Steven Spielberg is known for being a Hollywood legend as the director and producer of many popular movie franchises including Indiana Jones, Jaws, Jurassic Park, and more. We reveal some fun facts about the Hollywood legend that you might have not heard of.
Though he isn’t credited in any of the “Star Wars” films, Spielberg receives 2.5% of the profits from every film in the franchise. This arrangement was a part of a deal he made with Lucas a long time ago as Lucas was concerned the original “Star Wars” could fail in the same year Spielberg released “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” that was predicted to succeed.
Spielberg proposed a deal that both of them trade 2.5% of the profits from their respective films to support each other. He might not be mentioned in any of the credits, but he’s helped the creator, George Lucas, over the years as the directors are friends that help each other with movie projects.
The trade of 2.5% of profits might not seem too lucrative but Spielberg out-profited Lucas by $40 million with this deal alone. This figure is only growing with the expansion of the “Star Wars” franchise that Spielberg will be profiting from every project.
The two directors practically worked together on nearly all of their films until Lucas hit the jackpot with “Star Wars” and didn’t credit Spielberg for any of his creative input. In 2002, Spielberg disclosed in an interview that he was denied his request to get behind the camera for any of the “Star War” movies but in 2015 contradicted his former sentiments stating he couldn’t do it because it was his best friend’s film genre.
Spielberg is unclear of his opinion in this deal, but he is also profiting from other films with little to no involvement to this very day. Spielberg purchased the original ‘Rosebud’ sled from the famous Orson Welles movie “Citizen Kane” which was one of three Yankee Clipper sleds made for the film.
The sled has become even rarer as two of the sleds were burned while filming the final shot and only one of them remained to make it one-of-a-kind. Spielberg purchased the only existing ‘Rosebud’ sled in 1986 for $60,500 that was rescued from RKO storage. Spielberg kept the sled in his private collection and eventually donated the prop to the Academy stating, “it belongs in a museum,” paying homage to Indiana Jones.
In the past, Spielberg expressed interest in directing a “James Bond” film twice. The first time he requested to be director, he was turned down for not having enough experience during his early career. The second time was decades later but Spielberg was so famous, the producers couldn’t afford him.
Spielberg has also revealed that he has dyslexia, experiencing a hard time learning to read as a child but wasn’t diagnosed until he was 60 years old. All of Hollywood is fueled by coffee for long days on-set but Spielberg doesn’t drink coffee at all saying he doesn’t like the taste.
The famous director is also the godfather of two actresses including Drew Barrymore and Gwyneth Paltrow. One actor has appeared in nearly all of Spielberg’s movies, his dog named Elmer. The cocker spaniel Elmer was frequently on-set with the director in the 70s starring in several of his films including “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “The Sugarland Express,” “1941,” and “Jaws.”
Now you know more about the man behind the magical films. Which Spielberg film is your favorite?
