio, while perfectly watchable, does not endow him with the quirks or distinguishing marks to make this man from nowhere a dimensional character." The next year, he was nominated for another Razzie Award for his work on the film.

2002–2007

DiCaprio's first film of 2002 was the crime-comedy ''Catch Me If You Can'', based on the life of Frank Abagnale Jr., who, before his 19th birthday, used his charm, confidence, and several different personas, to make millions in the 1960s writing bad checks. Directed by Steven Spielberg and co-starring Tom Hanks and Christopher Walken, the film was shot in 147 different locations in only 52 days, making it "the most adventurous, super-charged movie-making" DiCaprio had experienced yet. ''Catch Me If You Can'' received favourable reviews and proved to be an international success, becoming Dicaprio's highest-grossing film since ''Titanic'' with a total of US$351.1 million worldwide. Roger Ebert praised his performance, and noted that while "DiCaprio, who in recent films [...] has played dark and troubled characters, is breezy and charming here, playing a boy who discovers what he is good at, and does it." The following year, DiCaprio received his third Golden Globe nomination for his work on the film.

Also in 2002, DiCaprio appeared in Martin Scorsese's ''Gangs of New York'', a historical film set in the mid-19th century in the Five Points district of New York City. Director Scorsese initially struggled selling his idea of realizing the film until DiCaprio became interested in playing protagonist Amsterdam Vallon, a young leader of the Irish faction, and thus, Miramax Films got involved with financing the project. Nonetheless production on the film was plagued by blown-out budgets and producer-director squabbles, resulting in a marathon eight-month shoot and, at US$103 million, the most expensive film Scorsese had ever made. Upon its release, ''Gangs of New York'' became a financial and critical success however. DiCaprio's acting was well-received but remained overshadowed by Daniel Day-Lewis' performance among most critics.

Forging a collaboration with Scorsese, the two paired again for a biopic of the eccentric and obsessive American film director and aviation pioneer Howard Hughes in ''The Aviator'' (2004). Centering on Hughes' life from the late 1920s to 1947, DiCaprio initially developed the project with Michael Mann, who decided against directing it after back-to-back film biographies in ''Ali'' and ''The Insider''. The actor eventually pitched John Logan's script to Scorsese, who quickly signed on to direct. Altogether, DiCaprio reportedly spent more than a year and a half in preparation for the film which was not necessarily shot in continuity because of actors and locations schedules. ''The Aviator'' became a critical and financial success. DiCaprio received rave reviews for his performance and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor, also receiving another Academy Award nomination.

In 2006, DiCaprio starred in both ''Blood Diamond'' and ''The Departed''. In Edward Zwick's war film ''Blood Diamond'', he co-starred alongside Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou as a diamond smuggler from Rhodesia who is involved in the Sierra Leone Civil War. The film itself received generally favorable reviews, and DiCaprio was praised for the authenticity of his South African Afrikaner accent, known as a difficult accent to imitate. In Scorsese's ''The Departed'' he played the role of Billy Costigan, a state trooper working undercover in an Irish Mob in Boston. Highly anticipated, the film was released to overwhelmingly positive reviews and became one of the highest-rated wide release films of 2006. Budgeted at US$90 million, it also emerged as DiCaprio and Scorsese's highest-grossing collaboration to date, easily beating ''The Aviator''´s previous record of US$213.7 million. DiCaprio's performance in ''The Departed'' was applauded by critics and earned him a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor. The same year, both the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild nominated DiCaprio twice in the Best Actor category for both of his 2006 features, and in addition, DiCaprio earned his third Academy Award nomination for ''Blood Diamond''.

2008–present

In 2008, DiCaprio starred in ''Body of Lies'', a spy film based on the novel of the same name by David Ignatius, set in context of the Middle East and the War on Terror, unfolding the story of three men battling a terrorist organization, and each other. Directed by Ridley Scott and co-starring Russell Crowe and Vince Colosimo, DiCaprio dyed his hair brown and wore brown contacts for the role, which he chose to pursue because he considered it a throwback to political films in the 1970s such as ''The Parallax View'' (1974) and ''Three Days of the Condor'' (1975). The film received mixed reviews from critics, and at a budget of US$67.5 million, became a moderate box office success, grossing US$115 million worldwide.

The same year, DiCaprio reunited with Kate Winslet to film the drama ''Revolutionary Road'' (2008), directed by Winslet's then-husband Sam Mendes. As both actors had been reluctant to make romantic films similar to ''Titanic'', it was Winslet who suggested that both should work with her on a film adaptation of the 1961 novel of the same name by Richard Yates after reading the script by Justin Haythe, knowing that plot had little in common with the 1997 blockbuster. Once DiCaprio agreed to do the film, it went almost immediately into production. He noted that he saw his character as "unheroic" and "slightly cowardly" and that he was "willing to be just a product of his environment." Portraying a couple in a failing marriage in the 1950s, DiCaprio and Winslet watched period videos promoting life in the suburbs to prepare themselves for '' Revolutionary Road'', which earned them favorable reviews. For his portrayal DiCaprio garnered his seventh nomination from the Golden Globes.

DiCaprio continued his run with Scorsese in the 2010 psychological thriller film ''Shutter Island'' (2010), based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane. Co-starring Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo and Michelle Williams in supporting roles, the actor played U.S. Marshal Edward "Teddy" Daniels, who is investigating a psychiatric facility located on an island and comes to question his own sanity. With US$41 million, the film opened at number-one at the box office, giving both DiCaprio and Scorsese their best box office opening yet.

Also in 2010, DiCaprio starred in director Christopher Nolan's science-fiction film ''Inception''. Inspired by the experience of lucid dreaming and dream incubation, DiCaprio portrays the character of Dom Cobb, an "extractor" who enters the dreams of others to obtain information that is otherwise inaccessible. Cobb is promised a chance to regain his old life in exchange for planting an idea in a corporate target's mind. DiCaprio, the first actor to be cast in the film, was "intrigued by this concept — this dream-heist notion and how this character's gonna unlock his dreamworld and ultimately affect his real life." Released to critical acclaim, the film grossed over US$21 million on its opening day, with an opening weekend gross of US$62.7 million.

DiCaprio is also set to star in Clint Eastwood's ''J. Edgar'', a biopic about J. Edgar Hoover, the controversial first director of the FBI. He was cast in the title role in Oliver Stone's film ''Travis McGee'', in which he is expected to play a salvage consultant who helps his clients on recover lost property, and is attached to star as a father who kidnaps and tortures the man who kidnapped his daughter in the thriller ''Prisoners''. In addition, DiCaprio is said to be involved in the pre-production of Ridley Scott's projects ''The Wolf of Wall Street'' and ''Brave New World'', Marc Forster's ''The Chancellor Manuscript'' and the biopic ''Sinatra'', a film about Frank Sinatra to be directed by Martin Scorsese. In July 2010, it was announced that DiCaprio had pulled out of a Viking movie to be directed by Mel Gibson amid controversy over Gibson's rage-fueled rant tapes and domestic violence probe. On November 1, 2010, it was announced that DiCaprio's production company had acquired the rights to the Erik Larsen novel, ''The Devil in the White City''. The novel tells the true story of Dr. H. H. Holmes, a serial killer responsible for the death of hundreds of women during the Chicago World's Fair. It has also been announced that DiCaprio will star in the film, playing the role of serial killer H. H. Holmes. He was also cast in the role of Jay Gatsby in Baz Luhrmann's upcoming adaptation of the novel ''The Great Gatsby''.

On November 19, 2010, it was announced that DiCaprio will produce and star in the upcoming 2013 movie based on the book ''Legacy of Secrecy'' by Lamar Waldron and Thom Hartmann. The storyline examines how, in the early 1960s, the combined forces of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Mafia conspired to initiate and execute the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. DiCaprio is expected to play FBI informant Jack Van Laningham. The book asserts that Mafia godfather Carlos Marcello confessed to Van Laningham that he had ordered JFK's assassination, while the CIA and the Mafia were conspiring together to try to assassinate Fidel Castro. After the assassination, as part of a dangerous and long-secret undercover operation, the FBI positioned Van Laningham to become a confidant to Marcello, who ruled organized crime in Louisiana and most of Texas for decades.

On June 8, 2011, DiCaprio was announced to be in talks for the role of the villainous Calvin Candie for the upcoming Quentin Tarantino film, ''Django Unchained''.

Personal life

DiCaprio is a close friend of Tobey Maguire, whom he met while auditioning for the ''Parenthood'' series in 1990 and is a longtime friend of both fellow actors Kevin Connolly and Lukas Haas, and ''Titanic'' and ''Revolutionary Road'' co-star Kate Winslet. He was a childhood friend of the late Christopher Pettiet.

thumb|right|upright|DiCaprio at the red carpet at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. His romantic relationships have been widely covered in the media. DiCaprio has dated women including model Kristen Zang on-and-off for several years, and British model and socialite Emma Miller. In 2001, he met Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen with whom he had an on-and-off relationship until their separation in 2005. DiCaprio began a relationship with model Bar Refaeli in November 2005 after meeting her at a Las Vegas party thrown for members of U2. In the course of their trip to Israel in March 2007, the couple met with Israeli president Shimon Peres and visited Refaeli's hometown of Hod HaSharon. The relationship was on hold for a period of six months starting in June 2009; in early 2010, the romance was rekindled. In May 2011, it was reported that the couple had ended their romantic relationship, although still remaining friends. In August 2011, it was reported that he was in a relationship with actress Blake Lively since mid-May.

DiCaprio owns a home in Los Angeles and an apartment in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan. In 2009, he bought an island in Belize on which he is planning to create an eco-friendly resort. He also owns an apartment in Riverhouse, an eco-friendly building overlooking the Hudson River in Manhattan.

Environmental activism and philanthropy

A committed environmentalist, DiCaprio has received praise from environmental groups for his activism. In the past, he has opted to fly on commercial flights instead of chartering private jets, and it was reported that he drives a hybrid car and has solar panels installed on his house. In an interview with ''Ukula'' about his 2007 film ''11th Hour'', DiCaprio cited global warming as "the number-one environmental challenge."

At the 2007 Oscar ceremony, DiCaprio and former Vice President Al Gore appeared to announce that the Academy Awards had incorporated environmentally intelligent practices throughout the planning and production processes, thus affirming their commitment to the environment, and on July 7, 2007, DiCaprio presented at the American leg of Live Earth. In 2010, his environmental work earned DiCaprio a nomination for the VH1 Do Something Award. The awards show, produced by VH1, is dedicated to honoring people who do good and is powered by Do Something, an organization that aims to empower and inspire young people.

In 1998, DiCaprio and his mother donated $35,000 for a "Leonardo DiCaprio Computer Center" at the Los Feliz branch of the Los Angeles Public Library, the site of his childhood home. It was rebuilt after the 1994 Northridge earthquake and opened in early 1999. During the filming of ''Blood Diamond'', DiCaprio worked with 24 orphaned children from the SOS Children's Village in Maputo, Mozambique, and was said to be extremely touched by his interactions with the children. In 2010, he donated $1,000,000 to relief efforts in Haiti after the earthquake.

During the 2004 Presidential election, DiCaprio campaigned and donated to John Kerry's presidential bid. FEC showed DiCaprio gave $2300 to Barack Obama's presidential campaign in the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, the maximum contribution an individual can give in an election cycle.

In November 2010, DiCaprio donated $1,000,000 to the Wildlife Conservation Society at Russia's tiger summit. DiCaprio arrived late after two near-miss flights, causing Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to describe him as a "muzhik" or "real man".

In 2011, DiCaprio joined the Animal Legal Defense Fund's campaign to free Tony, a tiger who has spent the last decade at the Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, Louisiana.

Filmography

Acting

+ Film
! Year	! Title	! Role	! Notes
1991	''Critters 3''	Josh
1992		Guy
1993
1993	''What's Eating Gilbert Grape''	Arnie Grape
1994	''The Foot Shooting Party''	Bud
1995		Fee Herod, "The Kid"
1995		Jim Carroll
1995		Arthur Rimbaud
1996	''Romeo + Juliet''	Romeo Montague
1996		Hank	Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
1997
1998		King Louis XIV/Philippe
1998		Brandon Darrow
2000		Richard	Nominated—Teen Choice Awards
2001	''[[Don's Plum''	Derek	Filmed in 1995
2002	''Catch Me If You Can''	Frank William Abagnale Jr.	Teen Choice Awards
2002	''[[Gangs of New York''	Amsterdam Vallon
2004		Howard Hughes	Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture DramaMTV Movie Award for Best PerformanceNominated—Academy Award for Best ActorNominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading RoleNominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorNominated—Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorNominated—Italian Online Movie Award for Best ActorNominated—London Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActorNominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion PictureNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading RoleNominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor – DramaNominated—Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor or Actress in a Visual Effects Film
2006	''The Departed''		Austin Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorCentral Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorCentral Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best EnsembleIrish Film and Television Award for Best International ActorGransito Movie Award Best ActorItalian Online Movie Award for Best ActorNational Board of Review Award for Best CastSatellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion PictureSatellite Award for Best Cast – Motion PictureNominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading RoleNominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorNominated—Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Actor of the Year Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorNominated—Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorNominated—Empire Award for Best ActorNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture DramaNominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorNominated—People's Choice Award for Best On-Screen Match-Up Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion PictureNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting RoleNominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor – DramaNominated—Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
2006		Danny Archer	Nominated—Academy Award for Best ActorNominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorNominated—Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Actor of the Year Nominated—Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture DramaNominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture DramaNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading RoleNominated—St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association for Best ActorNominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor – Drama
2007		Narrator/Producer	Documentary
2008		Roger Ferris
2008		Frank Wheeler	Palm Springs International Film Festival Award for Best Ensemble PerformanceNominated—Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorNominated—Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best CastNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture DramaNominated—Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorNominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture DramaNominated—St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association for Best Actor
2010		Teddy Daniels	Italian Online Movie Award for Best ActorTeen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor – Horror/ThrillerNominated—Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Actor of the Year Nominated—National Movie Award for Performance of the YearNominated—People's Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actor Nominated—Saturn Award for Best ActorNominated—Scream Awards for Best Horror Actor
2010	''Hubble 3D''	Narrator	Documentary
2010	''Inception''	Dom Cobb	Scream Award for Best Science Fiction ActorNominated—Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorNominated—Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Actor of the Year Nominated—Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best EnsembleNominated—Empire Award for Best ActorNominated—Irish Film and Television Award for Best International ActorNominated—MTV Movie Award for Best WTF Moment Nominated—People's Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actor Nominated—People's Choice Award for Favorite On-Screen TeamNominated—Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorNominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best CastNominated—Saturn Award for Best ActorNominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture DramaNominated—Scream Award for Best EnsembleNominated—Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble
2011	''J. Edgar''	J. Edgar Hoover	Completed
2012		Jay Gatsby	Filming

+ Television
! Year	! Title	! Role	! Notes
1990		Kid Fighting Scout	Episode: "Pilot"
1990		Garry Buckman
1990	''The New Lassie''	Young Boy	Episode: "Livewire"
1990		Young Mason Capwell
1991		Darlene's Classmate	Episode: "Home-Ec"
1991–1992	''Growing Pains''	Luke Brower

As producer

+ Film
! Year	! Title	! Notes
2004	''The Assassination of Richard Nixon''	Executive producer
2004		Executive producer
2007		Producer
2007	''Gardener of Eden''	Producer
2008–2010		Producer
2009		Producer
2011		Producer
2011		Executive producer

Other accolades

! Year	! Group	! Category	! Result
1993	Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards	New Generation Award
2004	Hollywood Film Festival	Actor of the Year
2007	TV Land Award	Little Screen/Big Screen Star
2009	Kids' Choice Awards	Big Green Help Award

