Steven Spielberg second biggest film of 1997 behind James Cameron's "Titanic" (which topped the original "Jurassic Park" to become the new recordholder for box office receipts). His next film, "Amistad", was based on a true story (like "Schindler's List"), specifically about an African slave rebellion. Despite decent reviews from critics, it did not do well at the box office. Spielberg released "Amistad" under DreamWorks Pictures, which has produced all of his films from "Amistad" onwards with the exception of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", "The Adventures of Tintin" and "Ready Player One". His 1998 theatrical release was the
Steven Spielberg they signed him to a short contract. He did another segment on "Night Gallery" and did some work for shows such as "" and "The Psychiatrist", before landing the first series episode of "Columbo" (previous episodes were actually TV films). Based on the strength of his work, Universal signed Spielberg to do four TV films. The first was a Richard Matheson adaptation called "Duel". The film is about a psychotic Peterbilt 281 tanker truck driver who chases the terrified driver (Dennis Weaver) of a small Plymouth Valiant and tries to run him off the road. Special praise of this film