Rise to Fame
USC rejected him. His grades were too bad. So he went to Cal State Long Beach, snuck onto the Universal lot, and made himself useful enough that executives signed him to a 7-year directing contract at 23, based entirely on a 26-minute short film called Amblin'. Jaws (1975) was supposed to be a troubled studio job. Instead it invented the summer blockbuster and made him the most commercially powerful filmmaker in Hollywood before he turned 30.
In the Spotlight
At 79, he's releasing Disclosure Day in IMAX theaters in June 2026, his 30th film scored by John Williams, with Emily Blunt and Colin Firth in the cast. He completed his EGOT in February 2026. The stranger story is financial: a 1987 deal with Universal reportedly pays him roughly $60-70 million a year in passive income from theme park ticket sales. His films have collectively grossed over $10 billion worldwide. He doesn't need another hit. He keeps chasing them anyway.
Side Notes
George Lucas pitched what would become Raiders of the Lost Ark to him on a Hawaiian beach in May 1977, the week after Close Encounters wrapped. Robin Williams called him every two weeks during Schindler's List production just to tell jokes and keep his spirits up. He didn't find out he had dyslexia until he was 60. He's also never drunk coffee, which might explain why a man who has produced, directed, or executive-produced over 150 projects still can't seem to stop working.