References

External links

Category:1974 births Category:Actors from California Category:American child actors Category:American environmentalists Category:American film actors Category:American soap opera actors Category:American television actors Category:Best Drama Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:California Democrats Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Italian descent Category:American people of Russian descent Category:Living people Category:People from Los Angeles, California Category:People from Echo Park, Los Angeles

af:Leonardo DiCaprio ar:ليوناردو دي كابريو bn:লিওনার্ডো ডিক্যাপ্রিও zh-min-nan:Leonardo DiCaprio bg:Леонардо ди Каприо ca:Leonardo DiCaprio cs:Leonardo DiCaprio co:Leonardo DiCaprio cy:Leonardo DiCaprio da:Leonardo DiCaprio de:Leonardo DiCaprio et:Leonardo DiCaprio el:Λεονάρντο Ντι Κάπριο es:Leonardo DiCaprio eo:Leonardo DiCaprio eu:Leonardo DiCaprio fa:لئوناردو دی‌کاپریو fr:Leonardo DiCaprio ga:Leonardo DiCaprio gv:Leonardo DiCaprio gl:Leonardo DiCaprio ko:레오나르도 디카프리오 hy:Լեոնարդո ԴիԿապրիո hi:लियोनार्डो डि कैप्रियो hr:Leonardo DiCaprio id:Leonardo DiCaprio is:Leonardo DiCaprio it:Leonardo DiCaprio he:לאונרדו דיקפריו jv:Leonardo DiCaprio kn:ಲಿಯೊನಾರ್ಡೊ ಡಿಕಾಪ್ರಿಯೊ ka:ლეონარდო დიკაპრიო la:Leonardus DiCaprio lv:Leonardo Di Kaprio lt:Leonardo DiCaprio hu:Leonardo DiCaprio mk:Леонардо ди Каприо mg:Leonardo DiCaprio ml:ലിയോനാർഡോ ഡികാപ്രിയോ mr:लिओनार्डो डिकॅप्रियो ms:Leonardo DiCaprio nl:Leonardo DiCaprio ja:レオナルド・ディカプリオ no:Leonardo DiCaprio pl:Leonardo DiCaprio pt:Leonardo DiCaprio ro:Leonardo DiCaprio qu:Leonardo DiCaprio ru:Ди Каприо, Леонардо sq:Leonardo DiCaprio simple:Leonardo DiCaprio sk:Leonardo DiCaprio sl:Leonardo DiCaprio sr:Леонардо Дикаприо sh:Leonardo DiCaprio fi:Leonardo DiCaprio sv:Leonardo DiCaprio tl:Leonardo DiCaprio ta:லியோனார்டோ டிகாப்ரியோ th:ลีโอนาโด ดิคาปริโอ tg:Леонардо Вилгелм ДиКаприо tr:Leonardo DiCaprio uk:Леонардо ДіКапріо vi:Leonardo DiCaprio yi:ליאנארדא דיקאפריא zh:莱昂纳多·迪卡普里奥

Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
alt	A headshot of an older man is looking to the left while smiling
birth name	Clinton Eastwood, Jr.
birth date	May 31, 1930
birth place	San Francisco, California, U.S.
nationality	American
occupation	Actor, director, producer, composer, politician
years active	1955–present
spouse	Maggie Johnson (1953–84; two children)Dina Ruiz (1996–present; one child)
domesticpartner	Frances Fisher (1990-95; one child)
children	Kimber TunisKyle EastwoodAlison EastwoodScott ReevesKathryn ReevesFrancesca Fisher-EastwoodMorgan Eastwood }}

Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member the TV series ''Rawhide'' (1959–1965). He rose to fame for playing the Man with No Name in Sergio Leone's ''Dollars'' Trilogy of spaghetti westerns (''A Fistful of Dollars'', ''For a Few Dollars More'', and ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'') during the 1960s, and as San Francisco Police Department Inspector Harry Callahan in the ''Dirty Harry'' films (''Dirty Harry'', ''Magnum Force'', ''The Enforcer'', ''Sudden Impact'', and ''The Dead Pool'') during the 1970s and 1980s. These roles, along with several others in which he plays tough-talking no-nonsense police officers, have made him an enduring cultural icon of masculinity.

Eastwood won Academy Awards for Best Director and Producer of the Best Picture, as well as receiving nominations for Best Actor, for his work in the films ''Unforgiven'' (1992) and ''Million Dollar Baby'' (2004). These films in particular, as well as others including ''Play Misty for Me'' (1971), ''The Outlaw Josey Wales'' (1976), ''Pale Rider'' (1985), ''In the Line of Fire'' (1993), ''The Bridges of Madison County'' (1995), and ''Gran Torino'' (2008), have all received commercial success and critical acclaim. Eastwood's only comedies have been ''Every Which Way but Loose'' (1978), its sequel ''Any Which Way You Can'' (1980), and ''Bronco Billy'' (1980); despite being widely panned by critics, the "Any Which Way" films are the two highest-grossing films of his career after adjusting for inflation.

Eastwood has directed most of his own star vehicles, but he has also directed films in which he did not appear such as ''Mystic River'' (2003) and ''Letters from Iwo Jima'' (2006), for which he received Academy Award nominations and ''Changeling'' (2008), which received Golden Globe Award nominations. He has received considerable critical praise in France in particular, including for several of his films which were panned in the United States, and was awarded two of France's highest honors: in 1994 he received the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres medal and in 2007 was awarded the Légion d'honneur medal. In 2000 he was awarded the Italian Venice Film Festival Golden Lion for lifetime achievement.

Since 1967, Eastwood has run his own production company, Malpaso, which has produced the vast majority of his films. He also served as the nonpartisan mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, from 1986 to 1988. Eastwood has seven children by five different women, although he has only married twice.

Early life

Eastwood was born in San Francisco to Clinton Eastwood, Sr. (1906–70), a steelworker and migrant worker, and Margaret Ruth (née Runner; 1909–2006), a factory worker. He was nicknamed "Samson" by the hospital nurses as he weighed at birth. After his father died in 1970, Eastwood's mother remarried to John Belden Wood (1913–2004) in 1972, and they remained married until his death 32 years later. Eastwood is of English, Irish, Scottish, and Dutch ancestry and was raised in a middle class home with his younger sister, Jean (born 1934). His family relocated often as his father worked at different jobs along the West Coast, including at a pulp mill. The family settled in Piedmont, California, where Eastwood attended Piedmont Junior High School and Piedmont Senior High School, taking part in sports such as basketball, football, gymnastics, and competitive swimming. He later transferred to Oakland Technical High School where the drama teachers encouraged him to enroll in school plays, but he was not interested. As his family moved to different areas he held a series of jobs including lifeguard, paper carrier, grocery clerk, forest firefighter, and golf caddy.

In 1950, Eastwood began a one-year stint as a lifeguard for the United States Army during the Korean War and was posted to Fort Ord in California. While on leave in 1951 Eastwood was a passenger onboard a Douglas AD bomber that ran out of fuel and crashed into the ocean near Point Reyes. After escaping from the sinking aircraft he and the pilot swam to safety.

Eastwood later moved to Los Angeles and began a romance with Maggie Johnson, a college student. He managed an apartment house in Beverly Hills by day and worked at a gas station by night. He enrolled at Los Angeles City College and married Johnson shortly before Christmas 1953 in South Pasadena.

Film career

1950s

Early career struggles

According to the CBS press release for ''Rawhide'', Universal Studios, known then as the Universal-International film company, was shooting in Fort Ord when an enterprising assistant spotted Eastwood and arranged a meeting with the series' director. According to Eastwood's official biography the key figure was a man named Chuck Hill, who was stationed in Fort Ord and had contacts in Hollywood. Later, in Los Angeles, Hill became reacquainted with Eastwood and managed to sneak him into one of Universal's studios, where he showed him to cameraman Irving Glassberg. Glassberg arranged for an audition with Arthur Lubin who, although impressed with Eastwood's appearance and frame, initially questioned his acting skills remarking, "He was quite amateurish. He didn't know which way to turn or which way to go or do anything". Lubin suggested he attend drama classes and arranged for his initial contract in April 1954 at $100 (US$}} in dollars) per week. After signing Eastwood was initially criticized for his stiff manner, his squint and with hissing his lines through his teeth, a feature that would become a life-long trademark.

In May 1954 Eastwood auditioned for his first role in ''Six Bridges to Cross'', but was rejected by Joseph Pevney. After many unsuccessful auditions he eventually landed a minor role as a laboratory assistant in director Jack Arnold's ''Revenge of the Creature'', a sequel to ''The Creature from the Black Lagoon''. He then worked for three weeks on Lubin's ''Lady Godiva of Coventry'' in September 1954, then won a role in February 1955 as a sailor in ''Francis in the Navy'' as well as appearing uncredited in another Jack Arnold film, ''Tarantula'', in which he played a squadron pilot. In May 1955 Eastwood had a brief appearance in the film ''Never Say Goodbye'', during which he shared a scene with Rock Hudson. Universal presented him with his first television role on July 2, 1955, in NBC's ''Allen in Movieland'', which starred Tony Curtis and Benny Goodman. Although he continued to develop as an actor Universal terminated Eastwood's contract on October 23, 1955.

Eastwood then joined the Marsh Agency and although Lubin landed him his biggest role to date in ''The First Traveling Saleslady'' (1956) and later hired him for ''Escapade in Japan'', without a formal contract Eastwood struggled. He met financial advisor Irving Leonard, who would later arguably take most responsibility for launching his career in the late 1950s and 1960s, whom Eastwood described as being "like a second father to me". On Leonard's advice Eastwood switched talent agencies to the Kumin-Olenick Agency in 1956 and to Mitchell Gertz in 1957. He landed several small roles in 1956 as a temperamental army officer for a segment of ABC's ''Reader's Digest'' series, and as a motorcycle gang member on a ''Highway Patrol'' episode. Eastwood had a minor uncredited role as a ranch hand in his first western film, ''Law Man'', in June 1956. The following year he played a cadet in the ''West Point'' television series and a suicidal gold prospector in ''Death Valley Days''. In 1955 he played a Navy lieutenant in a segment of ''Navy Log'' and in early 1959 he made a notable guest appearance on ''Maverick'', opposite James Garner, as a cowardly villain intent on marrying a rich girl for money. Eastwood had a small part as an aviator in the French picture ''Lafayette Escadrille'' and took on a major role as an ex-Confederate renegade in ''Ambush at Cimarron Pass'', a film which Eastwood viewed as disastrous and the lowest point of his career.

Rawhide

In a long sought after career breakthrough, Eastwood was cast as Rowdy Yates for the CBS hour-long western series ''Rawhide'' in 1958, although he was not especially happy with his role. By now, aged almost 30, he felt that his character Rowdy was too young and too cloddish for him to feel comfortable with the part. Filming began in Arizona in the summer of 1958 and on release it took just three weeks for ''Rawhide'' to reach the top 20 in the TV ratings. Although the series never won an Emmy it was a major success for several years, reaching its peak at number six in the ratings between October 1960 and April 1961. The ''Rawhide'' years (1959–65) were some of the most grueling of Eastwood's career. He often filmed for six days a week at an average of twelve hours a day, yet some directors still criticized him for not working hard enough. By late 1963 ''Rawhide'''s popularity had declined. Lacking freshness in the scripts, it was canceled in the middle of the 1965–66 television season. Eastwood made his first attempt at directing when he filmed several trailers for the show, although he was unable to convince producers to let him direct an episode. In the show's first season Eastwood earned $750 (US$}} in dollars) an episode. At the time of its cancellation he received a $119,000 (US$}} in dollars) compensation package.

1960s

In late 1963 Eastwood's co-star on ''Rawhide'', Eric Fleming, rejected an offer to star in an Italian-made western called ''A Fistful of Dollars''; to be directed in a remote region of Spain by Sergio Leone who was relatively unknown at the time. Other actors, including Charles Bronson, Steve Reeves, Richard Harrison, Frank Wolfe, Henry Fonda, James Coburn, and Ty Hardin, were also considered for the role. Knowing that he could play a cowboy convincingly Harrison suggested Eastwood, who in turn saw the film as an opportunity to escape from ''Rawhide''. He signed a contract for $15,000 (US$}} in dollars) in wages for eleven weeks' work with a bonus of a Mercedes automobile upon completion and arrived in Rome in May 1964 Eastwood later spoke about the transition from a television western to ''A Fistful of Dollars'': "In ''Rawhide'' I did get awfully tired of playing the conventional white hat. The hero who kisses old ladies and dogs and was kind to everybody. I decided it was time to be an anti-hero." Eastwood was instrumental in creating the Man with No Name character's distinctive visual style and although a non-smoker, Leone insisted he smoke cigars as an essential ingredient of the "mask" he was attempting to create with the loner character.

Some interior shots for ''A Fistful of Dollars'' were done at the Cinecittà studio on the outskirts of Rome, before production moved to a small village in Andalusia, Spain. The film became a benchmark in the development of spaghetti westerns, with Leone depicting a more lawless and desolate world than in traditional westerns; meanwhile challenging stereotypical American notions of a western hero by replacing him with a morally ambiguous antihero. The film's success meant Eastwood became a major star in Italy and he was re-hired by Leone to star in ''For a Few Dollars More'' (1965), the second film of the trilogy. Through the efforts of screenwriter Luciano Vincenzoni, the rights to the film and the final film of the trilogy (''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'') were sold to United Artists for roughly $900,000 (US$}} in dollars).

In January 1966 Eastwood met with producer Dino De Laurentiis in New York City and agreed to star in a non-western five-part anthology production named ''Le streghe'' ("The Witches") opposite De Laurentiis' wife, actress Silvana Mangano. Eastwood's nineteen-minute installment only took a few days to shoot but his performance did not go down well with the critics, with one saying "no other performance of his is quite so 'un-Clintlike' ". Two months later Eastwood began work on the third ''Dollars'' film, ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'', in which he again played the mysterious Man with No Name. Lee Van Cleef returned to play a ruthless fortune seeker, while Eli Wallach portrayed the cunning Mexican bandit Tuco. The storyline involves the search for a cache of Confederate gold buried in a cemetery. One day during filming of a scene where a bridge was to be dynamited Eastwood, suspicious of explosives, urged Wallach to retreat to the hilltop saying, "I know about these things. Stay as far away from special effects and explosives as you can." Minutes later crew confusion, over the word "Vaya!", resulted in a premature explosion which could have killed the co-star, while necessitating rebuilding of the bridge.

The ''Dollars'' trilogy was not shown in the United States until 1967 when ''A Fistful of Dollars'' opened in January, ''For a Few Dollars More'' in May, and ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' in December. All the films proved successful in cinemas, particularly ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' which eventually earned $8 million (US$}} in dollars) in rental earnings and turned Eastwood into a major film star. All three films received generally bad reviews and marked the beginning of Eastwood's battle to win the respect of American film critics. Judith Crist described ''A Fistful of Dollars'' as "cheapjack", while ''Newsweek'' considered ''For a Few Dollars More'' as "excruciatingly dopey". Renata Adler of ''The New York Times'' remarked that ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' was "the most expensive, pious and repellent movie in the history of its peculiar genre", despite the fact that it is now widely considered one of the finest films in the history of cinema. ''Time'' magazine highlighted the film's wooden acting, especially Eastwood's, although critics such as Vincent Canby and Bosley Crowther of ''The New York Times'' praised Eastwood's coolness in playing the tall, lone stranger. Leone's unique style of cinematography was widely acclaimed, even by some critics who panned the acting.

Stardom brought more "tough guy" roles for Eastwood. He signed for the American revisionist western ''Hang 'Em High'' (1968), in which he featured alongside Inger Stevens, Pat Hingle, Dennis Hopper, Ed Begley, Bruce Dern, and James MacArthur. A cross between ''Rawhide'' and Leone's westerns, the film brought him a salary of $400,000 (US$}} in dollars) and 25% of its net earnings. He plays a man who seeks revenge after being lynched by vigilantes and left for dead. Using money earned from the ''Dollars'' trilogy Leonard helped establish Eastwood's production company, Malpaso Productions, named after the Malpaso Creek on Eastwood's property in Monterey County, California. Leonard arranged for ''Hang 'Em High'' to be a joint production with United Artists and, when it opened in July 1968, the film became the biggest United Artists opening in history — its box office receipts exceeding all the James Bond films of the time. It was widely praised by critics; including Archer Winsten of the ''New York Post'' who described ''Hang 'Em High'' as, "a western of quality, courage, danger and excitement".

