Feedback Form

Lesson #4: Push Your Limits

  Articles
Lesson #4: Push Your Limits

Until 1993, the lion’s share of Spielberg’s work was confined to the world of make-believe. He dealt with sharks and aliens but had yet to conquer the difficult genre of serious real-world drama. He wasn’t sure what the results would be, and many doubted his potential to crossover, but he was determined to try nonetheless.

In 1985, Spielberg shocked the industry when he released The Color Purple, a film based on the book by African American Alice Walker. Far from the adventure and science fiction themes Spielberg was accustomed to, this film tackled issues of sexual abuse in the Deep South. There would be no special effects and no outrageous costumes to distract from the characters. This was to be Spielberg’s first test of being a serious filmmaker.

He loved the world of fantasy, but Spielberg wanted to see how far his talents would go. He wanted to know if he could do a different genre and do it well. In that, he succeeded. The movie was nominated for numerous Academy Awards, including Best Film, and was critically acclaimed. Spielberg had sealed his position in Hollywood as a serious and respected director.

“Human beings have a need to get close to the edge, and when filmmakers or writers can take them to the edge, it feels like a dream where you're falling, but you wake up just before you hit the ground,” says Spielberg. By pushing his own limits of filmmaking, Spielberg was testing himself on that very edge. The first time he went there, it proved to be a success. Could he do it again?

That was a question Spielberg set out to answer in 1993 when he directed Schindler’s List, a film that tackled the difficult issues of Jewish concentration camps in Nazi Germany during WWII. Again, Spielberg was in relatively new territory. There would be no dinosaurs and no knife-yielding villains. This would be a black and white tale of horror and suffering and kindness in its midst. Yet again, Spielberg proved his worth. Schindler’s List became acclaimed as one of the greatest films in motion picture history and earned Spielberg his first Academy Award for Best Director.

“Schindler’s List changed my life completely,” said Spielberg. After wrapping up production, Spielberg took three years off from making any other movies just to recover from the experience. He had not only tested his filmmaking skills, but he had become emotionally involved in the project since it hit so close to home, having relatives who were killed in concentration camps. Both professionally and personally, Spielberg tested himself, pushed himself to the limit and saw how far he could go.

From that point on, Spielberg would often switch between making films of various genres, making an easy transformation from fantasy to serious and back. He recalls that as a child he used to enjoy pushing himself “to the brink of terror and then pulling back.” It seems that was a phenomenon he would never outgrow.





Lesson 4 Push Your Limits

Like this article? Share it with your friends

Related Forum Posts Article Feedback
Article Feedback No article feedback found.
Leave Your Feedback

Related Articles Related Articles
5 Ideas To Planning Online Home Business Goals
  Setting goals can do wonders for your online home business. It gives you something to strive for and stay motivated. With the internet as competitive as it is, it is vital you challenge yourself and push yourself to...
Cutting Out The Cancer In Sales/Management
  The lesson here for all of you new trainers, and even some of you experienced trainers-that truly train because you love to watch young people develop-is know when to cut your losses!
How to Get Your Clients to Recognize Your Value
  Even in times of recession, it's possible to convert prospectives into clients! Read on to learn more.
Life and Business Coach
  As a life and business coach, I have something to confess to you. I have been in the industry for over ten years. In the beginning, I was shocked by the things I heard from some of my clients. A wealthy CEO who didn...
Lesson #1: “The human brain must continue to frame the problems for the electronic machine to solve.”
  For a young boy with no formal education, Sarnoff proved to have an unlikely strong tendency towards the two tracks of invention and innovation. Indeed, his musings from almost 90 years ago remain at the centre of t...

Related Forum Posts Related Forum Posts
Re: John Willard Marriott - New Profile Re: John Willard Marriott - New Profile
Re: Kevin's Forum Mastermind Group Re: Kevin's Forum Mastermind Group
Dan Kennedy Marketing Methods Dan Kennedy Marketing Methods
Re: Women entrepreneur millionaires Re: Women entrepreneur millionaires
Re: John Willard Marriott - New Profile Re: John Willard Marriott - New Profile
Re: John Willard Marriott - New Profile Re: John Willard Marriott - New Profile
Re: Dan Kennedy Marketing Methods Re: Dan Kennedy Marketing Methods
Re: Those Annoying Telemarketers Re: Those Annoying Telemarketers

Related Forum Posts Related Businesses - Evan Elite Authors

To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us.

Famous Entrepreneur Video
Steven Spielberg Video - An Interview with Steven Spielberg by Mark Kermode.
Famous Entrepreneur Video

Steven Spielberg Picture Steven Spielberg Newsletter
Get our free newsletter to learn more about Steven Spielberg and other famous entrepreneurs!

Email:
Name:






Have A Suggestion?
Toronto Salsa Classes / Toronto Salsa Lessons Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
Have A Suggestion?

Featured Ebook


ebook Famous Entrepreneurs - Modern Empire Builders


Featured Ebook

More Evan Carmichael
Have A Suggestion?


Sales Lessons From Starbucks And Dell