Reviewing Steven Spielberg's first theatrical film, Sugarland Express, in 1974, critic Pauline Kael wrote, "The director, Steven Spielberg, is twenty-six; I can't tell if he has any mind, or even a strong personality … but he has a sense of composition and movement that almost any director might envy … He could be that rarity among directors—a born entertainer." The next year, Spielberg came out with Jaws, the blockbuster that helped launch a new era in Hollywood, and put Spielberg on the road to becoming the most successful filmmaker of his time. By the 1990s, not only was he considered by many critics to be one of the most talented filmmakers in history, but he had broken three modern box office records (with Jaws, E.T., and Jurassic Park), owned his own studio, and was reportedly worth almost $2 billion.

Steven Allan Spielberg was born on December...