Before the release of ''Hang 'Em High'' Eastwood had already begun work on the film ''Coogan's Bluff'', about an Arizona deputy sheriff tracking a wanted psychopathic criminal (Don Stroud) through the streets of New York City. He was reunited with Universal Studios for the project after receiving an offer of $1 million (US$}} in dollars)—more than double his previous salary. Jennings Lang arranged for Eastwood to meet Don Siegel, a Universal contract director who later became one of Eastwood's close friends, with the two forming a close partnership that would last for more than ten years over five films. Filming began in November 1967, before the full script had been finalized. The film was controversial for its portrayal of violence, with Eastwood's role creating the prototype for what would later become the macho cop of the ''Dirty Harry'' films. ''Coogan's Bluff'' also became the first collaboration with Argentine composer Lalo Schifrin, who would later compose the jazzy score to several of Eastwood's films in the 1970s and 1980s, particularly the ''Dirty Harry'' film series.

Eastwood was paid $850,000 (US$}} in dollars) in 1968 for the war epic ''Where Eagles Dare'', about a World War II squad parachuting into a Gestapo stronghold in the mountains. Richard Burton played the squad's commander with Eastwood as his right-hand man. He was also cast as Two-Face in the ''Batman'' television show, but the series was canceled before filming could commence.

Eastwood then branched out to star in the only musical of his career, ''Paint Your Wagon'' (1969). Eastwood and fellow non-singer Lee Marvin play gold miners who share the same wife (portrayed by Jean Seberg). Bad weather and delays plagued the production while its budget eventually exceeded $20 million (US$}} in dollars), extremely expensive for the time. The film was not a critical or commercial success, although it was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.

1970s

In 1970 Eastwood starred in the western ''Two Mules for Sister Sara'' with Shirley MacLaine and directed by Don Siegel. The film follows an American mercenary who gets mixed up with a whore disguised as a nun and ends up helping a group of Juarista rebels during the reign of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico. Eastwood once again played a mysterious stranger—unshaven, wearing a serape-like vest, and smoking a cigar. Although the film received moderate reviewsthe film is listed in ''The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made''. Later the same year Eastwood starred as one of a group of Americans who steal a fortune in gold from the Nazis in the World War II film ''Kelly's Heroes'' with Donald Sutherland and Telly Savalas. ''Kelly's Heroes'' was the last film in which Eastwood appeared that was not produced by his own Malpaso Productions. Filming commenced in July 1969 on location in Yugoslavia and in London. The film received mostly a positive reception and its anti-war sentiments were recognized. In the winter of 1969–70, Eastwood and Siegel began planning his next film, ''The Beguiled'', a tale of a wounded Union soldier held captive by the sexually repressed matron of a southern girl's school. Upon release the film received major recognition in France and is considered one of Eastwood's finest works by the French. However, it grossed less than $1 million (US$}} in dollars) and, according to Eastwood and Lang, flopped due to poor publicity and the "emasculated" role of Eastwood.

Eastwood's career reached a turning point in 1971. Before Irving Leonard died he and Eastwood had discussed the idea of Malpaso producing ''Play Misty for Me'', a film that was to give Eastwood the artistic control he desired and his debut as a director. The script was about a jazz disc jockey named Dave (Eastwood) who has a casual affair with Evelyn (Jessica Walter), a listener who had been calling the radio station repeatedly at night asking him to play her favorite song—Erroll Garner's "Misty". When Dave ends their relationship the fan becomes violent and murderous. Filming commenced in Monterey in September 1970 and included footage of that year's Monterey Jazz Festival. The film was highly acclaimed with critics such as Jay Cocks in ''Time'', Andrew Sarris in the ''Village Voice'', and Archer Winsten in the ''New York Post'' all praising the film, as well as Eastwood's directorial skills and performance. Walter was nominated for a Golden Globe Best Actress Award (Drama) for her performance in the film.

The script for ''Dirty Harry'' (1971) was written by Harry Julian Fink and Rita M. Fink. It is a story about a hard-edged New York City (later changed to San Francisco) police inspector named Harry Callahan who is determined to stop a psychotic killer by any means. ''Dirty Harry'' is arguably Eastwood's most memorable character and has been credited with inventing the "loose-cannon cop genre", which is still imitated to this day. Author Eric Lichtenfeld argues that Eastwood's role as Dirty Harry established the "first true archetype" of the action film genre. His lines (quoted at left) have been cited as among the most memorable in cinematic history and are regarded by firearms historians, such as Garry James and Richard Venola, as the force which catapulted the ownership of .44 Magnum pistols to unprecedented heights in the United States; specifically the Smith & Wesson Model 29 carried by Harry Callahan. ''Dirty Harry'' proved a phenomenal success after its release in December 1971, earning some $22 million (US$}} in dollars) in the United States and Canada alone. It was Siegel's highest-grossing film and the start of a series of films featuring the character of Harry Callahan. Although a number of critics praised his performance as Dirty Harry, such as Jay Cocks of ''Time'' magazine who described him as "giving his best performance so far, tense, tough, full of implicit identification with his character", the film was widely criticized and accused of fascism.

Following Sean Connery's announcement that he would not play James Bond again Eastwood was offered the role but turned it down because he believed the character should be played by an English actor. He next starred in the loner Western ''Joe Kidd'' (1972), based on a character inspired by Reies Lopez Tijerina who stormed a courthouse in Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico, in June 1967. Filming began in Old Tucson in November 1971 under director John Sturges, but Eastwood suffered symptoms of a bronchial infection and several panic attacks during filming. ''Joe Kidd'' received a mixed reception, with Roger Greenspun of ''The New York Times'' writing that the film was unremarkable, with foolish symbolism and sloppy editing, although he praised Eastwood's performance.

In 1973 Eastwood directed his first western, ''High Plains Drifter'', in which he starred alongside Verna Bloom, Marianna Hill, Billy Curtis, ''Rawhide'''s Paul Brinegar and Geoffrey Lewis. The film had a moral and supernatural theme, later emulated in ''Pale Rider''. The plot follows a mysterious stranger (Eastwood) who arrives in a brooding Western town where the people hire him to defend the town against three felons who are soon to be released. There remains confusion during the film as to whether the stranger is the brother of the deputy, whom the felons lynched and murdered, or his ghost. Holes in the plot were filled with black humor and allegory, influenced by Leone. The revisionist film received a mixed reception from critics, but was a major box office success. A number of critics thought Eastwood's directing was "as derivative as it was expressive", with Arthur Knight of the ''Saturday Review'' remarking that Eastwood had "absorbed the approaches of Siegel and Leone and fused them with his own paranoid vision of society". John Wayne, who had declined a role in the film, sent a letter of disapproval to Eastwood some weeks after the film's release saying that "the townspeople did not represent the true spirit of the American pioneer, the spirit that made America great". Eastwood next turned his attention towards ''Breezy'' (1973), a film about love blossoming between a middle-aged man and a teenage girl. During casting for the film Eastwood met Sondra Locke for the first time, an actress who would play major roles in many of his films for the next ten years and would become an important figure in his life. Kay Lenz was awarded the part of Breezy because Locke, at 28, was considered too old. The film, shot very quickly and efficiently by Eastwood and Frank Stanley, came in $1 million (US$}} in dollars) under budget and was finished three days ahead of schedule. ''Breezy'' was not a major critical or commercial success; it barely reached the Top 50 before disappearing and was only made available on video in 1998.

Once filming of ''Breezy'' had finished, Warner Brothers announced that Eastwood had agreed to reprise his role as Detective Harry Callahan in ''Magnum Force'' (1973), a sequel to ''Dirty Harry'', about a group of rogue young officers (among them David Soul, Robert Urich and Tim Matheson) in the San Francisco Police Force who systematically exterminate the city's worst criminals. Although the film was a major success after release, grossing $58.1 million (US$}} in dollars) in the United States alone and a new record for Eastwood, it was not a critical success. ''The New York Times'' critic Nora Sayre panned the often contradictory moral themes of the film, while the paper's Frank Rich called it "the same old stuff".

In 1974 Eastwood teamed up with Jeff Bridges and George Kennedy in the buddy action caper ''Thunderbolt and Lightfoot'', a road movie about a veteran bank robber Thunderbolt (Eastwood) and a young con man drifter, Lightfoot (Bridges). On its release, in spring 1974, the film was praised for its offbeat comedy mixed with high suspense and tragedy but was only a modest success at the box office, earning $32.4 million (US$}} in dollars). Eastwood's acting was noted by critics but was overshadowed by Bridges who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Eastwood reportedly fumed at the lack of Academy Award recognition for him and swore that he would never work for United Artists again.

Eastwood's next film ''The Eiger Sanction'' (1975) was based on Trevanian's critically acclaimed spy novel of the same name. Eastwood plays Jonathan Hemlock in a role originally intended for Paul Newman, an assassin turned college art professor who decides to return to his former profession for one last sanction in return for a rare Pissarro painting. In the process he must climb the north face of the Eiger in Switzerland under perilous conditions. Once again Eastwood starred alongside George Kennedy. Mike Hoover taught Eastwood how to climb during several weeks of preparation at Yosemite in the summer of 1974 before filming commenced in Grindelwald on August 12, 1974. Despite prior warnings about the perils of the Eiger the film crew suffered a number of accidents, including one fatality. In spite of the danger Eastwood insisted on doing all his own climbing and stunts. Upon its release in May 1975 ''The Eiger Sanction'' was a commercial failure, receiving only $23.8 million (US$}} in dollars) at the box office, and was panned by most critics. Joy Gould Boyum of the ''Wall Street Journal'' dismissed the film as "brutal fantasy". Eastwood blamed Universal Studios for the film's poor promotion and turned his back on them to make an agreement with Warner Brothers, through Frank Wells, that has lasted to the present day.

''The Outlaw Josey Wales'' (1976), a western inspired by Asa Carter's eponymous 1972 novel, has lead character Josey Wales (Eastwood) as a pro-Confederate guerilla who refuses to surrender his arms after the American Civil War and is chased across the old southwest by a group of enforcers. Eastwood cast his young son Kyle Eastwood, Chief Dan George, and Sondra Locke for the first time, against the wishes of director Philip Kaufman. Kaufman was notoriously fired by producer Bob Daley under Eastwood's command, resulting in a fine reported to be around $60,000 (US$}} in dollars) from the Directors Guild of America—who subsequently passed new legislation reserving the right to impose a major fine on a producer for discharging a director and taking his place. The film was pre-screened at the Sun Valley Center for the Arts and Humanities in Idaho during a six-day conference entitled ''Western Movies: Myths and Images''. Invited to the screening were: some 200 esteemed film critics, including Jay Cocks and Arthur Knight; directors such as King Vidor, William Wyler, and Howard Hawks; along with a number of academics. Upon release in August 1976 ''The Outlaw Josey Wales'' was widely acclaimed, with many critics and viewers seeing Eastwood's role as an iconic one that related to America's ancestral past and the destiny of the nation after the American Civil War. Roger Ebert compared the nature and vulnerability of Eastwood's portrayal of Josey Wales with his Man with No Name character in the ''Dollars'' westerns and praised the film's atmosphere. The film would later appear in ''Time''s "Top 10 Films of the Year".

Eastwood was then offered the role of Benjamin L. Willard in Francis Coppola's ''Apocalypse Now'', but declined as he did not want to spend weeks on location in the Philippines. He also refused the part of a platoon leader in Ted Post's Vietnam War film ''Go Tell the Spartans'' and instead decided to make a third ''Dirty Harry'' film ''The Enforcer''. The film had Harry partnered with a new female officer (Tyne Daly) to face a San Francisco Bay area group resembling the Symbionese Liberation Army. The film, culminating in a shootout on Alcatraz island, was considerably shorter than the previous ''Dirty Harry'' films at 95 minutes, but was a major commercial success grossing $100 million (US$}} in dollars) worldwide to become Eastwood's highest-grossing film to date.

In 1977 he directed and starred in ''The Gauntlet'' opposite Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney, and Mara Corday. He portrays a down-and-out cop who falls in love with a prostitute that he is assigned to escort from Las Vegas to Phoenix, to testify against the mob. Although a moderate hit with the viewing public critics had mixed feelings about the film, with many believing it was overly violent. Eastwood's longtime nemesis Pauline Kael called it "a tale varnished with foul language and garnished with violence". Roger Ebert, on the other hand, gave it three stars and called it "...classic Clint Eastwood: fast, furious, and funny." In 1978 Eastwood starred in ''Every Which Way but Loose'' alongside Locke, Geoffrey Lewis, Ruth Gordon and John Quade. In an uncharacteristic offbeat comedy role, Eastwood played Philo Beddoe, a trucker and brawler who roams the American West searching for a lost love accompanied by his brother and an orangutan called Clyde. The film proved a surprising success upon its release and became Eastwood's most commercially successful film at the time. Panned by the critics it ranked high amongst the box office successes of his career and was the second-highest grossing film of 1978.

Eastwood starred in the atmospheric thriller ''Escape from Alcatraz'' in 1979, the last of his films to be directed by Don Siegel. It was based on the true story of Frank Lee Morris who, along with John and Clarence Anglin, escaped from the notorious Alcatraz prison in 1962. The film was a major success and marked the beginning of a period of praise for Eastwood from the critics; Stanley Kauffmann of ''The New Republic'' lauding it as "crystalline cinema" and Frank Rich of ''Time'' describing it as "cool, cinematic grace".

1980s

Eastwood directed the 1980 comedy ''Bronco Billy'' as well as playing the lead role in alongside Locke, Scatman Crothers, and Sam Bottoms. His children, Kyle and Alison, also had small roles as orphans. Eastwood has cited ''Bronco Billy'' as being one of the most affable shoots of his career and biographer Richard Schickel has argued that the character of Bronco Billy is Eastwood's most self-referential work. The film was a commercial failure but was appreciated by critics. Janet Maslin of ''The New York Times'' believed the film was "the best and funniest Clint Eastwood movie in quite a while", praising Eastwood's directing and the way he intricately juxtaposes the old West and the new. Later in 1980 Eastwood starred in ''Any Which Way You Can'', the sequel to ''Every Which Way but Loose''. The film received a number of bad reviews from critics, although Maslin described it as "funnier and even better than its predecessor". The film became another box office success and was among the top five highest-grossing films of the year.

In 1982 Eastwood directed and starred alongside his son Kyle in ''Honkytonk Man'', based on the eponymous Clancy Carlile's depression-era novel. Eastwood portrays a struggling western singer Red Stovall who suffers from tuberculosis, but has finally been given an opportunity to make it big at the Grand Ole Opry. He is accompanied by his young nephew (Kyle) to Nashville, Tennessee where he is supposed to record a song. Only ''Time'' gave the film a good review in the United States, with most reviewers criticizing its blend of muted humor and tragedy. Nevertheless the film received critical acclaim in France, where it was compared to John Ford's ''The Grapes of Wrath'', and it has since acquired the very high rating of 93% on ''Rotten Tomatoes''. In that same year Eastwood directed, produced, and starred in the Cold War-themed ''Firefox'' alongside Freddie Jones, David Huffman, Warren Clarke and Ronald Lacey. Based on a 1977 novel with the same name written by Craig Thomas, the film was shot before ''Honkeytonk Man'' but was released after it. Russian filming locations were not possible due to the Cold War, and the film had to be shot in Vienna and other locations in Austria to simulate many of the Eurasian story locations. With a production cost of $20 million (US$}} in dollars) it was Eastwood's highest budget film to date. ''People'' magazine likened Eastwood's performance to "Luke Skywalker trapped in Dirty Harry's Soul".

''Sudden Impact'', the fourth ''Dirty Harry'' film, was shot in the spring and summer of 1983 and is widely considered to be the darkest and most violent of the series. By this time Eastwood received 60% of all profits from films he starred in and directed, with the rest going to the studio. ''Sudden Impact'' was the last film which he starred in with Locke. She plays a woman raped, along with her sister, by a ruthless gang at a fairground and seeks revenge for her sister's now vegetative state by systematically murdering her rapists. The line "Go ahead, make my day", uttered by Eastwood during an early scene in a coffee shop, is often cited as one of cinema's immortal ones; famously quoted by President Ronald Reagan in a speech to Congress and used during the 1984 presidential elections. The film was the highest-earning of all the ''Dirty Harry'' films earning $70 million (US$}} in dollars). It received rave reviews with many critics praising the feminist aspects of the film, through its explorations of the physical and psychological consequences of rape.

