The Spielberg Takeover issue of Empire has nearly made its way out into the world and it’s packed with exclusive interviews and features about one of the all-time great directors, from his classic works to the imminent Ready Player One.
It’s not just Empire that loves Steven Spielberg — the man has inspired generations of filmmakers, with a constant relevance and technical mastery that continues to spur on his peers. For this very special issue, some of Hollywood’s finest directors paid tribute to Spielberg and his formidable body of work, detailing their favourite films, moments and memories in the form of essays and interviews.
Introducing the feature is none other than Martin Scorsese, who praised Spielberg for “reinventing our art form with each new picture”. The Goodfellas and Raging Bull director also shone a spotlight on Spielberg’s later works. “There’s a very special luminousness to his last few pictures: he seems to have tapped directly into the source of our art form”.
Christopher Nolan spoke to Empire about his most re-watched Spielberg film, Raiders of the Lost Ark. “It is true movie magic, true escapism,” he said. “I remember seeing it as a kid in suburban Chicago, at the Edens, which had a huge screen. It was a tremendous experience.”
J.J. Abrams paid tribute to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. “[It] hits every note in an epic way,” he said. “It’s funny, it’s scary, it’s romantic, it’s thrilling. There’s incredible spectacle and beautiful intimacy.”
The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson couldn’t pick one favourite film. Instead he wrote about how Spielberg’s spotless back catalogue almost entirely consists of creative risks — like going straight from Temple of Doom to The Color Purple, from Jurassic Park into Schindler’s List. “The man who has achieved as much creative and popular success as any American filmmaker got there not by building a brand or playing it safe, but by constantly taking wild leaps into the unknown, even in the face of the most stultifying anti-growth tonic known to man: massive success,” he wrote.
Elsewhere, Edgar Wright dialled up Spielberg to talk about his directorial debut Duel, Stranger Things creators The Duffer Brothers discuss their love of Jaws, and Joe Cornish reveals why he carried a cardboard cut-out of E.T. round for weeks as a child. Also in the E.T. camp are J.A. Bayona, currently in the finishing stages of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and Kubo and the Two Strings / Bumblebee director Travis Knight. Finally there’s Colin Trevorrow, writing about how the recent HBO documentary Spielberg shines a surprising new light on caper movie Catch Me If You Can.
You can read all the director tributes, as well as a massive Spielberg interview, an access-all-areas feature on Ready Player One, a Saving Private Ryan retrospective and tons more in our #SpielbergTakeover issue, on shelves on Thursday 22 February.
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