Who is not familiar with Steven Spielberg, the towering film giant whose vision has transcended the screen to immerse us in worlds beyond our imagination? Synonymous with cinematic excellence, the director, 77, has not only redefined the concept of a blockbuster with his groundbreaking classic, Jaws, but also touched our hearts & consciences with profoundly moving masterpieces like Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan.
As the celebrated maestro of the camera, his films have repeatedly charmed audiences, making him arguably the most iconic director of our era. But beyond his box-office success, did you know that Spielberg once insisted on a seemingly eccentric clause in his contracts—refusing to release his films in South Africa during Apartheid as an act of conscientious protest?
The Surprising Contract: Why Steven Spielberg Stopped His Films in South Africa
Now, we all know Steven Spielberg is a big fish in the industry—he’s the cream of the crop, no doubt. But what really sets him apart is his out-of-the-box thinking when it comes to filmmaking.
That being said, he once threw a real curveball at the studios by including a clause in his contracts that prohibited his films from being shown in South Africa until apartheid was done and dusted. And that’s what makes Spielberg a real mover and shaker in Tinseltown. According to Rolling Stone, he said (via David Breskin):
To watch the African famine, to watch the apartheid in South Africa, to watch Lebanon reduced to rubble as thousands of innocent people lose their lives, or even something technical like all these planes falling out of the sky — a malfunction here or there — and there’s almost nothing that can be done.
By sticking to his guns and standing up against racial segregation, Spielberg put the pedal to the metal and used his influence for good. That’s why he stated:
I’ve written a letter to each of the studios that have films of mine which have not yet been released overseas, and the letter states exactly that: I do not wish my films to be seen in South Africa until there is a solution to the tremendous racial segregation and violence.
He wasn’t just blowing smoke; he was actually using his power to draw attention to the injustices happening in South Africa. By including this clause, he was essentially putting pressure on the studios to take a stand against apartheid. He knew that withholding his films from a country like South Africa would draw attention to the issue on a global scale.
I have no control of this, but from now on this will be in my contracts. It’s some real dry kindling for a major studio to take all their films and withhold them from South Africa.
Apartheid may have been in the rearview mirror for South Africa since the early 1990s (see BBC), but Spielberg made sure that his films weren’t just for show; they were a game-changer in the fight against inequality.
Steven Spielberg’s Ultimate Mentorship for New Directors
We learned from Variety in April 2024 that Steven Spielberg is working on a UFO movie; David Koepp was brought in to write the screenplay. It will, however, be based on Spielberg’s original concept. So what is his secret for hyping up audiences time and time again?
In a 2021 interview with Collider, the Jurassic Park director expressed his desire for moviegoers to remain blissfully unaware of the intricate workings behind the scenes:
I hope they never learn anything about movie-making. I hope they never know. I hope they never see who’s behind the curtain.
However, Spielberg is also keenly aware of the rise of a new generation of filmmakers who are taking storytelling into their own hands, quite literally, with the use of smartphones & social media platforms:
The only piece of advice I love to give is don’t worry so much about technique and don’t worry so much about where to put the camera or have a light.
Worry about one thing or think about one thing, preoccupy yourself with, how do you tell a story that’s really interesting, that you can get somebody not to walk out of the room right in the middle of your second act of your telling the story?
He recognized the potential in these young storytellers & encouraged them to focus on the art of storytelling above all else.
Well, in true Spielberg fashion, he stressed that technique is secondary to the ability to engage and win over an audience. Ergo, he advised aspiring filmmakers to prioritize creating compelling narratives that keep viewers hooked from start to finish.