''Tightrope'' (1984) had Eastwood starring opposite his daughter Alison, Geneviève Bujold, and Jamie Rose in a provocative thriller, inspired by newspaper articles about an elusive Bay Area rapist. Set in New Orleans, to avoid confusion with the ''Dirty Harry'' films, Eastwood played a single-parent cop drawn into his target's tortured psychology and fascination for sadomasochism. He next starred in the period comedy ''City Heat'' (1984) alongside Burt Reynolds, a film about a private eye and his partner who get mixed up with gangsters in the prohibition era of the 1930s. It grossed around $50 million (US$}} in dollars) domestically, but was overshadowed by Eddie Murphy's ''Beverly Hills Cop'' and failed to meet expectations.

Eastwood made his only foray into TV direction with the 1985 ''Amazing Stories'' episode "Vanessa In The Garden", which starred Harvey Keitel and Sondra Locke. This was his first collaboration with Steven Spielberg, who later co-produced ''Flags of Our Fathers'' and ''Letters from Iwo Jima''. Eastwood revisited the western genre when he directed and starred in ''Pale Rider'' (1985) opposite Michael Moriarty and Carrie Snodgress. The film is based on the classic 1953 western ''Shane'' and follows a preacher descending from the mists of the Sierras to side with the miners during the California Gold Rush of 1850. The title is a reference to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, as the rider of the pale horse is Death, and shows similarities to Eastwood's 1973 western ''High Plains Drifter'' in its themes of morality and justice as well as its exploration of the supernatural. ''Pale Rider'' became one of Eastwood's most successful films to date. It was hailed as one of the best films of 1985 and the best western in years with Gene Siskel of the ''Chicago Tribune'' remarking, "This year (1985) will go down in film history as the moment Clint Eastwood finally earned respect as an artist".

In 1986 Eastwood co-starred with Marsha Mason in the military drama ''Heartbreak Ridge'', about the 1983 United States invasion of Grenada. He portrays an aging United States Marine Gunnery Sergeant and Korean War veteran. The production and filming of ''Heartbreak Ridge'' were marred by internal disagreements, between Eastwood and long-time friend and producer Fritz Manes as well as between Eastwood and the United States Department of Defense who expressed contempt for the film. At the time the film was a commercial rather than a critical success, only becoming viewed more favorably in recent times. The film was released in 1,470 theaters and grossed $70 million (US$}}) domestically.

Eastwood starred in ''The Dead Pool'' (1988), the fifth and final Dirty Harry film in the series. It co-starred Liam Neeson, Patricia Clarkson, and a young Jim Carrey who plays Johnny Squares, a drug-addled rock star and the first of the victims on a list of celebrities drawn up by horror film director Peter Swan (Neeson) who are deemed most likely to die, the so-called "Dead Pool". The list is stolen by an obsessed fan, who in mimicking his favorite director, systematically makes his way through the list killing off celebrities, of which Dirty Harry is also included. ''The Dead Pool'' grossed nearly $38 million (US$}}), relatively low receipts for a ''Dirty Harry'' film and it is generally viewed as the weakest film of the series, although Roger Ebert perceived it to be as good as the original.

Eastwood began working on smaller, more personal projects, and experienced a lull in his career between 1988 and 1992. Always interested in jazz he directed ''Bird'' (1988), a biopic starring Forest Whitaker as jazz musician Charlie "Bird" Parker. Alto saxophonist Jackie McLean and Spike Lee, son of jazz bassist Bill Lee and a long term critic of Eastwood, criticized the characterization of Charlie Parker remarking that it did not capture his true essence and sense of humor. Eastwood received two Golden Globes for the film, the Cecil B. DeMille Award for his lifelong contribution, and the Best Director award. However, ''Bird'' was a commercial disaster earning just $11 million, which Eastwood attributed to the declining interest in jazz among black people.

Carrey would again appear with Eastwood in the poorly received comedy ''Pink Cadillac'' (1989) alongside Bernadette Peters. The film is about a bounty hunter and a group of white supremacists chasing an innocent woman who tries to outrun everyone in her husband's prized pink Cadillac. The film was a disaster, both critically and commercially, earning barely more than ''Bird'' and marking the lowest point in Eastwood's career in years.

1990s

Eastwood directed and starred in ''White Hunter Black Heart'' (1990), an adaptation of Peter Viertel's ''roman à clef'', about John Huston and the making of the classic film ''The African Queen''. Shot on location in Zimbabwe in the summer of 1989, the film received some critical attention but with only a limited release earned just $8.4 million (US$}} in dollars). Later the same year Eastwood directed and co-starred with Charlie Sheen in ''The Rookie'', a buddy cop action film. Critics found the macho jiving between Eastwood and Sheen unconvincing and passed the film off as "blatant racial Hispanic stereotyping". An ongoing lawsuit filed by Stacy McLaughlin resulted in no Eastwood films showing in cinemas in 1991—the third time in his career. The suit was in response to Eastwood allegedly ramming McLaughlin's car while backing out of his parking space at Malpaso. Eastwood won the suit and agreed to pay McLaughlin's court fees if she did not appeal.

}} In 1992 Eastwood revisited the western genre in the self-directed film ''Unforgiven'', where he played an aging ex-gunfighter long past his prime opposite Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris, and his then girlfriend Frances Fisher. Scripts existed for the film as early as 1976 under titles such as ''The Cut-Whore Killings'' and ''The William Munny Killings'' but Eastwood delayed the project, partly because he wanted to wait until he was old enough to play his character and to savor it as the last of his western films. By re-envisioning established genre conventions in a more ambiguous and unromantic light the picture laid the groundwork for later westerns such as ''Deadwood''. ''Unforgiven'' was a major commercial and critical success, with nominations for nine Academy Awards including Best Actor for Eastwood and Best Original Screenplay for David Webb Peoples. It won four, including Best Picture and Best Director for Eastwood. Jack Methews of the ''Los Angeles Times'' described it as "the finest classical western to come along since perhaps John Ford's 1956 ''The Searchers''. In June 2008 ''Unforgiven'' was acknowledged as the fourth best American film in the western genre, behind ''Shane'', ''High Noon'', and ''The Searchers'', in the American Film Institute's "AFI's 10 Top 10" list.

Eastwood played Frank Horrigan in the Secret Service thriller ''In the Line of Fire'' (1993) directed by Wolfgang Petersen and co-starring John Malkovich and Rene Russo. Horrigan is a guilt-ridden Secret Service agent, haunted by his failure to react in time to save John F. Kennedy's life. As of 2011 it is the last time he acted in a film that he did not direct himself. The film was among the top 10 box office performers in that year, earning a reported $200 million (US$}} in dollars) in the United States alone. Later in 1993 Eastwood directed and co-starred with Kevin Costner in ''A Perfect World''. Set in the 1960s,Eastwood plays a Texas Ranger in pursuit of an escaped convict (Costner) who hits the road with a young boy (T.J. Lowther). Janet Maslin of ''The New York Times'' remarked that the film was the highest point of Eastwood's directing career and it has since been cited as one of his most underrated directorial achievements.

At the May 1994 Cannes Film Festival Eastwood received France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres medal then on March 27, 1995, he was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award at the 67th Academy Awards. His next appearance was in a cameo role as himself in the 1995 children's film ''Casper'' and continued to expand his repertoire by playing opposite Meryl Streep in the romantic picture ''The Bridges of Madison County'' in the same year. Based on a best-selling novel by Robert James Waller and set in Iowa, ''The Bridges of Madison County'' relates the story of Robert Kincaid (Eastwood), a photographer working for ''National Geographic'', who has a love affair with middle-aged Italian farm wife Francesca (Streep). The film was a hit at the box office and highly acclaimed by critics, despite unfavorable views of the novel and a subject deemed potentially disastrous for film. Roger Ebert remarked that "Streep and Eastwood weave a spell, and it is based on that particular knowledge of love and self that comes with middle age." ''The Bridges of Madison County'' was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Picture and won a César Award in France for Best Foreign Film. Streep was also nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.

As well as directing the 1997 political thriller ''Absolute Power'', Eastwood once again appeared alongside co-star Gene Hackman. Eastwood played the role of a veteran thief who witnesses the Secret Service cover up of a murder. The film received a mixed reception from critics and was generally viewed as one of his weaker efforts. Maitland McDonagh of ''TV Guide'' remarked, "The plot turns are no more ludicrous than those of the average political thriller, but the slow pace makes their preposterousness all the more obvious. Eastwood's acting limitations are also sorely evident, since Luther is the kind of thoughtful thief who has to talk, rather than maintaining the enigmatic fortitude that is Eastwood's forte. Disappointing." Later in 1997 Eastwood directed ''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'', based on the novel by John Berendt and starring John Cusack, Kevin Spacey, and Jude Law, a film which received a mixed response from critics.

Eastwood directed and starred in ''True Crime'' (1999), which also featured his young daughter Francesca Fisher-Eastwood. He plays Steve Everett, a journalist recovering from alcoholism given the task of covering the execution of murderer Frank Beechum (Isaiah Washington). The film received a mixed reception with Janet Maslin of ''The New York Times'' writing, "''True Crime'' is directed by Mr. Eastwood with righteous indignation and increasingly strong momentum. As in ''A Perfect World,'' his direction is galvanized by a sense of second chances and tragic misunderstandings, and by contrasting a larger sense of justice with the peculiar minutiae of crime. Perhaps he goes a shade too far in the latter direction, though." If some reviews for ''True Crime'' were positive, commercially it was a box office bomb—earning less than half its $55 million (US$}} in dollars) budget—and easily became Eastwood's worst performing film of the 1990s aside from ''White Hunter Black Heart'', which only had limited release.

2000s

In 2000 Eastwood directed and starred in ''Space Cowboys'' alongside Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, and James Garner as one of a group of veteran "ex-test pilots" who are sent into space to repair an old Soviet satellite. The original music score was composed by Eastwood and Lennie Niehaus. ''Space Cowboys'' was well-received and holds a 79% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. The film received a moderately favorable review from Roger Ebert, "it's too secure within its traditional story structure to make much seem at risk — but with the structure come the traditional pleasures as well." The film grossed over $90 million in its United States release, more than Eastwood's two previous films combined. The following year he played an ex-FBI agent on the track of a sadistic killer (Jeff Daniels) in the thriller ''Blood Work'', loosely based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Michael Connelly. The film was a failure, grossing just $26.2 million (US$}} in dollars) on an estimated budget of $50 million (US$}} in dollars), and received mixed reviews with a consensus at Rotten Tomatoes calling it "well-made but marred by lethargic pacing". Eastwood did, however, win the Future Film Festival Digital Award at the Venice Film Festival.

Eastwood directed and scored the crime drama ''Mystic River'' (2003), a film about murder, vigilantism, and sexual abuse, set in Boston. Starring Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon, and Tim Robbins, ''Mystic River'' was lauded by critics and viewers alike. The film won two Academy Awards, Best Actor for Penn and Best Supporting Actor for Robbins, with Eastwood garnering nominations for Best Director and Best Picture. Eastwood was named Best Director of the Year by the London Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics. The film grossed $90 million (US$}} in dollars) domestically on a budget of $30 million (US$}} in dollars).

The following year Eastwood found further critical and commercial success when he directed, produced, scored, and starred in the boxing drama ''Million Dollar Baby'', playing a cantankerous trainer who forms a bond with female boxer (Hilary Swank) who he is persuaded to train by his lifelong friend (Morgan Freeman). The film won four Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Swank), and Best Supporting Actor (Freeman). At age 74 Eastwood became the oldest of eighteen directors to have directed two or more Best Picture winners. He also received a nomination for Best Actor and a Grammy nomination for his score. A. O. Scott of ''The New York Times'' lauded the film as a "masterpiece" and the best film of the year.

In 2006 Eastwood directed two films about World War II's Battle of Iwo Jima. The first, ''Flags of Our Fathers'', focused on the men who raised the American flag on top of Mount Suribachi and was followed by ''Letters from Iwo Jima'', which dealt with the tactics of the Japanese soldiers on the island and the letters they wrote home to family members. ''Letters from Iwo Jima'' was the first American film to depict a war issue completely from the view of an American enemy. Both films received praise from critics and garnered several nominations at the 79th Academy Awards, including Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Original Screenplay for ''Letters from Iwo Jima''. At the 64th Golden Globe Awards Eastwood received nominations for Best Director in both films. ''Letters from Iwo Jima'' won the award for Best Foreign Language Film. Eastwood next directed ''Changeling'' (2008), based on a true story set in the late 1920s. Angelina Jolie stars as a woman who is reunited with her missing son only to realize that he is an impostor. After its release at several film festivals the film grossed over $110 million (US$}} in dollars), the majority of which came from foreign markets. The film was highly acclaimed, with Damon Wise of ''Empire'' describing ''Changeling'' as "flawless". Todd McCarthy of ''Variety'' described it as "emotionally powerful and stylistically sure-handed" and stated that ''Changeling'' was a more complex and wide-ranging work than Eastwood's ''Mystic River'', saying the characters and social commentary were brought into the story with an "almost breathtaking deliberation". Film critic Prairie Miller said that, in its portrayal of female courage, the film was "about as feminist as Hollywood can get" whilst David Denby argued that, like Eastwood's ''Million Dollar Baby'', the film was "less an expression of feminist awareness than a case of awed respect for a woman who was strong and enduring." Eastwood received nominations for Best Original Score at the 66th Golden Globe Awards, Best Direction at the 62nd British Academy Film Awards and director of the year from the London Film Critics' Circle.

After four years away from acting Eastwood ended his "self-imposed acting hiatus" with ''Gran Torino'', which he also directed, produced, and partly scored with his son Kyle and Jamie Cullum. Biographer Marc Eliot called Eastwood's role "an amalgam of the Man with No Name, Dirty Harry, and William Munny, here aged and cynical but willing and able to fight on whenever the need arose." Eastwood has said that the role will most likely be the last time he acts in a film. It grossed close to $30 million (US$}} in dollars) during its wide release opening weekend in January 2009, the highest of his career as an actor or director. ''Gran Torino'' eventually grossed over $268 million (US$}} in dollars) in theaters worldwide becoming the highest-grossing film of Eastwood's career so far, without adjustment for inflation.

His 29th directorial outing came with ''Invictus'', a film based on the story of the South African team at the 1995 Rugby World Cup, with Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon as rugby team captain François Pienaar. Freeman had bought the film rights to John Carlin's book on which the film is based. The film met with generally positive reviews; Roger Ebert gave it three and a half stars and described it as a "very good film... with moments evoking great emotion", while ''Variety''s Todd McCarthy wrote, "Inspirational on the face of it, Clint Eastwood's film has a predictable trajectory, but every scene brims with surprising details that accumulate into a rich fabric of history, cultural impressions and emotion." Eastwood was nominated for Best Director at the 67th Golden Globe Awards.

2010s

}} In 2010, Eastwood directed the drama ''Hereafter'', again working with Damon, who portrayed a psychic. The film had its world premiere on September 12, 2010 at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival and was given a limited release on October 15, 2010. ''Hereafter'' received mixed reviews from critics, with the consensus at Rotten Tomatoes being, "Despite a thought-provoking premise and Clint Eastwood's typical flair as director, ''Hereafter'' fails to generate much compelling drama, straddling the line between poignant sentimentality and hokey tedium." In the same year, Eastwood served as executive producer for a Turner Classic Movies (TCM) documentary about jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, ''Dave Brubeck: In His Own Sweet Way'', to commemorate Brubeck's 90th birthday.

Eastwood's current project is a 2011 biopic of J. Edgar Hoover, entitled ''J. Edgar'', focusing on the former FBI director's scandalous career and controversial private life. It will star Leonardo DiCaprio as Hoover, Armie Hammer as Clyde Tolson, and Damon Herriman as Bruno Hauptmann. In January 2011, it was announced that Eastwood is in talks to direct Beyoncé Knowles in a fourth remake of the 1937 film ''A Star Is Born'', with a 2012 release likely.

