Steven Spielberg is an excellent director. He has given phenomenal films that have gone on to become an indelible part of American popular culture. His directing genius is only matched by his excellent work ethic. However, Hollywood is a cutthroat domain. Here, directors, actors, and other stars go against each other and compete hard to get ahead.
The same happened in the case of Spielberg and Harvey Weinstein. Weinstein played a clever trick and ran a smart campaign which resulted in Spielberg losing at the Oscars at a critical juncture in his career.
Steven Spielberg’s Film Lost Oscar Because of Harvey Weinstein’s Campaign
Steven Spielberg is a directing genius who has earned him several critically acclaimed awards, and enough A-list stars have collaborated and worked on his fascinating passion projects over the years. Spielberg nearly won an Oscar for Best Picture in 1999 for his outstanding and ravishing 1998 directorial American epic war film Saving Private Ryan.
According to reports, the film lost the award race because the disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein ran a strategic campaign to gain votes and people’s attention for his romantic comedy film Shakespeare in Love, and his project ended up winning the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 1999 Oscars that left the film industry stunned.
The Turner Classic Movies Show host Benjamin Frederick Mankiewicz once told Den of Geek outlet that Steven Spielberg wanted to follow the natural process, so he didn’t do any campaign for his film like Weinstein did.
“No, I’m not going to campaign for my movie. I’ll do promotions for my movie, but I’m not going to try and charm people and send them things so they vote for my movie,” the director said. A marketer who was working at his DreamWorks Pictures at the time claimed, “I said [to Steven Spielberg], ‘Listen, this is what’s going on, Steven said to me, ‘I do not want to get down in the mud with Harvey.’”
Saving Private Ryan is considered one of the best works of his career, which heavily influenced the other creative filmmakers who made films and shows inspired by the movie since then as the film delivered the award-winning screenplay with authentic epic war visuals that left the audience glued to the screen.
Steven Spielberg Shares His Decision Behind Making Saving Private Ryan
A creative visionary whose filmmaking art is unmatched, Steven Spielberg has established himself as one of the most revolutionary directors in Hollywood. His films have captivated the audience by exploring many societal and notable topics. The director once revealed what had inspired him to make his 1998 critically acclaimed epic war film Saving Private Ryan.
“There was a sentiment that Hollywood put out there in the 1940s. When they cooperated with Roosevelt to make movies extolling the virtues and nobility of the war. They would never have allowed the story to be told this way. They weren’t willing, in those days, to show America the dark side of the face of war. It was a mentally demoralizing experience for us because we shot in continuity, from beginning to end. We were all reliving the story together.”
Saving Private Ryan was a hit film of 1998 that featured a star-studded cast, including Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore, Barry Pepper, Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Adam Goldberg, and Jeremy Davies. The film grossed $482M at the global box office and earned critical acclaim for its excellent screenplay.
Source: Den of Geek
