Culture news Incredible story! Without this film, Steven Spielberg would never have graduated from college
To obtain his diploma, Steven Spielberg proposed a graduation film… surprising to say the least in its quality. It must be said that the American director did nothing like the others, but insisted on doing things the right way!
With more than 50 years of career behind him, Steven Spielberg is the incarnation of what we call a sacred monster of cinema. It must be said that he is at the origin of more than 150 projects in cinema and television, which means that he has always been present in the pop-culture landscape since the 70s. However, what the 77-year-old director did not have until recently was a diploma that he only ended up obtaining… in his fifties.
Take a Netflix subscription card on Micromania to see Schindler’s List
The most expensive graduation film in history
To put things in context, in the late 1960s Steven Spielberg entered California State University in Long Beach to study cinema and electronic arts. However, in 1968 he completed a short film called Amblin which quickly made the rounds among film producers. It goes so fast that young Steven found himself with a contract from the Universal studio in 1971, without having completed his studies, so he put it on hold… indefinitely. From there, the director moved on to projects and the University seemed far away. And yet…
Eventually, in 2001, then aged 55, Steven Spielberg decided to return to California State University in Long Beach, but this time under a pseudonym given its worldwide fame. Still in the cinema and electronic arts discipline, he writes essays, works on independent projects, meets professors, but obviously cannot attend classes. Finally, he manages to complete the course and when the time comes to show his graduation film, he decides to offer… Schindler’s List. Suffice to say that it is probably the most expensive graduation film in history.
“The importance of going to college”
Without too many surprises, Steven Spielberg graduated in 2002 and even participated in the ceremony with the ceremony held on May 31 of the same year. Obviously, faced with this surprising situation, many journalists asked him why he had done all this. This is what he answers:
Most people go to college for education or for their parents, but I went there for my children. I have seven, and I constantly stressed the importance of them going to college, without having been there myself. So in my mid-50s, I re-entered Cal State Long Beach and graduated.
So, in addition to finishing what he started, Steven Spielberg wanted to set an example for his children… even after 50 years!
This page contains affiliate links to certain products that JV has selected for you. Each purchase you make by clicking on one of these links will not cost you more, but the e-merchant will pay us a commission. The prices indicated in the article are those offered by the merchant sites at the time of publication of the article and these prices are likely to vary at the sole discretion of the merchant site without JV being informed.
Learn more.