Steven Spielberg has been tremendously instrumental in the growth of modern cinema. Whether it is Jurassic Park or Jaws, The Color Purple or ET, the filmmaker seems to be ahead of his time when it comes to creating ground-breaking features. In a career that spans more than 5 decades, Spielberg has dabbled with multiple genres and themes.
Steven Spielberg at the 2017 SDCC [Photo: Gage Skidmore | Wikimedia Commons]

Looking at the phenomenal success and acclaim he has received throughout his career, one often wonders how he does that. In an interview, Spielberg revealed his one secret and rule for making a film brilliant that he did not even break for Tom Hanks or Leonardo DiCaprio.

Steven Spielberg’s One Bedrock Principle, He Would Never Break For Anyone

Tom Hanks in a still from Forest Gump | Paramount Pictures
Just as grand as Steven Spielberg is, his movies too, often have an impeccable ensemble of talent. Tom Hanks, Liam Neeson, Sam Neil, Harrison Ford, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, and so many more talented actors have worked with Spielberg over his long, long career.

Some have achieved glorious success after working with the director, others already were well-known and acclaimed before they ended in a Spielberg flick. But no matter who the actor is, or how many accolades he might have received, for Spielberg, the screenplay always comes first.

In an interview with the Economic Times, Spielberg revealed his bedrock principle,

For me, it is the screenplay that is the star. All of us are in service of that story and the point is to tell it in a dynamic and colourful way. I have never seen you decide to make a movie because of an actor or pursue an actor to make a movie. It is always casting after falling in love with the movie, casting so that the fame disappears.

Although one would usually cast a star to make the movie a success, Spielberg is adamant about casting actors who seem perfect for the role. With such a golden rule, he has continued to achieve grand success, so much so that even his underrated movies like Amistad are critically acclaimed classics today.

Steven Spielberg Will Always Put the Screenplay First, the Actor Second

Leonardo DiCaprio in Catch Me If You Can | DreamWorks Pictures
It has been a trend in the cinematic world for a long time that, no matter whether East or West, filmmakers often look to cast stars to make their movies a success. Yet, Steven Spielberg will never do so. Whether he was directing Tom Hanks in his Oscar-winning Saving Private Ryan or Leonardo DiCaprio in Catch Me If You Can, Spielberg has always followed his rock-solid rule of putting the screenplay first.

While conversing with The Economic Times, Spielberg stated,

I still work with stars. Tom Hanks did ‘Saving Private Ryan’, but he will tell you that he did not come first. It was the script that came through first, Tom was perfect to play Captain Miller. I thought so, he thought so. Likewise, Leonardo DiCaprio was chosen after ‘Catch Me if You Can’ was scripted. I have never written a story to fit the actor, to fit the icon, I have never done that.

Perhaps it is this principle that makes his movies so successful or it is purely his talent that makes his movies so critically and commercially acclaimed. But whatever it may be, there is no doubt that Steven Spielberg is a pioneer of Hollywood and modern cinema.