Steven Spielberg's Hollywood Hustle
"He snuck off the tram and wandered around the studio lot alone"
Good morning, everyone.
This week’s newsletter includes: probably the most outrageous example of a ‘high agency individual’ you’ve ever read.
Steven Spielberg: The Backdoor Billionaire
Steven Spielberg was a 19-year-old nobody who kept getting rejected from film school. Here’s how one unbelievable hustle created a self-made billionaire…
In 1965, Steven Spielberg applied to the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts.
He was rejected.
He applied again.
Rejected a second time.
Instead of giving up, Steven enrolled in a local community college and moved to Los Angeles.
He wanted to be near the action, but that meant getting into Universal Studios. With no money or connections, he had to try something original.
At 19 years old, Steven joined the Universal Studios tour alongside other tourists.
But, half way though he snuck off the tram, hid behind a building, and wandered around the studio lot - alone.
An older man spotted him and asked what he was doing.
Steven said he was looking for a phone to call his cousin, then said:
“I want to be a director.”
The man’s name was Chuck Silvers, head of Universal’s television library. They spoke for an hour. By the end, Chuck handed him a 3-day visitor pass.
On the fourth day, Steven returned to Universal Studios - uninvited - wearing a old suit and carrying his father’s briefcase. He waved at the security guard like he worked there, and the guard waved back.
Steven started showing up to Universal every day.
He snuck into sound stages and editing bays, asking producers and directors to lunch. He built his own apprenticeship from scratch.
Eventually, Chuck gave him tough advice:
“You’ve got to stop showing up empty-handed. Make something of value.”
Steven vanished for months. When he returned, he handed Chuck a 22-minute short film called ‘Amblin’.
Chuck watched it, broke down in tears, and immediately called the VP of production at Universal:
“You have to see this tonight. If you don’t, someone else will.”
The next morning, Steven was offered a contract, becoming the youngest major studio director in Hollywood history.
A shrewd operator, Steven made sure to negotiate profit share from the movies he directed, including blockbusters like E.T, Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones.
He also co-founded Dreamworks SKG, eventually selling the studio to NBC Universal for $3.8 Billion.
Reflecting on those early days with his fathers briefcase and old suit, Steven said:
“I snuck in through the back door…and it opened.”
Recommendation’s
Read an old interview with Steven from 2018 here, where he talks about this story. If you’re into movies, a fantastic interview with Steven from 1988 here.
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Joseph Cass