Directing style

Beginning with the thriller ''Play Misty for Me'', Eastwood has directed over 30 films in his career; including westerns, action films, and dramas. From the very early days of his career, Eastwood had been frustrated by directors insisting that scenes be re-shot multiple times and perfected and when he began as a director in 1971 he made a conscious attempt to avoid any aspects of directing he had been indifferent to as an actor. As a result, Eastwood is renowned for his efficient film directing and to reduce filming time and to keep budgets under control. Eastwood usually avoids actors rehearsing and prefers most scenes to be completed on the first take. In preparation for filming Eastwood rarely uses storyboards for developing the layout of a shooting schedule. He also attempts to reduce script background details on characters to allow the audience to become more involved in the film, considering their imagination a requirement for a film that connects with viewers. Eastwood has indicated that he lays out a film's plot to provide the audience with necessary details, but not "so much that it insults their intelligence."According to ''Life'' magazine, "Eastwood's style is to shoot first and act afterward. He etches his characters virtually without words. He has developed the art of underplaying to the point that anyone around him who so much as flinches looks hammily histrionic."

Interviewers Richard Thompson and Tim Hunter note that Eastwood's films are "superbly paced: unhurried; cool; and [give] a strong sense of real time, regardless of the speed of the narrative" while Ric Gentry considers Eastwood's pacing to be "unrushed and relaxed". Many of Eastwood's films rely on low lighting to give his films a "noir-ish" feel. Reviewers have pointed out that the majority of his films are based on the male point-of-view, although female characters typically have strong roles as both heroes and villains.

Politics

Eastwood registered as a Republican to vote for Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and later supported Richard Nixon's 1968 and 1972 presidential campaigns. However, he later criticized Nixon's handling of the Vietnam War and his morality during Watergate. He expressed his disapproval of America's wars in Korea (1950–1953), Vietnam (1964–1973), and Iraq (2003–2010), believing that the United States should not be overly militaristic or play the role of global policeman. He considers himself too individualistic to be either right-wing or left-wing, describing himself as a "political nothing" and a "moderate" in 1974 and a libertarian in 1997. Eastwood has stated that while he does not see himself as conservative, he is not an "ultra-leftist" either. At times he has supported Democrats in California, including Representative Sam Farr in 2002 and Governor Gray Davis in 2003. A longtime liberal on social issues Eastwood has stated that he is pro-choice on abortion. He has endorsed the notion of allowing gays to marry and contributed to groups supporting the Equal Rights Amendment for women.

As a politician Eastwood has made successful forays into both local and state government. In April 1986 he was elected mayor for one term in his home town of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California – a small, wealthy town and artist community on the Monterey Peninsula. During his term he tended towards supporting small business interests and advocating environmental protection. In 2001 Eastwood was appointed to the California State Park and Recreation Commission by Governor Davis, then reappointed in 2004 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. As the vice chairman of the commission, in 2005 along with chairman Bobby Shriver, he led the movement opposed to a six-lane extension of California State Route 241, a toll road that would cut through San Onofre State Beach. Eastwood and Shriver supported a 2006 lawsuit to block the toll road and urged the California Coastal Commission to reject the project, which it duly did in February 2008. In March 2008 Eastwood and Shriver's non-reappointment to the commission on the expiry of their terms prompted the Natural Resources Defense Council (NDRC) to request a legislative investigation into the decision. Governor Schwarzenegger appointed Eastwood to the California Film Commission in April 2004. He has also acted as a spokesman for Take Pride in America, an agency of the United States Department of the Interior which advocates taking responsibility for natural, cultural, and historic resources.

During the 2008 United States Presidential Election Eastwood endorsed John McCain, whom he has known since 1973, but nevertheless wished Barack Obama well upon his subsequent victory. In August 2010 Eastwood wrote to the British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne to protest the decision to close the UK Film Council, warning that the closure could result in fewer foreign production companies choosing to work in the UK.

Personal life

Relationships

Eastwood has fathered at least seven children by five different women and has been described as a "serial womanizer". According to biographers Eastwood has always had a strong sexual appetite and particularly so during the 1970s. He has had affairs with many women including actresses Catherine Deneuve, Peggy Lipton, Jean Seberg, Kay Lenz, Jamie Rose, Inger Stevens, Jo Ann Harris, Jill Banner, casting director Jane Brolin, script analyst Megan Rose, and swimming champion Anita Lhoest.

On December 19, 1953, Eastwood married model Maggie Johnson, six months after they had met on a blind date. The couple had two children: Kyle Eastwood (born May 19, 1968) and Alison Eastwood (born May 22, 1972). Eastwood filed for divorce in 1979 after a long separation, but the $25 million (US$}} in dollars) divorce settlement was not finalized until May 1984.

During an earlier separation from Johnson he fathered a daughter, Kimber (born June 17, 1964), with dancer Roxanne Tunis. Eastwood did not publicly acknowledge her until 1996. Kimber is the mother of Eastwood's oldest grandchild, Clinton, born on February 21, 1984.

He began a fourteen-year relationship with actress Sondra Locke in 1975. They co-starred in six films together: ''The Outlaw Josey Wales'', ''The Gauntlet'', ''Every Which Way but Loose'', ''Bronco Billy'', ''Any Which Way You Can'', and ''Sudden Impact''. During the relationship Locke had two abortions and a subsequent tubal ligation at his request. The couple separated acrimoniously in 1989; Locke filed a palimony suit against Eastwood after being evicted from the home which they shared. She sued him a second time, for fraud, regarding an alleged phony directing deal he gave her in settlement of the first lawsuit. Locke and Eastwood went on to resolve the dispute with a non-public settlement in 1999. Her memoir ''The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly'' includes an account of their years together.

During his cohabitation with Locke, Eastwood had an affair with flight attendant Jacelyn Reeves. According to biographers they met at the premiere of ''Pale Rider'' where they conceived a son, Scott Reeves (born March 21, 1986). They also had a daughter, Kathryn Reeves (born February 2, 1988), although neither of them were publicly acknowledged until years later. Kathryn served as Miss Golden Globe at the 2005 ceremony where she presented Eastwood with an award for ''Million Dollar Baby''.

In 1990 Eastwood began living with actress Frances Fisher, whom he had met on the set of ''Pink Cadillac'' (1989). They co-starred in ''Unforgiven'' and had a daughter, Francesca Fisher-Eastwood (born August 7, 1993). The couple ended their relationship in early 1995, but remain friends and later appeared together in ''True Crime''. Eastwood met anchorwoman Dina Ruiz when she interviewed him in 1993 and they married on March 31, 1996, when Eastwood surprised her with a private ceremony at his home on the Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas. She is 35 years his junior and the couple's daughter, Morgan Eastwood, was born on December 12, 1996.

Leisure

Despite appearing to smoke in many of his films, Eastwood is a life-long non-smoker, has been conscious of his health and fitness since he was a teenager, and practices healthy eating and daily Transcendental Meditation. On July 21, 1970, Eastwood's father died unexpectedly of a heart attack at the age of 64. This profoundly altered Eastwood's lifestyle, encouraging him to adopt a vigorous health and exercise regime to ensure his longevity. He abstained from hard liquor, although he still favored cold beer, and opened an old English-inspired pub called the Hog's Breath Inn in Carmel-by-the-Sea in 1971. Eastwood eventually sold the pub and now owns the Mission Ranch Hotel and Restaurant, also located in Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Eastwood is a keen golfer and owns the Tehàma Golf Club. He is also an investor in the world-renowned Pebble Beach Golf Links and donates his time every year to charitable causes at major tournaments. Eastwood was formerly a licensed pilot and often flew his helicopter to the studios to avoid traffic.

Music

Eastwood is an audiophile and has had a strong passion for music all his life. He particularly favors jazz and country and western music and is a pianist and composer. Jazz has played an important role in Eastwood's life from a young age and, although he never made it as a professional musician, he passed on the influence to his son Kyle Eastwood, a successful jazz bassist and composer. Eastwood developed as a ragtime pianist early on and had originally intended to pursue a career in music by studying for a music theory degree after graduating from high school. In late 1959 he produced the album ''Cowboy Favorites'', released on the Cameo label.

Eastwood has his own Warner Bros. Records-distributed imprint Malpaso Records, as part of his deal with Warner Brothers, which has released all of the scores of Eastwood's films from ''The Bridges of Madison County'' onward. Eastwood co-wrote "Why Should I Care" with Linda Thompson and Carole Bayer Sager, which was recorded by Diana Krall. Eastwood composed the film scores of ''Mystic River'', ''Grace Is Gone'' (2007), and ''Changeling'', and the original piano compositions for ''In the Line of Fire''. He also wrote and performed the song heard over the credits of ''Gran Torino''. The music in ''Grace Is Gone'' received two Golden Globe nominations by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for the 65th Golden Globe Awards. Eastwood was nominated for Best Original Score, while the song "Grace is Gone" with music by Eastwood and lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager was nominated for Best Original Song. It won the Satellite Award for Best Song at the 12th Satellite Awards. ''Changeling'' was nominated for Best Score at the 14th Critics' Choice Awards, Best Original Score at the 66th Golden Globe Awards, and Best Music at the 35th Saturn Awards. On September 22, 2007, Eastwood was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the Berklee College of Music at the Monterey Jazz Festival, on which he serves as an active board member. Upon receiving the award he gave a speech claiming, "It's one of the great honors I'll cherish in this lifetime."

Awards and honors

colspan="2" Best Director Best Director Best Director

+ Academy Awards
Year !! Award !! Film !! W/N
	Academy Award for Best Director>Best Director	Unforgiven'' >
Academy Award for Best Picture	Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Actor	Best Actor	''Unforgiven''
1994	Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award || style="text-align: center"|Won
rowspan="2"	2003	|	Mystic River (film)>Mystic River''	Nominated
Best Picture	''Mystic River''
rowspan="3"	2004	|	''Million Dollar Baby''	Won
Best Picture
Best Actor	''Million Dollar Baby''
rowspan="2"	2006	|	''Letters from Iwo Jima''	Nominated
Best Picture	''Letters from Iwo Jima''

Eastwood has been recognized with multiple awards and nominations for his work in film, television, and music. His widest reception has been in film work, for which he has received Academy Awards, Directors Guild of America Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and People's Choice Awards, among others. Eastwood is one of only two people to have been twice nominated for Best Actor and Best Director for the same film (''Unforgiven'' and ''Million Dollar Baby'') the other being Warren Beatty (''Heaven Can Wait'' and ''Reds''). Along with Beatty, Robert Redford, Richard Attenborough, Kevin Costner, and Mel Gibson, he is one of the few directors best known as an actor to win an Academy Award for directing. On February 27, 2005, he became one of only three living directors (along with Miloš Forman and Francis Ford Coppola) to have directed two Best Picture winners. At age 74, he was also the oldest recipient of the Academy Award for Best Director. Eastwood has directed five actors in Academy Award–winning performances: Gene Hackman in ''Unforgiven'', Tim Robbins and Sean Penn in ''Mystic River'', and Morgan Freeman and Hilary Swank in ''Million Dollar Baby''.

On August 22, 1984, Eastwood was honored at a ceremony at Grauman's Chinese theater to record his hand and footprints in cement. Eastwood received the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1996 and received an honorary degree from AFI in 2009. On December 6, 2006, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver inducted Eastwood into the California Hall of Fame located at The California Museum for History, Women, and the Arts. In early 2007, Eastwood was presented with the highest civilian distinction in France, Légion d'honneur, at a ceremony in Paris. French President Jacques Chirac told Eastwood that he embodied "the best of Hollywood". In October 2009, he was honored by the Lumière Award (in honor of the Lumière Brothers, inventors of the Cinematograph) during the first edition of the Lumière Film Festival in Lyon, France. This award honors his entire career and his major contribution to the 7th Art. In February 2010, Eastwood was recognized by President Barack Obama with an arts and humanities award. Obama described Eastwood's films as "essays in individuality, hard truths and the essence of what it means to be American."

Eastwood has also been awarded at least three honorary degrees from universities and colleges, including an honorary degree from University of the Pacific in 2006, an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Southern California on May 27, 2007, and an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the Berklee College of Music at the Monterey Jazz Festival on September 22, 2007.

Filmography

Eastwood has contributed to over 50 films over his career as actor, director, producer, and composer. He has acted in several television series, most notably starring in ''Rawhide''. He started directing in 1971 and made his debut as a producer in 1982 with ''Firefox'' and ''Honkytonk Man''. Eastwood also has contributed music to his films, either through performing, writing, or composing. He has mainly starred in western, action, and drama films. According to the box office-revenue tracking website, Box Office Mojo, films featuring Eastwood have grossed a total of more than US$1.68 billion domestically, with an average of $37 million per film.

Notes

Bibliography

Further reading

External links

Clint Eastwood at Rotten Tomatoes

Charlie Rose show: An hour with Clint Eastwood

|- ! colspan="3" style="background: #DAA520;"|National Board of Review |-

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Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
birth date	December 18, 1946
birth place	Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
nationality	American
spouse
children	6, including Sasha
occupation	Film director, producer, screenwriter
education	Saratoga High School
alma mater	California State University, Long Beach
religion	Jewish
networth	$3.0 billion (2011)
years active	1963–present }}

Steven Allan Spielberg (born December 18, 1946) is an American film director, screenwriter, film producer, video game designer and studio executive. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an archetype of modern Hollywood blockbuster filmmaking. In later years, his films began addressing such issues as the Holocaust, slavery, war and terrorism. He is considered one of the most popular and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. He is also one of the co-founders of the DreamWorks movie studio.

Spielberg won the Academy Award for Best Director for ''Schindler's List'' (1993) and ''Saving Private Ryan'' (1998). Three of Spielberg's films—''Jaws'' (1975), ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), and ''Jurassic Park'' (1993)—achieved box office records, each becoming the highest-grossing film made at the time. To date, the unadjusted gross of all Spielberg-directed films exceeds $8.5 billion worldwide. Forbes puts Spielberg's wealth at $3.0 billion.

Early life

Spielberg was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to a Jewish family. His mother, Leah Adler, was a restaurateur and concert pianist, and his father, Arnold Spielberg, was an electrical engineer involved in the development of computers. He spent his childhood in Haddon Township, New Jersey, where he saw one of his first films in a theater, as well as in Scottsdale, Arizona. Throughout his early teens, Spielberg made amateur 8 mm "adventure" films with his friends, the first of which he shot at the Pinnacle Peak Patio restaurant in Scottsdale. He charged admission (25 cents) to his home films (which involved the wrecks he staged with his Lionel train set) while his sister sold popcorn.

In 1958, he became a Boy Scout, and fulfilled a requirement for the photography merit badge by making a nine-minute 8 mm film entitled ''The Last Gunfight''. Spielberg recalled years later to a magazine interviewer, "My dad's still-camera was broken, so I asked the scoutmaster if I could tell a story with my father's movie camera. He said yes, and I got an idea to do a Western. I made it and got my merit badge. That was how it all started." At age 13, Spielberg won a prize for a 40-minute war film he titled ''Escape to Nowhere'' which was based on a battle in east Africa. In 1963, at age 16, Spielberg wrote and directed his first independent film, a 140-minute science fiction adventure called ''Firelight'' (which would later inspire ''Close Encounters''). The film, which had a budget of US$500, was shown in his local cinema and generated a profit of $1. He also made several WWII films inspired by his father's war stories.

After his parents divorced, he moved to Saratoga, California with his father. His three sisters and mother remained in Arizona. Although he attended Arcadia High School in Phoenix, Arizona for three years, Spielberg ended up graduating from Saratoga High School in 1965. It was during this time Spielberg attained the rank of Eagle Scout.

Spielberg attended synagogue as a young boy in Haddon Heights, NJ, an area which did not allow Jews before World War II. He attended Hebrew school from 1953 to 1957, in classes taught by Rabbi Albert L. Lewis, who would later be memorialized as the main character in Mitch Albom's, ''Have a Little Faith''.

