Steven Spielberg uniform bearing the rank of a Life Scout. Spielberg stated he made Indiana Jones a Boy Scout in honor of his experience in Scouting. For his career accomplishments, service to others, and dedication to a new merit badge Spielberg was awarded the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. Steven Spielberg received the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1995. In 1998, he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit with Ribbon of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Award was presented to him by President Roman Herzog in recognition of his film "Schindler's List" and his Shoa-Foundation. In 1999, Spielberg received an honorary
Steven Spielberg in 2005, Spielberg directed a modern adaptation of "War of the Worlds" (a co-production of Paramount and DreamWorks), based on the H. G. Wells book of the same name (Spielberg had been a huge fan of the book and the original 1953 film). It starred Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning, and, as with past Spielberg films, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) provided the visual effects. Unlike "E.T." and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", which depicted friendly alien visitors, "War of the Worlds" featured violent invaders. The film was another huge box office smash, grossing over $591 million worldwide. Spielberg's