Success

DGA Winners. The 1990’s.

June 1, 2026 by • , , , , , , 0 Comments

Speaking of men getting messed over, the following year after Titanic won so many movie awards, Saving Private Ryan won many key awards.  Another movie based on true-life history in which men suffered more than others.

Sound effects editors, Janusz Kaminski, Michael Kahn, production designers, John Williams, and other film artists helped Spielberg win his third DGA award…and his second Best Director Oscar…a blood Oscar like the blood Oscars he won for Schindler’s List. 

In addition to those people, Spielberg owes history and the men who fought on D-Day, (the men who stormed Normandy in June of 1944) much recognition for his director awards in 1999.  He also owes Eisenhower some recognition, a man who when he was president, soaked the rich with a 91% marginal tax rate on the top 1%.

Spielberg’s a billionaire who has made most of his personal fortune since 1981 when Reagan cut taxes, mostly for the rich.  The national debt was at $1 trillion back in 1981.  Now it’s at $39 trillion and climbing.

Anyway, Tom Hanks did play a role in helping Spielberg win his third DGA award.  Not quite the irreplaceable role he played in helping Zemeckis win from four years earlier, but he played a role nonetheless.  It’s kind of interesting how after winning his first Oscars, Spielberg expressed how he thought Schindler’s List should have won for Best Actor as well.  I don’t disagree with Spielberg on this point.

Information, Facts, and Truth

May 30, 2026 by • , , , , , 0 Comments

INFORMATION ABOUT RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

Directed by Steven Spielberg and released on June 12, 1981

  • According to the 1999 Wall Street Journal Almanac, the movie grossed $242 million in North America.
  • According to the 2005 World Almanac, the movie grossed $242 million in North America.
  • According to the 2026 World Almanac, the movie is the 22nd highest ticket-selling film of all time in North America.  It ranks as the 10th highest ticket-selling summer movie of all time in North America.
  • According to the 1996 book The Hollywood Reporter Book Of Box Office Hits, Raiders Of The Lost Ark earned $115 million in domestic rentals.  (Rentals is a different measurement than grosses.)  And according to the 1990 book Box Office Champs, Raiders Of The Lost Ark earned $90.4 million in domestic rentals in the year 1981 alone.  (So in other words, the movie earned about $25 million in domestic rentals AFTER 1981.  Which is about 21% of its lifetime earnings…makes sense.)

Misleading Reporting & Lies

May 30, 2026 by • , , , , , , , 0 Comments

FROM A 40TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL ON RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

  • Cover of a 40th Anniversary Special on Raiders Of The Lost Ark…with a single picture, a picture from Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom
  • Box-office numbers from the first four Indiana Jones movies that spanned almost three decades without making any adjustments for inflation or mentioning of the ticket prices at the time of the four different box-office runs.

 

FROM A LEADING NEWS SOURCE

On the 50th anniversary of Jaws…

A subjective ranking of the 50 most successful summer movies since 1975.  Raiders Of The Lost and its first two sequels completely excluded from the list, despite that a recent World Almanac shows that Raiders Of The Lost Ark is the 10th most successful summer movie ever according to ticket sales.

An AI Answer To A Question I Asked

May 30, 2026 by • , , , , , , , 0 Comments

A QUESTION I ASKED:  Was Spielberg Hollywood’s #1 director according to the highest cumulative gross for a director’s entire filmography before E.T. was released in June 1982?

AI’s ANSWER:   Yes, by the time E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial hit theaters in June 1982, Steven Spielberg was already a massive box office force, having directed Jaws (1975) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), and was poised to become Hollywood’s #1 director, with E.T. itself becoming the highest-grossing film ever, solidifying his dominance even before Jurassic Park. While cumulative rankings shift, his early blockbusters made him the name in blockbuster filmmaking, leading to his eventual status as the highest-grossing director of all time. 

Spielberg’s Status Before E.T.

  • Jaws (1975): The first film to gross over $100 million in North America, making Spielberg a household name and a box office phenomenon.
  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977): Another major success, further cementing his blockbuster appeal. 

The Impact of E.T.

  • E.T. (1982) became the highest-grossing film of all time, a cultural and financial milestone that catapulted Spielberg to unprecedented levels of success. 

Long-Term Dominance

His early successes with Jaws, Close Encounters, and E.T. laid the foundation for his enduring reign, making him the highest-grossing director in history, a title he still holds decades later.

 

REFLECTIONS ON AI’s ANSWER:  It’s interesting how in this particular answer, AI doesn’t even mention Raiders Of The Lost Ark, which was by far the biggest hit of 1981.  It was Spielberg’s first hit since Close Encounters Of The Third Kind.  So by the time E.T. was released in June of 1982, Spielberg had three movies in the top ten of the biggest money-makers of its time.  Two of those movies were among the top five movies of all time.  So it would have been extremely relevant for AI to include Raiders Of The Lost Ark in the answer to my question…even if that particular movie somehow wasn’t what put Spielberg on top of Hollywood. 

But notice how AI answered my question. 

It answered “yes”…followed by a vague statement saying he “was already a massive box office force”, then mentions Jaws and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind…but totally omitting Raiders Of The Lost Ark.  Then AI continues the sentence saying E.T. itself becoming the highest-grossing film ever…which is kind of irrelevant to my question.  But AI wasn’t done with their dancing as it ends the sentence with “his dominance  even before Jurassic Park”.  “His dominance even before Jurassic Park” was even more irrelevant to my question, as that statement completely leaves out the first three Indiana Jones movies.  