As a child, Spielberg faced difficulty reconciling being an Orthodox Jew with the perception of him by other children he played with. “It isn’t something I enjoy admitting,” he once said, “but when I was 7, 8, 9 years old, God forgive me, I was embarrassed because we were Orthodox Jews. I was embarrassed by the outward perception of my parents’ Jewish practices. I was never really ashamed to be Jewish, but I was uneasy at times. My grandfather always wore a long black coat, black hat and long white beard. I was embarrassed to invite my friends over to the house, because he might be in a corner davening [praying], and I wouldn’t know how to explain this to my WASP friends.” Spielberg also said he suffered from acts of anti-Semitic prejudice in his early life: he later said, "In high school, I got smacked and kicked around. Two bloody noses. It was horrible."

After moving to California, he applied to attend the film school at University of Southern California School of Theater, Film and Television two separate times, but was unsuccessful. He was a student subsequently of California State University, Long Beach. While attending Long Beach State in the 1960s, Spielberg became a member of Theta Chi Fraternity. His actual career began when he returned to Universal Studios as an unpaid, seven-day-a-week intern and guest of the editing department (uncredited). After Spielberg became famous, USC awarded him an honorary degree in 1994, and in 1996 he became a trustee of the university. In 2002, thirty-five years after starting college, Spielberg finished his degree via independent projects at CSULB, and was awarded a B.A. in Film Production and Electronic Arts with an option in Film/Video Production.

As an intern and guest of Universal Studios, Spielberg made his first short film for theatrical release, the 26 minute film ''Amblin''' (1968), the title of which Spielberg later took as the name of his production company, Amblin Entertainment. After Sidney Sheinberg, then the vice-president of production for Universal's TV arm, saw the film, Spielberg became the youngest director ever to be signed for a long-term deal with a major Hollywood studio (Universal). He dropped out of Long Beach State in 1969 to take up the television director contract at Universal Studios and began his career as a professional director. In 1969, ''Variety'' announced that Spielberg would direct his first full length film, ''Malcolm Winkler'', written by Claudia Salter, produced by John Orland, with Frank Price being the executive producer. However, because of the difficulty in casting the key male role, the film was not made. Steven Spielberg also attended Brookdale Community College for undergrad.

Career

Early career (1969–75)

His first professional TV job came when he was hired to do one of the segments for the 1969 pilot episode of ''Night Gallery''. The segment, "Eyes," starred Joan Crawford, and she and Spielberg were reportedly close friends until her death. The episode is unusual in his body of work, in that the camerawork is more highly stylized than his later, more "mature" films. After this, and an episode of ''Marcus Welby, M.D.'', Spielberg got his first feature-length assignment: an episode of ''The Name of the Game'' called "L.A. 2017". This futuristic science fiction episode impressed Universal Studios and they signed him to a short contract. He did another segment on ''Night Gallery'' and did some work for shows such as ''Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law'' and ''The Psychiatrist'' before landing the first series episode of ''Columbo'' (previous episodes were actually TV films).

Based on the strength of his work, Universal signed Spielberg to do four TV films. The first was a Richard Matheson adaptation called ''Duel''. The film is about a psychotic Peterbilt 281 tanker truck driver who chases a terrified driver (Dennis Weaver) of a small Plymouth Valiant and tries to run him off the road. Special praise of this film by the influential British critic Dilys Powell was highly significant to Spielberg's career. Another TV film (''Something Evil'') was made and released to capitalize on the popularity of ''The Exorcist'', then a major best-selling book which had not yet been released as a film. He fulfilled his contract by directing the TV film length pilot of a show called ''Savage'', starring Martin Landau. Spielberg's debut feature film was ''The Sugarland Express'', about a married couple who are chased by police as the couple tries to regain custody of their baby. Spielberg's cinematography for the police chase was praised by reviewers, and ''The Hollywood Reporter'' stated that "a major new director is on the horizon." However, the film fared poorly at the box office and received a limited release.

Studio producers Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown offered Spielberg the director's chair for ''Jaws'', a thriller-horror film based on the Peter Benchley novel about an enormous killer shark. Spielberg has often referred to the gruelling shoot as his professional crucible. Despite the film's ultimate, enormous success, it was nearly shut down due to delays and budget over-runs.

But Spielberg persevered and finished the film. It was an enormous hit, winning three Academy Awards (for editing, original score and sound) and grossing more than $470 million worldwide at the box office. It also set the domestic record for box office gross, leading to what the press described as "Jawsmania." ''Jaws'' made him a household name, as well as one of America's youngest multi-millionaires, and allowed Spielberg a great deal of autonomy for his future projects. It was nominated for Best Picture and featured Spielberg's first of three collaborations with actor Richard Dreyfuss.

Mainstream breakthrough (1975–93)

Rejecting offers to direct ''Jaws 2'', ''King Kong'' and ''Superman'', Spielberg and actor Richard Dreyfuss re-convened to work on a film about UFOs, which became ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' (1977). One of the rare films both written and directed by Spielberg, ''Close Encounters'' was a critical and box office hit, giving Spielberg his first Best Director nomination from the Academy as well as earning six other Academy Awards nominations. It won Oscars in two categories (Cinematography, Vilmos Zsigmond, and a Special Achievement Award for Sound Effects Editing, Frank E. Warner). This second blockbuster helped to secure Spielberg's rise. His next film, ''1941'', a big-budgeted World War II farce, was not nearly as successful and though it grossed over $92.4 million dollars worldwide (and did make a small profit for co-producing studios Columbia and Universal) it was seen as a disappointment, mainly with the critics.

Spielberg then revisited his ''Close Encounters'' project and, with financial backing from Columbia Pictures, released ''Close Encounters: The Special Edition'' in 1980. For this, Spielberg fixed some of the flaws he thought impeded the original 1977 version of the film and also, at the behest of Columbia, and as a condition of Spielberg revising the film, shot additional footage showing the audience the interior of the mothership seen at the end of the film (a decision Spielberg would later regret as he felt the interior of the mothership should have remained a mystery). Nevertheless, the re-release was a moderate success, while the 2001 DVD release of the film restored the original ending.

Next, Spielberg teamed with ''Star Wars'' creator and friend George Lucas on an action adventure film, ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'', the first of the Indiana Jones films. The archaeologist and adventurer hero Indiana Jones was played by Harrison Ford (whom Lucas had previously cast in his ''Star Wars'' films as Han Solo). The film was considered an homage to the cliffhanger serials of the Golden Age of Hollywood. It became the biggest film at the box office in 1981, and the recipient of numerous Oscar nominations including Best Director (Spielberg's second nomination) and Best Picture (the second Spielberg film to be nominated for Best Picture). ''Raiders'' is still considered a landmark example of the action-adventure genre.

A year later, Spielberg returned to the science fiction genre with ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial''. It was the story of a young boy and the alien he befriends, who was accidentally left behind by his companions and is attempting to return home. ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' went on to become the top-grossing film of all time. ''E.T.'' was also nominated for nine Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director.

Between 1982 and 1985, Spielberg produced three high-grossing films: ''Poltergeist'' (for which he also co-wrote the screenplay), a big-screen adaptation of ''The Twilight Zone'' (for which he directed the segment "Kick The Can"), and ''The Goonies'' (Spielberg, executive producer, also wrote the story on which the screenplay was based).

His next directorial feature was the ''Raiders'' sequel ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom''. Teaming up once again with Lucas and Ford, the film was plagued with uncertainty for the material and script. This film and the Spielberg-produced ''Gremlins'' led to the creation of the PG-13 rating due to the high level of violence in films targeted at younger audiences. In spite of this, ''Temple of Doom'' is rated PG by the MPAA, even though it is the darkest and, possibly, most violent Indy film. Nonetheless, the film was still a huge blockbuster hit in 1984. It was on this project that Spielberg also met his future wife, actress Kate Capshaw.

In 1985, Spielberg released ''The Color Purple,'' an adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, about a generation of empowered African-American women during depression-era America. Starring Whoopi Goldberg and future talk-show superstar Oprah Winfrey, the film was a box office smash and critics hailed Spielberg's successful foray into the dramatic genre. Roger Ebert proclaimed it the best film of the year and later entered it into his Great Films archive. The film received eleven Academy Award nominations, including two for Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey. However, much to the surprise of many, Spielberg did not get a Best Director nomination. ''The Color Purple'' is the second of two Spielberg films not to be scored by John Williams, the first being ''Duel''.

In 1987, as China began opening to Western capital investment, Spielberg shot the first American film in Shanghai since the 1930s, an adaptation of J. G. Ballard's autobiographical novel ''Empire of the Sun'', starring John Malkovich and a young Christian Bale. The film garnered much praise from critics and was nominated for several Oscars, but did not yield substantial box office revenues. Reviewer Andrew Sarris called it the best film of the year and later included it among the best films of the decade.

After two forays into more serious dramatic films, Spielberg then directed the third Indiana Jones film, 1989's ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade''. Once again teaming up with Lucas and Ford, Spielberg also cast actor Sean Connery in a supporting role as Indy's father. The film earned generally positive reviews and was another box office success, becoming the highest grossing film worldwide that year; its total box office receipts even topped those of Tim Burton's much-anticipated film ''Batman'', which had been the bigger hit domestically. Also in 1989, he re-united with actor Richard Dreyfuss for the romantic comedy-drama ''Always'', about a daredevil pilot who extinguishes forest fires. Spielberg's first romantic film, ''Always'' was only a moderate success and had mixed reviews.

In 1991, Spielberg directed ''Hook'', about a middle-aged Peter Pan, played by Robin Williams, who returns to Neverland. Despite innumerable rewrites and creative changes coupled with mixed reviews, the film proved popular with audiences, making over $300 million worldwide (from a $70 million budget).

In 1993, Spielberg returned to the adventure genre with the film version of Michael Crichton's novel ''Jurassic Park'', about a theme park with genetically engineered dinosaurs. With revolutionary special effects provided by friend George Lucas's Industrial Light & Magic company, the film would eventually become the highest grossing film of all time (at the worldwide box office) with $914.7 million. This would be the third time that one of Spielberg's films became the highest grossing film ever.

Spielberg's next film, ''Schindler's List'', was based on the true story of Oskar Schindler, a man who risked his life to save 1,100 Jews from the Holocaust. ''Schindler's List'' earned Spielberg his first Academy Award for Best Director (it also won Best Picture). With the film a huge success at the box office, Spielberg used the profits to set up the Shoah Foundation, a non-profit organization that archives filmed testimony of Holocaust survivors. In 1997, the American Film Institute listed it among the 10 Greatest American Films ever Made (#9) which moved up to (#8) when the list was remade in 2007.

Since 1994

In 1994, Spielberg took a hiatus from directing to spend more time with his family and build his new studio, DreamWorks, with partners Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. In 1997, he helmed the sequel to 1993's ''Jurassic Park'' with ''The Lost World: Jurassic Park'', which generated over $618 million worldwide despite mixed reviews, and was the second biggest hit of 1997 behind James Cameron's ''Titanic'' (which topped the original ''Jurassic Park'' to become the new recordholder for box office receipts).

His next film, ''Amistad'', was based on a true story (like ''Schindler's List''), specifically about an African slave rebellion. Despite decent reviews from critics, it did not do well at the box office. Spielberg released ''Amistad'' under DreamWorks Pictures, which issued all of his films from ''Amistad'' until ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' in May 2008 (see below).

In 1998, Spielberg re-visited ''Close Encounters'' yet again, this time for a more definitive 137-minute "Collector's Edition" that puts more emphasis on the original 1977 release, while adding some elements of the previous 1980 "Special Edition," but deleting the latter version's "Mothership Finale," which Spielberg regretted shooting in the first place, feeling it should have remained ambiguous in the minds of viewers.

His next theatrical release in that same year was the World War II film ''Saving Private Ryan'', about a group of U.S. soldiers led by Capt. Miller (Tom Hanks) sent to bring home a paratrooper whose three older brothers were killed in the last twenty four hours of action in France. The film was a huge box office success, grossing over $481 million worldwide and was the biggest film of the year at the North American box office (worldwide it made second place after Michael Bay's ''Armageddon''). Spielberg won his second Academy Award for his direction. The film's graphic, realistic depiction of combat violence influenced later war films such as ''Black Hawk Down'' and ''Enemy at the Gates''. The film was also the first major hit for DreamWorks, which co-produced the film with Paramount Pictures (as such, it was Spielberg's first release from the latter that was not part of the ''Indiana Jones'' series). Later, Spielberg and Tom Hanks produced a TV mini-series based on Stephen Ambrose's book ''Band of Brothers''. The ten-part HBO mini-series follows Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Division's 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The series won a number of awards at the Golden Globes and the Emmys.

In 2001, Spielberg filmed fellow director and friend Stanley Kubrick's final project, ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence'' which Kubrick was unable to begin during his lifetime. A futuristic film about a humanoid android longing for love, ''A.I.'' featured groundbreaking visual effects and a multi-layered, allegorical storyline, adapted by Spielberg himself. Though the film's reception in the US was relatively muted, it performed better overseas for a worldwide total box office gross of $236 million.

Spielberg and actor Tom Cruise collaborated for the first time for the futuristic neo-noir ''Minority Report'', based upon the sci-fi short story written by Philip K. Dick about a Washington D.C. police captain in the year 2054 who has been foreseen to murder a man he has not yet met. The film received strong reviews with the review tallying website Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 92% approval rating, reporting that 206 out of the 225 reviews they tallied were positive. The film earned over $358 million worldwide. Roger Ebert, who named it the best film of 2002, praised its breathtaking vision of the future as well as for the way Spielberg blended CGI with live-action.

Spielberg's 2002 film ''Catch Me If You Can'' is about the daring adventures of a youthful con artist (played by Leonardo DiCaprio). It earned Christopher Walken an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The film is known for John Williams' score and its unique title sequence. It was a hit both commercially and critically.

Spielberg collaborated again with Tom Hanks along with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Stanley Tucci in 2004's ''The Terminal'', a warm-hearted comedy about a man of Eastern European descent who is stranded in an airport. It received mixed reviews but performed relatively well at the box office. In 2005, ''Empire'' magazine ranked Spielberg number one on a list of the greatest film directors of all time.

Also in 2005, Spielberg directed a modern adaptation of ''War of the Worlds'' (a co-production of Paramount and DreamWorks), based on the H. G. Wells book of the same name (Spielberg had been a huge fan of the book and the original 1953 film). It starred Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning, and, as with past Spielberg films, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) provided the visual effects. Unlike ''E.T.'' and ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'', which depicted friendly alien visitors, ''War of the Worlds'' featured violent invaders. The film was another huge box office smash, grossing over $591 million worldwide.

Spielberg's film ''Munich'', about the events following the 1972 Munich Massacre of Israeli athletes at the Olympic Games, was his second film essaying Jewish relations in the world (the first being ''Schindler's List''). The film is based on ''Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team'', a book by Canadian journalist George Jonas. It was previously adapted into the 1986 made-for-TV film ''Sword of Gideon''. The film received strong critical praise, but underperformed at the U.S. and world box-office; it remains one of Spielberg's most controversial films to date. Munich received five Academy Awards nominations, including Best Picture, Film Editing, Original Music Score (by John Williams), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Director for Spielberg. It was Spielberg's sixth Best Director nomination and fifth Best Picture nomination.

Spielberg directed ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'', which wrapped filming in October 2007 and was released on May 22, 2008. This was his first film not to be released by DreamWorks since 1997. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, and has performed very well in theaters. As of May 10, 2010, ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' has grossed $317 million domestically, and over $786 million worldwide.

Production credits

Since the mid-1980s Spielberg has increased his role as a film producer. He headed up the production team for several cartoons, including the Warner Brothers hits ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', ''Animaniacs'', ''Pinky and the Brain'', ''Toonsylvania'', and ''Freakazoid!'', for which he collaborated with Jean MacCurdy and Tom Ruegger. Due to his work on these series, in the official titles, most of them say, "Steven Spielberg presents" as well as making numerous cameos on the shows. Spielberg also produced the Don Bluth animated features, ''An American Tail'' and ''The Land Before Time'', which were released by Universal Studios. He also served as one of the executive producers of ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' and its three related shorts (''Tummy Trouble'', ''Roller Coaster Rabbit'', ''Trail Mix-Up''), which were all released by Disney, under both the Walt Disney Pictures and the Touchstone Pictures banners. He was furthermore, for a short time, the executive producer of the long-running medical drama ''ER''. In 1989, he brought the concept of ''The Dig'' to LucasArts. He contributed to the project from that time until 1995 when the game was released. He also collaborated with software publishers Knowledge Adventure on the multimedia game ''Steven Spielberg's Director's Chair'', which was released in 1996. Spielberg appears, as himself, in the game to direct the player. The Spielberg name provided branding for a Lego Moviemaker kit, the proceeds of which went to the Starbright Foundation.

