Steven Spielberg effects provided by friend George Lucas's Industrial Light & Magic company, the film would eventually become the highest-grossing film of all time (at the worldwide box office) with $914.7 million. This would be the third time that one of Spielberg's films became the highest-grossing film ever. Spielberg's next film, "Schindler's List", was based on the true story of Oskar Schindler, a man who risked his life to save 1,100 Jews from the Holocaust. "Schindler's List" earned Spielberg his first Academy Award for Best Director (it also won Best Picture). With the film a huge success at the box office, Spielberg
Steven Spielberg yes, and I got an idea to do a Western. I made it and got my merit badge. That was how it all started." At age 13, while living in Phoenix, Spielberg won a prize for a 40-minute war film he titled "Escape to Nowhere"… using a cast composed of other high school friends. That motivated him to make 15 more amateur 8 mm films. In 1963, at age 16, Spielberg wrote and directed his first independent film, a 140-minute science fiction adventure called "Firelight", which would later inspire "Close Encounters". The film was made for $500, most of which