10 Steven Spielberg Projects You've Forgotten About

TV & Film

Dec 13

Steven Spielberg, legendary filmmaker has had so many smash hits that there are a number of projects that fans have forgotten about or never knew it was his baseball cap behind the camera in the first place.

From surprise blockbusters to cult television, here are ten of the best that you should revisit.

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10: The Wolf of Wall Street (Director)

*The Wolf of Wall Street*
Image Source: TV Insider

Steven Spielberg was visiting the set of Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street and he ended up in the director’s chair. The Steve Madden motivational speech scene was the shot in question, and Leonardo Di Caprio has talked in interviews about how awe-inspiring it was to have the two legendary directors on set at the same time.

9: Amistad (Director)

Amistad was another Steven Spielberg film that did well at the Oscars, receiving four nominations. The script was penned by David Franzoni who would go on to write Gladiator.

Spielberg’s portrayal of the Mende revolt wasn’t the most historically accurate movie he would ever bring to screen, but it does hit hard. Released in 1997, it was sandwiched between Jurassic Park and Saving Private Ryan, so it’s often forgotten.

8: The Goonies (Executive Producer)

*The Goonies*
Image Source: Wallpapers.com

Steven Spielberg was responsible for The Goonies. While working on The Color Purple, he asked himself ‘What do kids do on rainy days?’ and then came up with the concept of a pirate treasure hunt.

Spielberg got Richard Donner and Christopher Columbus to write the script, (and Donner directed) but he stayed on as Executive Producer, however in Sean Astin’s biography, the actor states that he was The Goonies uncredited second director and frequently popped onto set to assist. The wishing well scene and the scene where the children bang on pipes were both directed by Spielberg.

7: Columbo ‘Murder by the Book’ (Director)

Spielberg had to be personally approved by the show’s star, Peter Falk to work on the detective series. He’d only worked on three television shows (directing single episodes) previous as well as a smattering of shorts, so it’s no wonder that they had reservations about employing the twenty-four-year-old novice.

The episode is now considered to be iconic in Colombo lore. Top episode lists often switch up Murder by the Book and Leo Penn’s Any Port In A Storm as first and second, as they are the undisputed two fan-favourite outings of the trench coat wearing detective.

6: Seaquest DSV (Executive Producer)

Steven Spielberg had just finished working on Jurassic Park and wanted to get back into television when Rockne S. O'Bannon’s (Farscape, Alien Nation) pitch came across his desk for an underwater take on Star-Trek. The show wanted to be family friendly and explore the relationship between man and the environment. Spielberg was gripped and attached himself as executive producer. Seaquest DSV was massively ambitious. It required water sets, and cutting-edge CGI that wasn’t in use in most movies at the time. Oh, and a dolphin and it’s trainer. Don’t forget Darwin.

Without the confidence that came from Spielberg, it was unlikely that NBC would have handed over the budget that Seaquest DSV needed to look credible on screen. Spielberg had worked with Rob Schnieder on Jaws and managed to talk him into the lead role of Captain Nathan Bridger. Unfortunately, conflicts between the original concept and NBC led to the show going off the rails in later episodes. Spielberg stepped away and it was cancelled after its third season. But it has still managed to achieve cult status thanks to its amazing opening.

5: Empire of the Sun (Director)

*Empire of the Sun*
Image Source: TV Insider

When people think of Steven Spielberg and epic war movies, Saving Private Ryan and War Horse hog the spotlight. But back in 1987 Spielberg was nominated for six Academy awards for Empire of the Sun. The movie launched the career of Christian Bale, who helmed the picture at just thirteen. Spielberg directed, and signed Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love, Brazil) to pen the script. Empire of the Sun was about a young English boy caught up in the Japanese occupation of China during World War Two. It’s everything you’d expect from Spielberg, big set pieces, emotionally loaded and scored by John Williams.

4: Always (Director)

Steven Spielberg directed Audrey Hepburn in her last ever picture in 1989 where she played an angel called Hap. She passed away just four years later. Always is one of his more forgotten about films, but it’s loaded with stars from the era, Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter and John Goodman.

The cute story is reminiscent of It’s a Wonderful Life and concerns a deceased pilot who has to mentor a new flyer and help his girlfriend move on from his passing.

3: The Transformers Franchise (Executive Producer)

Spielberg called Michael Bay with a pitch about a boy and his car. The director hung up on him, but he didn’t give up and eventually Bay gave in. He signed on as executive producer and was very influential in the tone of the Transformers franchise. He pushed for an E.T like relationship between Bumblebee and Sam and encouraged Bay to change Megatron’s design after the first film. Although reportedly, Spielberg wanted the Transformers to be mute, which Bay thankfully ignored.

2: Cartoons - Animaniacs/Pinky & The Brain/ Tiny Toons/Freakazoid (Executive Producer)

*Pinky & The Brain*
Image Source: YouTube

Steven Spielberg was responsible for the resurgent of quality cartoons in the 90s. He executive produced, but with a firm hand on the rudder. He reportedly read every single script for Animaniacs and insisted on approval of castings, including when the cartoons were dubbed for foreign audiences.

Although he’s not associated with animation, but he’s got a history of producing successful cartoons, including in the movies (The Land Before Time, An American Tail, Who Framed Roger Rabbit). Many animators were guided by his expertise, and we were watching without realising.

1) Medal of Honor Franchise (Creator)

*Medal of Honor*
Image Source: Games Radar

Yes, Steven Spielberg made computer games. This wasn’t even his first. He’d experimented with a couple of concepts aimed at younger age groups before and they’d been flops. But after making Saving Private Ryan, he decided he wanted players to experience history in a hyper-real World War 2 game.

DreamWorks Interactive thought this was a horrible idea. In the late 90s All the biggest computer games were fantasy and science-fiction based (Final Fantasy, Tomb Raider, Fallout, Elder Scrolls, Diablo). Thankfully, by point in his career enough people at DreamWorks owed him favors so production went ahead and Medal of Honor became one of the biggest selling franchises of its time.

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