In 1993, Spielberg acted as executive producer for the highly anticipated television series ''seaQuest DSV''; a science fiction series set "in the near future" starring Roy Scheider (who Spielberg had directed in ''Jaws'') and Jonathan Brandis akin to ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' that aired on Sundays at 8:00 pm. on NBC. While the first season was moderately successful, the second season did less well. Spielberg's name no longer appeared in the third season and the show was cancelled mid way through it.

Spielberg served as an uncredited executive producer on ''The Haunting'', ''The Prince of Egypt'', ''Just Like Heaven'', ''Shrek'', and ''Evolution''. He served as an executive producer for the 1998 film ''Men in Black'', and its sequels, ''Men in Black II'' and the upcoming ''Men in Black III''. In 2005, he served as a producer of ''Memoirs of a Geisha'', an adaptation of the novel by Arthur Golden, a film he was previously attached to as director. In 2006, Spielberg co-executive produced with famed filmmaker Robert Zemeckis a CGI children's film called ''Monster House'', marking their eight collaboration together since 1990's ''Back to the Future Part III''. He also teamed with Clint Eastwood for the first time in their careers, co-producing Eastwood's ''Flags of Our Fathers'' and ''Letters from Iwo Jima'' with Robert Lorenz and Eastwood himself. He earned his twelfth Academy Award nomination for the latter film as it was nominated for Best Picture. Spielberg served as executive producer for ''Disturbia'' and the ''Transformers'' live action film with Brian Goldner, an employee of Hasbro. The film was directed by Michael Bay and written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, and Spielberg continued to collaborate on the sequels, ''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' and ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon''. In 2011, he produced the J. J. Abrams science fiction thriller film ''Super 8'' for Paramount Pictures.

Other major television series Spielberg produced were ''Band of Brothers'', ''Taken'' and ''The Pacific''. He was an executive producer on the critically acclaimed 2005 TV miniseries ''Into the West'' which won two Emmy awards, including one for Geoff Zanelli's score. For his 2010 miniseries ''The Pacific'' he teamed up once again with co-producer Tom Hanks, with Gary Goetzman also co-producing'. The miniseries is believed to have cost $250 million and is a 10-part war miniseries centered on the battles in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Writer Bruce McKenna, who penned several installments of (''Band of Brothers''), was the head writer.

In 2007, Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett co-produced ''On the Lot'' a short-lived TV reality show about filmmaking. Despite this, he never gave up working on television. He currently serves as one of the executive producers on ''United States of Tara'', a show created by Academy Award winner Diablo Cody which they developed together (Spielberg is uncredited as creator).

In 2011, Spielberg launched ''Falling Skies'', a science fiction television series, on the TNT network. He developed the series with Robert Rodat and is credited as an executive producer.

Acting credits

Steven Spielberg had cameo roles in ''The Blues Brothers'', ''Gremlins'', ''Vanilla Sky'', and ''Austin Powers in Goldmember'', as well as small uncredited cameos in a handful of other films, such as a life-station worker in ''Jaws''. He also made numerous cameo roles in the Warner Brothers cartoons he produced, such as Animaniacs, and even made reference to some of his films. Spielberg voiced himself in the film ''Paul'', and in one episode of ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' titled ''Buster and Babs Go Hawaiian''.

Involvement in video games

Apart from being an ardent gamer Spielberg has had a long history of involvement in video games. In 2005 the director signed with Electronic Arts to collaborate on three games including an action game and an award winning puzzle game for the Wii called ''Boom Blox'' (and its 2009 sequel: ''Boom Blox Bash Party''). Previously, he was involved in creating the scenario for the adventure game ''The Dig''. In 1996, Spielberg worked on and shot original footage for a movie-making simulation game called ''Steven Spielberg's Director's Chair''. He is the creator of the ''Medal of Honor'' series by Electronic Arts. He is credited in the special thanks section of the 1998 video game ''Trespasser''.

Upcoming and announced projects

In early 2009, Spielberg shot the first film in a planned trilogy of motion capture films based on ''The Adventures of Tintin'' written by Belgian artist Hergé, with Peter Jackson. ''The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn'', will not be released until December 23, 2011 due to the complexity of the computer animation involved. Jackson has been announced to direct the second film, which Spielberg will produce. Spielberg's next film ''War Horse'', was shot in England in the summer of 2010, and will be released just five days after ''The Adventures of Tintin'', on December 28, 2011. The film, based on the novel of the same name, is about the long friendship between a British boy and his horse Joey before and during World War I — a novel that was adapted into a hit play in London which is running on Broadway as of April 2011. It will be released and distributed by Disney, with whom DreamWorks has made a 30-picture deal. The novel was written by Michael Morpurgo and published in 1982. He will follow this with ''Lincoln'', starring Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln and Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln. Based on Doris Kearns Goodwin's bestseller ''Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln'', the film will follow Lincoln's leadership during the years of the American Civil War. Written by Tony Kushner, the film will be shot in the fall of 2011 in Richmond, Virginia and released in the fourth quarter of 2012 by Disney's Touchstone Pictures division. Spielberg also made a commitment to direct a film based on the novel ''Robopocalypse''.

In 2009, Spielberg reportedly tried to obtain the screen rights to make a film based on Microsoft's ''Halo'' series. In September 2008, Steven Spielberg bought film rights for John Wyndham's novel ''Chocky'' and is interested in directing it. He is also interested in making an adaptation of ''A Steady Rain'', ''Pirate Latitudes'', ''The 39 Clues'', and ''Under the Dome'', along with a remake of ''When Worlds Collide''. In May 2009, Steven Spielberg bought the rights to the life story of Martin Luther King, Jr.. Spielberg will be involved not only as producer but also as a director. However, the purchase was made from the King estate, led by son Dexter, while the two other surviving children, the Reverend Bernice and Martin III, immediately threatened to sue, not having given their approvals to the project.

In June 2006, Steven Spielberg announced he would direct a scientifically accurate film about "a group of explorers who travel through a worm hole and into another dimension", from a treatment by Kip Thorne and producer Lynda Obst. In January 2007, screenwriter Jonathan Nolan met with them to discuss adapting Obst and Thorne's treatment into a narrative screenplay. The screenwriter suggested the addition of a "time element" to the treatment's basic idea, which was welcomed by Obst and Thorne. In March of that year, Paramount hired Nolan as well as scientists from Caltech, forming a workshop who will begin adapting the treatment after completing the script for Warner Bros.' ''The Chicago Fire''. The following July, Kip Thorne said there was a push by people for him to portray himself in the film ''Interstellar''.

Spielberg is also producing the Fox TV series ''Terra Nova''. ''Terra Nova'' will begin in the year 2149 when all life on the planet Earth is threatened with extinction resulting in scientists opening a door that allows people to travel back 85 million years to prehistoric times. Spielberg will also help produce the upcoming TV series ''The River'' and ''Smash''.

Themes

Spielberg's films often deal with several recurring themes. Most of his films deal with ordinary characters searching for or coming in contact with extraordinary beings or finding themselves in extraordinary circumstances. In an AFI interview in August 2000 Spielberg commented on his interest in the possibility of extra terrestrial life and how it has influenced some of his films. Spielberg described himself as feeling like an alien during childhood, and his interest came from his father, a science fiction fan, and his opinion that aliens would not travel light years for conquest, but instead curiosity and sharing of knowledge.

A strong consistent theme in his family-friendly work is a childlike, even naïve, sense of wonder and faith, as attested by works such as ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'', ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'', ''Hook'', and ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence''. According to Warren Buckland, these themes are portrayed through the use of low height camera tracking shots, which have become one of Spielberg's directing trademarks. In the cases when his films include children (''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'', ''Empire of the Sun'', ''Jurassic Park'', etc.), this type of shot is more apparent, but it is also used in films like ''Munich'', ''Saving Private Ryan'', ''The Terminal'', ''Minority Report'', and ''Amistad''. If one views each of his films, one will see this shot utilized by the director, notably the water scenes in ''Jaws'' are filmed from the low-angle perspective of someone swimming. Another child oriented theme in Spielberg's films is that of loss of innocence and coming-of-age. In ''Empire of the Sun'', Jim, a well-groomed and spoiled English youth, loses his innocence as he suffers through World War II China. Similarly, in ''Catch Me If You Can'', Frank naively and foolishly believes that he can reclaim his shattered family if he accumulates enough money to support them.

The most persistent theme throughout his films is tension in parent-child relationships. Parents (often fathers) are reluctant, absent or ignorant. Peter Banning in ''Hook'' starts off in the beginning of the film as a reluctant married-to-his-work parent who through the course of his film regains the respect of his children. The notable absence of Elliott's father in ''E.T.'', is the most famous example of this theme. In ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'', it is revealed that Indy has always had a very strained relationship with his father, who is a professor of medieval literature, as his father always seemed more interested in his work, specifically in his studies of the Holy Grail, than in his own son, although his father does not seem to realize or understand the negative effect that his aloof nature had on Indy (he even believes he was a good father in the sense that he taught his son "self reliance," which is not how Indy saw it). Even Oskar Schindler, from ''Schindler's List'', is reluctant to have a child with his wife. ''Munich'' depicts Avner as a man away from his wife and newborn daughter. There are of course exceptions; Brody in ''Jaws'' is a committed family man, while John Anderton in ''Minority Report'' is a shattered man after the disappearance of his son. This theme is arguably the most autobiographical aspect of Spielberg's films, since Spielberg himself was affected by his parents' divorce as a child and by the absence of his father. Furthermore to this theme, protagonists in his films often come from families with divorced parents, most notably ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (protagonist Elliot's mother is divorced) and ''Catch Me If You Can'' (Frank Abagnale's mother and father split early on in the film). Little known also is Tim in ''Jurassic Park'' (early in the film, another secondary character mentions Tim and Lex's parents' divorce). The family often shown divided is often resolved in the ending as well. Following this theme of reluctant fathers and father figures, Tim looks to Dr. Alan Grant as a father figure. Initially, Dr. Grant is reluctant to return those paternal feelings to Tim. However, by the end of the film, he has changed, and the kids even fall asleep with their heads on his shoulders.

Most of his films are generally optimistic in nature. Critics frequently accuse his films of being overly sentimental, though Spielberg feels it is fine as long as it is disguised. The influence comes from directors Frank Capra and John Ford.

Contemporaries

In terms of casting and production itself, Spielberg has a known penchant for working with actors and production members from his previous films. For instance, he has cast Richard Dreyfuss in several films: ''Jaws'', ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'', and ''Always''. Aside from his role as Indiana Jones, Spielberg also cast Harrison Ford as a headteacher in ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (though the scene was ultimately cut). Although Spielberg directed him only once (in Raiders of the Lost Ark, for which he voiced many of the animals), veteran voice actor Frank Welker has lent his voice in a number of productions Spielberg has executively produced from ''Gremlins'' to its sequel ''Gremlins 2: The New Batch'', as well as ''The Land Before Time'' (and lending his voice to its sequels which Spielberg had no involvement in), ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'', and television shows such as ''Tiny Toons'', ''Animaniacs'', and SeaQuest DSV. Recently Spielberg has used Tom Hanks on several occasions and has cast him in ''Saving Private Ryan'', ''Catch Me If You Can'', and ''The Terminal''. Spielberg also has collaborated with Tom Cruise twice on ''Minority Report'' and ''War of the Worlds''. Spielberg has also cast Shia LaBeouf in five films: ''Transformers'', ''Eagle Eye'', ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'', ''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'', and ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon''. Spielberg prefers working with production members with whom he has developed an existing working relationship. An example of this is his production relationship with Kathleen Kennedy who has served as producer on all his major films from ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' to the recent ''Munich''. Other working relationships include Allen Daviau, a childhood friend and cinematographer who shot the early Spielberg film ''Amblin'' and most of his films up to ''Empire of the Sun''; Janusz Kamiński who has shot every Spielberg film since ''Schindler's List'' (see List of film director and cinematographer collaborations); and the film editor Michael Kahn who has edited every film directed by Spielberg from ''Close Encounters'' to ''Munich'' (except ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial''). Most of the DVDs of Spielberg's films have documentaries by Laurent Bouzereau.

A famous example of Spielberg working with the same professionals is his long time collaboration with John Williams and the use of his musical scores in all of his films since ''The Sugarland Express'' (except ''The Color Purple'' and ''Twilight Zone: The Movie''). One of Spielberg's trademarks is his use of music by John Williams to add to the visual impact of his scenes and to try and create a lasting picture and sound of the film in the memories of the film audience. These visual scenes often uses images of the sun (e.g. ''Empire of the Sun'', ''Saving Private Ryan'', the final scene of ''Jurassic Park'', and the end credits of ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' (where they ride into the sunset), of which the last two feature a Williams score at that end scene. Spielberg is a contemporary of filmmakers George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, John Milius, and Brian De Palma, collectively known as the "Movie Brats". Aside from his principal role as a director, Spielberg has acted as a producer for a considerable number of films, including early hits for Joe Dante and Robert Zemeckis.

Personal life

Marriages and children

From 1985 to 1989 Spielberg was married to actress Amy Irving. In their 1989 divorce settlement, she received $100 million from Spielberg after a judge controversially vacated a prenuptial agreement written on a napkin. Their divorce was recorded as the third most costly celebrity divorce in history. Following the divorce, Spielberg and Irving shared custody of their son, Max Samuel.

Spielberg subsequently developed a relationship with actress Kate Capshaw, whom he met when he cast her in ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom''. They married on October 12, 1991. Capshaw is a convert to Judaism. They currently move among their four homes in Pacific Palisades, California; New York City; Quelle Farm, Georgica Pond in East Hampton, NY; and Naples, Florida.

There are seven children in the Spielberg-Capshaw family:

Jessica Capshaw (born August 9, 1976) – daughter from Kate Capshaw's previous marriage to Robert Capshaw

Max Samuel Spielberg (born June 13, 1985) – son from Spielberg's previous marriage to actress Amy Irving

Theo Spielberg (born 1988) – son adopted by Capshaw before her marriage to Spielberg, who later also adopted him Sasha Rebecca Spielberg (born May 14, 1990, Los Angeles) Sawyer Avery Spielberg (born March 10, 1992, Los Angeles)

Mikaela George (born February 28, 1996) – adopted with Kate Capshaw

Destry Allyn Spielberg (born December 1, 1996)

Wealth

''Forbes'' magazine places Spielberg's personal net worth at $3.0 billion.

Recognition

In 2002, Spielberg was one of eight flagbearers who carried the Olympic Flag into Rice-Eccles Stadium at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. In 2006, ''Premiere'' listed him as the most powerful and influential figure in the motion picture industry. ''Time'' listed him as one of the 100 Most Important People of the Century. At the end of the 20th century, ''Life'' named him the most influential person of his generation.

Starbright

In 1991 Steven Spielberg co-founded Starbright with Randy Aduana—a foundation dedicated to improving sick children's lives through technology-based programs focusing on entertainment and education. In 2002 Starbright merged with the Starlight Foundation forming what is now today the Starlight Children's Foundation.

Politics

Spielberg usually supports U.S. Democratic Party candidates. He has donated over $800,000 for the Democratic party and its nominees. He has been a close friend of former President Bill Clinton and worked with the President for the USA Millennium celebrations. He directed an 18-minute film for the project, scored by John Williams and entitled ''The American Journey''. It was shown at America's Millennium Gala on December 31, 1999, in the National Mall at the Reflecting Pool at the base of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Spielberg resigned as a member of the national advisory board of the Boy Scouts of America in 2001 because of his disapproval of the organization's anti-homosexuality stance.

Spielberg joined Jeffrey Katzenberg and Haim Saban in endorsing the re-election of Hollywood friend Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Republican Governor of California, on August 7, 2006.

