Steven Spielberg on working for as long as possible: ‘I'm in my 70th year – I should get tired but I don’t’
Iconic director Steven Spielberg is keen to carry on working for as long as possible.
The legendary filmmaker, whose latest blockbuster The BFG stars Mark Rylance and Ruby Barnhill, wants to keep on ‘telling stories’ and ‘working with great actors.'
“The one thing that happens when directors get older is they still have the passion and the determination to tell stories, but because of their age, the people who do the hiring look at you like a relic from the past," he said.
“One of the reasons I started Dreamworks back in 1994 was because I said, 'I am not going to be a relic of the past'.
“If I have to hire myself, if I have to form a studio to keep myself working, then by gosh that's exactly what I'm going to do. So I'm just really happy I get to keep working.”
The 69-year-old added: “I'm in my 70th year and I should get tired, but I don't, I love what I do, I love telling stories and making movies and working with great actors.
“I don't think about my legacy because I'm so busy now, and so busy looking ahead, and though I get a chance to look back sometimes when I'm being interviewed and we're talking movies, I don't do it often. I don't really have a chance to look back.
“I know the movies I've made and the impact they've had on people because I talk to strangers every day all around the world about some of those movies, and I'm really proud of the way people have grown up with a lot of those films, but I just tend to think that if I dwell too much on that, it's going to make me sit back on my tush and I'm not ready to do that.”
Talking about working with British Oscar-winner Rylance in the big screen adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic, he said:
“I've known Mark a long time, I met him in the late 80s when I was casting a part, and I've seen him on stage, and I'm a huger admirer of his.
“I know he's like a liquid actor who can fill any shaped vessel and can do practically anything. But the moment I felt he would be right for the BFG quite surprised me, it happened the first day of shooting on Bridge of Spies and I had that intuition that there's nobody better in the world who could pull this off like Mark Rylance, and I offered it to him that day.
“Of course Mark thought I was looking for his opinion on whether the script was any good.ion on whether the script was any good.”
The BFG is available on Digital Download, Blu-ray and DVD now.
ArticleSteven Spielberg: I'm in my 70th year – I should get tired but I don’tMark RylanceSteven SpielbergRuby BarnhillSteven Spielberg: 'I'm in my 70th year – I should get tired but I don’t'The legendary filmmaker loves 'telling stories' and working with 'great actors'
Steven Spielberg: I'm in my 70th year – I should get tired but I don’tImagePublishedMedium width1Thursday, November 24, 2016 - 14:28Iconic: Mark Rylance and Steven Spielberg at the BFG premiere OnEnable video endboarddefaultThursday, November 24, 2016 - 14:30Greater LondonGB