In his almost 75-year career, Steven Spielberg not only directed numerous films, but also acted as a producer many times with his production company Amblin Entertainment. The company owes its name to a short film that Spielberg developed in 1968 while he was studying. While filming, however, the young filmmaker encountered a personal problem that would permeate his entire career – and ultimately become one of his secret weapons.
Steven Spielberg struggled with nerves while filming the short film Amblin
As Steven Spielberg told EW in 2011, the filmmaker had a fair amount of nervousness while filming Amblin at the age of 22: “I’ve always had it on my nerves.”
However, the reason for this was neither his young age nor his limited experience in the business at the time. In fact, he is always nervous when he makes a film – even today:
I think, this is my fuel – my nervous stomach. That keeps me honest. And also humble, when it comes to making a film, I never think that I have all the answers. I think I’ve stayed collaborative throughout my career because I don’t have all the answers. I come on set – whether it was my first film, The Sugarland Express, or Lincoln – and it keeps me grounded. That’s a good feeling.
Amblin was not only a career milestone for Spielberg in this respect, the short film also secured the master director his long-term deal with Universal. Because executive producer Sid Sheinberg was so enthusiastic about the film student’s work, Spielberg became the studio’s youngest director with such a deal.
That’s what Steven Spielberg’s defining short film Amblin is about
In Amblin, a young man and a young woman meet who are hitchhiking together through the Mojave Desert in the USA. They go from friends to lovers before parting ways again. According to EW, Spielberg wrote the film’s script in just one day and identified with the young man who always carries a guitar case with him. However, there is not a guitar inside, but a suit. Like Spielberg himself, he presents himself as a hippie, but inside he is a completely normal guy.
By the way, you can find Amblin on several channels for free streaming on YouTube.