And that was just one sentence full of omissions and irrelevant information.  It had plenty more to say without ever giving any details as to when precisely Spielberg became Hollywood’s top director, which would have been relevant to the answer to my question.

An AI Lie…Followed By Nonsense

May 30, 2026 by • , , , , , , , , 0 Comments

A QUESTION I ASKED AI:  Did Spielberg ever inadvertently show Christians what to do with their TV’s during his tremendous success in the early 1980’s?

 

AI’s ANSWER:  No, Steven Spielberg didn’t tell Christians what to do with their TVs, but his blockbuster films like E.T. in the early 80s, especially with its iconic “touching fingers” imagery, were so impactful they felt religious to many, leading to Christian interpretations and even marketing (like a poster playing on Creation of Adam) that connected his stories of wonder and otherness with faith, even though he made movies about aliens and sharks, not scripture. 

How Spielberg’s Films Connected with Audiences (Including Christians)

  • E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982): This film, featuring a gentle alien seeking to “phone home,” resonated deeply with themes of love, sacrifice, and wonder, easily echoing Christian narratives, even if unintentional.
  • Universal Marketing: Universal Pictures used imagery similar to Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam” for E.T., directly appealing to that religious sentiment.
  • Themes of Otherness & Wonder: Spielberg often explored themes of outsiders, the miraculous, and finding hope in the extraordinary (like in Close Encounters of the Third Kind), which aligned with spiritual longing.
  • Jewish Identity: Spielberg’s own Jewish upbringing influenced his films, but his focus on universal human experiences of awe and connection allowed broad spiritual interpretation, notes The Canadian Jewish News. 

The “What to Do With Their TVs” Angle
The idea of showing Christians what to do with their TVs likely refers to how Spielberg’s huge hits (like Jaws, E.T., Indiana Jones) were the cinematic event, drawing people out of their homes and to theaters, and then back to re-watch (or buy on video later), becoming communal experiences that rivaled television’s pull in the era, according to Britannica. 

So, Spielberg didn’t direct people to their TVs, but his films created a new kind of shared, awe-inspiring experience that compelled people to engage with cinema, often in ways that felt deeply meaningful, even spiritual, for many, as discussed on thecjn.ca and Indie Film Hustle. 

Misleading Information & Nonsense From AI

May 30, 2026 by • , , , , , , 0 Comments

A QUESTION I ASKED AI:  If Raiders Of The Lost Ark didn’t propel Spielberg to be on top as Hollywood’s most successful director according to the highest cumulative gross for a director’s entire filmography, which movie did?

AI’s NONSENSE ANSWER:  While Raiders of the Lost Ark was huge, Jurassic Park became Steven Spielberg’s biggest single film, crossing $1 billion and solidifying his dominance, but it was his combined, massive filmography (over $10 billion) and consistent blockbusters like E.T., Jaws, and Saving Private Ryan that cemented him as the top-grossing director, even passing James Cameron at times with multiple entries in top films. 

  • Jurassic Park (1993): His highest-grossing individual film, hitting over $1.1 billion worldwide.
  • Overall Success: No single film propelled him to the top; it was the sheer volume and consistent success of films like Jaws, E.T., Raiders, and Jurassic Park, making his total gross unmatched for a long time,. 

Box-Office Reporting….1981

May 30, 2026 by • , , , , , , , 0 Comments

According to the 1996 book The Hollywood Reporter Book Of Box Office Hits, Raiders Of The Lost Ark earned $115 million in domestic rentals between June 1981 and 1996.  Superman II earned $65 million in domestic rentals between June 1981 and 1996.  

According to the 1990 book Box Office Champs, Raiders Of The Lost Ark earned $90.4 million in domestic rentals in the year 1981 alone, which is quite a bit more than what Superman II earned in the year 1981 alone.  Superman II earned $64 million that year.  Raiders Of The Lost Ark was #1 and Superman II was #2 in 1981.

And according to a 2021 magazine on Indiana Jones from Hollywood Spotlight, on page 37 the magazine reported the following about Raider’s box-office performance:  “Thanks to good word of mouth and repeat viewings, the film returned to the top box-office spot in its sixth week of release.  It would stay there for another nine weeks…” 

 

But according to online box office reporting, Raiders Of The Lost Ark ranked #14 in 1981 according to the grosses made in 1981 alone, as the site claims it grossed just $21.8 million in the year 1981.  But the movie, released on June 12, according to that very same online source, was #1 according with a lifetime gross of $212 million.  A $212 million lifetime gross after a dismal $21.8 million gross during its first 6.6 months…  

ACCORDING TO THE ONLINE SITE…Raiders Of The Lost Ark grossed at the domestic box office…

  • $8.3 million during its first 3 days
  • $13.5 million during the following 6.5 months…for a total of $21.8 million between June 12, 1981 and December 31, 1981
  • $191 million since January 1, 1982 after only earning $21.8 million in its first 6.6 months…for a total of $212 million.

In other words, the online site reports it had a decent opening weekend in mid-June of 1981, then utterly tanked for the rest of the year…but made an unheard-of explosive word-of-mouth rebound at the box office grossing 90% of its life-time gross after its first 6.6 months in the theaters.  Makes no sense.  Complete and utter nonsense.  So obviously false.

Never mind that the site shaved off 12% of the $242 million gross reported by more reliable Almanacs from 1999 and 2005.