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Steven Allan Spielberg

by Eli from Herrin, Ill.

“…a lot of people today are losing their imagination because they are so driven by work…” — Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg

A hero to me is someone I can look up to, someone who can be a good role model. Steven Spielberg is my hero because he cares about other people. He carries out his passion for storytelling through his awesome films that can touch peoples’ lives. He really likes making movies with his active imagination.

Steven was born December 18, 1947. While a kid, he lived on the sensation of being scared. “As a kid, I liked pushing myself to the brink of terror and then pulling back,” said Steven. He also just loved to scare his sisters to death. Once he told them about an old World War II pilot’s body in a closet of theirs. He put a plastic skull with his dad’s aviator cap and an old pair of goggles in the closet. Then he told his sisters to go in. He slammed the door shut, locked it and flipped on the rigged skull. It lit up and they screamed, horrified.

Three films directed by Spielberg
Three films directed by Spielberg

Steven loved movies as a kid. He took classes when he was a Boy Scout to get a photography merit badge. He made a three-minute movie named “Gunsmog,“ after the TV cowboy show “Gunsmoke.” He filmed it in the local desert with a stagecoach and everything. He also made a dummy, the bad guy, and threw it off the cliff. Steven loved to make movies, so he included his whole family. They gave him nonstop support. He would show homemade movies he made and charge admission. He then would donate his profits to the handicapped. He was always putting himself last. He once fell purposely to allow a mentally handicapped boy to cross the finish line before him so he could win the race.

Steven With Tom Cruise
Steven With Tom Cruise

He attended Arcadia High School, in Phoenix, Arizona, and then Saratoga High School just outside of San Jose, California, where he graduated from. He tried to get in to the USC Cinema School two times, but got turned down both times. His grades were too low in high school. He eventually became a huge movie success and even, at age 46, a billionaire. He co-founded DreamWorks SKG with Jeffery Katzenberg and David Geffen. DreamWorks produces motion pictures, animated films, television shows, and recorded music. He co-produced the TV medical show “ER.” He opened a restaurant called Dive! with Jeffery Katzenberg.

Steven gave us films and dreams to encourage the dreamer in each of us, so people gave him the Dream Keeper Award. Later on he was given an Oscar for best director for “Schindler’s List.” Then he received the John Houston Award and finally the Life Achievement Award.

Steven is a very determined hero of mine. He donates money to people less fortunate than him. He really cares for other people. I think he is the best role model for me. His passion in films is huge. His movies can be funny or suspenseful. I think he is a very honorable person.

Page created on 6/14/2006 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 6/14/2006 12:00:00 AM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.

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