Richard Attenborough and Steven Spielberg are among the best filmmakers in the Hollywood industry. Back at the 55th Academy Awards, the duo competed with one another in some of the major categories for the projects that were close to their hearts. While the former was invested in developing Gandhi since 1962, the latter gave one of the best cinematic pieces to the world: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
Both the movies ended up taking Oscars from the event however, Attenborough was stunned when his movie ended up grabbing the Best Picture Award with the late director winning in the Best Director category.
Richard Attenborough Bested Steven Spielberg at the Oscars!
At the 55th Academy Awards, Richard Attenborough’s movie, Gandhi received a leading 11 nominations. The 1982 biographical movie revolved around the life of Indian revolutionary, Mahatma Gandhi (played by Ben Kingsley).
It ended up winning eight categories including those for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor (for Kingsley). While his movie was enough of the praise and acclaim that he received for the project, many felt that Steven Spielberg should have been the one receiving the award!
At that time, The Fabelmans director was nominated for Best Director for his iconic film, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Given that the movie was a massive success, many expected him to win however, in a surprise turn of events, Attenborough won instead. While the English director was confident about his work, he made a startling confession in a 2008 interview sharing that Spielberg’s movie was ‘extraordinary.’
In a BBC interview, he shared,
“[Business partner] Diana and I went to see ET in Los Angeles shortly before all the awards and we used language, when we came out, to the extent of saying ‘we have no chance – ET should and will walk away with it.'”
He continued,
“Without the initial premise of Mahatma Gandhi, the film would be nothing. Therefore it’s a narrative film but it’s a piece of narration rather than a piece of cinema, as such.”
Praising Spielberg’s art, he stated,
“ET depended absolutely on the concept of cinema and I think that Steven Spielberg, who I’m very fond of, is a genius. I think ET is a quite extraordinary piece of cinema.”
His humility would seemingly have left him comparing his serious drama with an extraordinary cinematic piece but nonetheless, both the projects were critically acclaimed, showcasing their direction skills. Despite being competitors for the awards, they forged an unexpected friendship with the duo even working together in Jurassic Park (1993).
Richard Attenborough Landed a Role in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park
While many would think that their relationship would have gone bitter after Spielberg faced defeat at the Oscars, the results were completely otherwise. Not only did they become good friends despite a great age difference, but they also ended up working together in 1993’s Jurassic Park. The late director eventually came out of his 14-year acting retirement [to focus exclusively on directing and producing] to play the role of John Hammond in the hit blockbuster.
The entire movie plot hinges around his character who decides to create a dinosaur theme park which turns out to be a dangerous adventure with a group of visitors, including Hammond’s grandchildren, struggling to survive to escape the island. It was Spielberg who convinced the legendary actor to grace his presence on-camera once again which eventually went on to become one of his most notable roles.
Jurassic Park is streaming on Hulu.
