While we were recently treated with a tour of Universal Studio’s Hollywood lot by one of the ultimate authorities on it, today one can see a much younger Steven Spielberg in a similar circumstance in a vintage, one-hour documentary hailing from Japan. This time, a man in his mid-30’s — a creator before Jurassic Park, before Saving Private Ryan or Schindler’s List — takes the film crew through an area that feels even more intimate and personal to the man, as they are not his stomping grounds, but his living quarters.
“I’ll be out out of this office in two years. That’s the way movies are,” Spielberg states in a striped sweater. “You move into an office and just when you feel you’re at home, then you move into another studio.” His walls are littered with memorabilia and newspaper clippings relating to his films: an Ad Week cover of a cartoon Spielberg holding E.T., a joke painting that features an Alien hand touching a human’s with the words, “E.T. Eternal Taxes” above it.
Sitting on a couch ruminating on his choices, Spielberg gives interesting insight into his selection process, stating, “When I commit to a movie, it’s something I feel more than something I think about a lot. If I have to think about it a lot, it’s probably the wrong movie for me. But if I feel it’s right — it’s just an inner-voice inside that says ‘do that movie!’ — sometimes it nags you, and I don’t listen to it all the time, but when I do I’m usually happy with the decision.” This philosophy makes it interesting to ponder which films in the decades Spielberg has since been working have been a product of the voice, and which have been a reluctant step due to overthinking.
See the edited-down, hour-long documentary below, along with the full version, and listen to a talk on one of his most recent features, Bridge of Spies, here.