In 2007 the Arab League voted to boycott Spielberg's movies after he donated $1 million for relief efforts in Israel during the 2006 Lebanon War.

On February 20, 2007, Spielberg, Katzenberg, and David Geffen invited Democrats to a fundraiser for Barack Obama. However, on June 14, 2007, Spielberg endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) for President. While Geffen and Katzenberg supported Obama, Spielberg was always a supporter of Hillary Clinton. However Spielberg directed a video for Obama at the DNC in August 2008 and attended Obama's inauguration.

In February 2008, Spielberg pulled out of his role as advisor to the 2008 Summer Olympics in response to the Chinese government's inaction over the War in Darfur. Spielberg said in a statement that "''I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue business as usual''." It also said that "''Sudan's government bears the bulk of the responsibility for these on-going crimes, but the international community, and particularly China, should be doing more.''." The International Olympic Committee respected Spielberg's decision, but IOC president Jacques Rogge admitted in an interview that "''[Spielberg] certainly would have brought a lot to the opening ceremony in terms of creativity.''" Spielberg's statement drew criticism from Chinese officials and state-run media calling his criticism "unfair".

In September 2008, Spielberg and his wife offered their support to same-sex marriage, by issuing a statement following their donation of $100,000 to the "No on Proposition 8" campaign fund, a figure equal to the amount of money Brad Pitt donated to the same campaign less than a week prior.

Hobbies

Spielberg is an avid film buff, and, when not shooting a picture, he will indulge in "movie orgies" (watching many over a single weekend). He sees almost every major summer blockbuster in theaters if not preoccupied and enjoys most of them; "If I get pleasure from anything, I can't think of it as dumb or myself as shallow [...] I'll probably go late to that movie and go, 'What the dickens was everybody complaining about, that wasn't so bad!'".

Since playing Pong while filming ''Jaws'' in 1974, Spielberg has been an avid video gamer. He owns a Wii, a PlayStation 3, a PSP, and Xbox 360, and enjoys playing first-person shooters such as the ''Medal of Honor'' series and ''Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare''. He has also criticized the use of cut scenes in games, calling them intrusive, and feels making story flow naturally into the gameplay is a challenge for future game developers.

Stalking

In 2001, Spielberg was stalked by conspiracy theorist and former social worker Diana Napolis. She accused him, along with actress Jennifer Love Hewitt, of controlling her thoughts through "cybertronic" technology and being part of a satanic conspiracy against her. Napolis was committed for life in a mental institution before pleading guilty to stalking and released on probation with a condition that she have no contact with either Spielberg or Hewitt.

Spielberg was a target of the 2002 white supremacist terror plot.

Jonathan Norman was arrested after making two attempts to enter Spielberg's Pacific Palisades home in June and July 1997. Norman was jailed for 25 years in California. Spielberg, told the court: "Had Jonathan Norman actually confronted me, I genuinely, in my heart of hearts, believe that I would have been raped or maimed or killed."

Achievements

Spielberg has won three Academy Awards. He has been nominated for six Academy Awards for the category of Best Director, winning two of them (''Schindler's List'' and ''Saving Private Ryan''), and seven of the films he directed were up for the Best Picture Oscar (''Schindler's List'' won). In 1987 he was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award for his work as a creative producer.

Drawing from his own experiences in Scouting, Spielberg helped the Boy Scouts of America develop a merit badge in cinematography. The badge was launched at the 1989 National Scout Jamboree, which Spielberg attended, and where he personally counseled many boys in their work on requirements.

That same year, 1989, saw the release of ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade''. The opening scene shows a teenage Indiana Jones in scout uniform bearing the rank of a Life Scout. Spielberg stated he made Indiana Jones a Boy Scout in honor of his experience in Scouting. For his career accomplishments and service to others, Spielberg was awarded the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.

Steven Spielberg received the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1995.

In 1998 he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit with Ribbon of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Award was presented to him by President Roman Herzog in recognition of his film ''Schindler's List'' and his Shoa-Foundation.

In 1999, Spielberg received an honorary degree from Brown University. Spielberg was also awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service by Secretary of Defense William Cohen at the Pentagon on August 11, 1999; Cohen presented the award in recognition of Spielberg's film ''Saving Private Ryan''.

In 2001, he was honored as an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) by Queen Elizabeth II.

In 2004 he was admitted as knight of the Légion d'honneur by president Jacques Chirac. On July 15, 2006, Spielberg was also awarded the Gold Hugo Lifetime Achievement Award at the Summer Gala of the Chicago International Film Festival, and also was awarded a Kennedy Center honour on December 3. The tribute to Spielberg featured a short, filmed biography narrated by Tom Hanks and included thank-yous from World War II veterans for ''Saving Private Ryan'', as well as a performance of the finale to Leonard Bernstein's ''Candide'', conducted by John Williams (Spielberg's frequent composer).

In November 2007, he was chosen for a Lifetime Achievement Award to be presented at the sixth annual Visual Effects Society Awards in February 2009. He was set to be honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the January 2008 Golden Globes; however, the new, watered-down format of the ceremony resulting from conflicts in the 2007–08 writers strike, the HFPA postponed his honor to the 2009 ceremony. In 2008, Spielberg was awarded the Légion d'honneur.

In June 2008, Spielberg received Arizona State University's Hugh Downs Award for Communication Excellence.

Spielberg received an honorary degree at Boston University's 136th Annual Commencement on May 17, 2009. In October 2009 Steven Spielberg received the Philadelphia Liberty Medal; presenting him with the medal was former US president and Liberty Medal recipient Bill Clinton. Special guests included Whoopi Goldberg, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter.

Praise and criticism

Film

In 2005, Steven Spielberg was rated the greatest film director of all time by Empire Magazine.

After watching the unconventional, off-center camera techniques of ''Jaws'', Alfred Hitchcock praised "young Spielberg," saying "He's the first one of us who doesn't see the proscenium arch." Or, to paraphrase, he was the first mainstream director to think outside the visual dynamics of the theater, although that didn’t stop Hitchcock from removing Spielberg from the set of ''Family Plot'', his last film.

Some of Spielberg's most famous fans include film legends Robert Aldrich, Ingmar Bergman, Werner Herzog, Stanley Kubrick, David Lean, Sidney Lumet, Roman Polanski, Martin Scorsese, Francois Truffaut and Zhang Yimou.

Subsequently, Spielberg's movies have also influenced many directors that followed, including J.J Abrams, Paul Thomas Anderson, Neill Blomkamp, James Cameron, Guillermo del Toro, Roland Emmerich, David Fincher, Peter Jackson, Kal Ng, Robert Rodriguez, John Sayles, Ridley Scott, John Singleton, Kevin Smith, Steven Soderbergh and Quentin Tarantino.

British film critic Tom Shone has said of Spielberg, "If you have to point to any one director of the last twenty-five years in whose work the medium of film was most fully itself – where we found out what it does best when left to its own devices, it has to be that guy."

However, Spielberg is not without his critics—many of whom complain that his films are overly sentimental and tritely moralistic. In his book ''Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood'', Peter Biskind summarized the views of Spielberg's detractors, accusing the director of "infantilizing the audience, reconstituting the spectator as child, then overwhelming him and her with sound and spectacle, obliterating irony, aesthetic self-consciousness, and critical reflection."

Critics of mainstream film such as Ray Carney and American artist and actor Crispin Glover (who starred in the Spielberg-produced ''Back to the Future'' and also sued Spielberg for using Glover's likeness in ''Back to the Future Part II'') claim that Spielberg's films lack depth and do not take risks.

The late film critic, Pauline Kael, who had championed Spielberg's films in the 1970s, expressed disappointment in his later development, stating that "he’s become, I think, a very bad director.... And I’m a little ashamed for him, because I loved his early work.... [H]e turned to virtuous movies. And he’s become so uninteresting now.... I think that he had it in him to become more of a fluid, far-out director. But, instead, he’s become a melodramatist."

Imre Kertész, Hungarian Jewish author, Nazi concentration camp survivor, and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, criticized Spielberg's depiction of the Holocaust in ''Schindler's List'' as kitsch, saying "I regard as kitsch any representation of the Holocaust that is incapable of understanding or unwilling to understand the organic connection between our own deformed mode of life and the very possibility of the Holocaust."

French New Wave filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard stated that he holds Spielberg partly responsible for the lack of artistic merit in mainstream cinema and accused Spielberg of using his film ''Schindler's List'' to make a profit of tragedy while Schindler's wife lived in poverty in Argentina. In defense of Spielberg, critic Roger Ebert said "Has Godard or any other director living or dead done more than Spielberg, with his Holocaust Project, to honor and preserve the memories of the survivors?"

Stephen Rowley wrote an extensive essay about Spielberg and his career in Senses of Cinema. In it he discussed Spielberg's strengths as a film maker, saying "there is a welcome complexity of tone and approach in these later films that defies the lazy stereotypes often bandied about his films" and that "Spielberg continues to take risks, with his body of work continuing to grow more impressive and ambitious", concluding that he has only received "limited, begrudging recognition" from critics .

Other

Spielberg, as a then co-owner of DreamWorks, was involved in a heated debate in which the studio proposed building on the remaining wetlands in Southern California, though development was later dropped.

In August 2007, Ai Weiwei, artistic designer for the Beijing Olympic Stadium Bird's Nest accused those choreographing the Olympic opening ceremony, including Spielberg, of failing to live up to their responsibility as artists. Ai said, "It's disgusting. I don't like anyone who shamelessly abuses their profession, who makes no moral judgment."

Filmography

Awards and nominations

'''Academy Awards:

1978: Best Director (''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'', nominated)

1982: Best Director (''Raiders of the Lost Ark'', nominated)

1983: Best Director (''E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial'', nominated)

1983: Best Picture (''E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial'', nominated)

1986: Best Picture (''The Color Purple'', nominated)

1987: Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award (won)

1994: Best Director (''Schindler's List'', won)

1994: Best Picture (''Schindler's List'', won)

1999: Best Director (''Saving Private Ryan'', won)

1999: Best Picture (''Saving Private Ryan'', nominated)

2006: Best Director (''Munich'', nominated)

2006: Best Picture (''Munich'', nominated)

2007: Best Picture (''Letters from Iwo Jima'', nominated)

'''BAFTA Awards:

1976: Best Direction (''Jaws'', nominated)

1979: Best Direction (''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'', nominated)

1979: Best Screenplay (''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'', nominated)

1983: Best Direction (''E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial'', nominated)

1983: Best Film (''E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial'', nominated)

1986: Academy Fellowship (won)

1994: Best Film (''Schindler's List'', won)

1994: David Lean Award for Direction (''Schindler's List'', won)

1999: Best Film (''Saving Private Ryan'', nominated)

1999: David Lean Award for Direction (''Saving Private Ryan'', nominated)

'''Cannes Film Festival

1974: Best Screenplay (''The Sugarland Express'', won)

1974: Golden Palm (''The Sugarland Express'', nominated)

'''Critics Choice Awards:

1999: Best Director (''Saving Private Ryan'', won)

2003: Best Director (''Catch Me If You Can'' and ''Minority Report'', won)

2006: Best Director (''Munich'', nominated)

'''Directors Guild of America:

1976: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (''Jaws'', nominated)

1978: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'', nominated)

1982: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (''Raiders of the Lost Ark'', nominated'')

1983: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (''E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial'', nominated)

1986: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (''The Color Purple'', won); this was the first time a director won this award without receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Director.

1988: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (''Empire of the Sun'', nominated)

1994: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (''Schindler's List'', won)

1998: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (''Amistad'', nominated)

1999: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (''Saving Private Ryan'', won); this win makes Spielberg the only individual to win this award three times.

2000: The D.W. Griffith Award for Lifetime Achievement

2006: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (''Munich'', nominated)

'''Golden Globes:

1976: Best Director (''Jaws'', nominated)

1978: Best Director (''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'', nominated)

1978: Best Screenplay (''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'', nominated)

1982: Best Director (''Raiders of the Lost Ark'', nominated)

1983: Best Picture – Drama (''E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial'', won)

1983: Best Director (''E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial'', nominated)

1986: Best Director (''The Color Purple'', nominated)

1994: Best Picture – Drama (''Schindler's List'', won)

1994: Best Director (''Schindler's List'', won)

1998: Best Director (''Amistad'', nominated)

1999: Best Picture – Drama (''Saving Private Ryan'', won)

1999: Best Director (''Saving Private Ryan'', won)

2002: Best Director (''AI: Artificial Intelligence'', nominated)

2006: Best Director (''Munich'', nominated)

2008: Cecil B. DeMille Award (won)

'''Hasty Pudding Theatricals:

1983: Man of the Year (won)

'''Hollywood Walk of Fame:

2003: Star on the Walk of Fame (won)

'''NBR Award:

1987: Best Director (''Empire of the Sun'', won)

2001: Billy Wilder Award (won)

'''Primetime Emmys:

1986: Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series (''Amazing Stories'' for episode "The Mission", nominated)

1991: Outstanding Animated Program – One Hour or Less (''Tiny Toon Adventures'' for episode "The Looney Beginning", nominated)

1995: Outstanding Animated Program – One Hour or Less (''Tiny Toon Adventures: Night Ghoulery'', nominated)

1996: Outstanding Animated Program – One Hour or Less (''A Pinky & the Brain Christmas Special'', won)

2002: Outstanding Non-Fiction Special – Informational (''We Stand Alone Together'', nominated)

2002: Outstanding Miniseries (''Band of Brothers'', won)

2003: Outstanding Miniseries (''Taken'', won)

2006: Outstanding Miniseries (''Into the West'', nominated)

'''Producers Guild of America:

1994: Motion Picture Producer of the Year (''Schindler's List'', won)

1998: Motion Picture Producer of the Year (''Amistad'', nominated)

1998: Vision Award (''Amistad'', won)

1999: Motion Picture Producer of the Year (''Saving Private Ryan'', won)

1999: Milestone Award (won)

2000: PGA Hall of Fame – Motion Pictures (''E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial'', won)

2002: Television Producer of the Year – Longform (''Band of Brothers'', won)

2006: Television Producer of the Year – Longform (''Into the West'', nominated)

'''Saturn Awards:

1978: Best Director (''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'', won); tied with George Lucas for ''Star Wars''

1978: Best Writing (''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'', won); tied with George Lucas for ''Star Wars''

1982: Best Director (''Raiders of the Lost Ark'', won)

1983: Best Science Fiction Film (''E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial'', won)

1983: Best Director (''E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial'', nominated)

1985: Best Director (''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'', nominated)

1994: Best Science Fiction Film (''Jurassic Park'', won)

1994: Best Director (''Jurassic Park'', won)

1994: President's Award (won)

1998: Best Director (''The Lost World: Jurassic Park'', nominated)

1999: Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film (''Saving Private Ryan'', won)

2002: Best Science Fiction Film (''AI: Artificial Intelligence'', won)

2002: Best Director (''AI: Artificial Intelligence'', nominated)

2002: Best writing (''AI: Artificial Intelligence'', won)

2003: Best Science Fiction Film (''Minority Report'', won)

2003: Best Director (''Minority Report'', won)

2006: Best Director (''War of the Worlds'', nominated)

2009: Best Director (''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'', nominated)

'''Venice Film Festival:

1993: Career Golden Lion (won)

2001: Future Film Festival Digital Award (''AI: Artificial Intelligence'', won)

'''Writers Guild of America:

1975: Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen (''The Sugarland Express'', nominated)

1978: Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen (''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'', nominated)

Other

2009 Liberty Medal

2006 Kennedy Center Honors

2001 Knight Commander, Order of the British Empire (Honorary)

2003 Knight Grand Cross Order of Merit of the Italian Republic

1998 Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

References

Further reading

External links

Steven Spielberg Bibliography (via UC Berkeley)

Official website of DreamWorks

Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation (founded by Spielberg)

''Time'' 100: Steven Spielberg

Spielberg at 60 – Empire

Fansite and forum "Playmountain," the successor of "Spielbergfilms"

Spielberg's financial success in a single image

The Question Spielberg: A Symposium — Part One: Position Papers and Part Two: Films and Moments, ''Senses of Cinema'' (2003)

Spielberg Symposium, ''Reverse Shot'' (2003)

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