Amblin'
| Amblin' | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Steven Spielberg |
| Produced by | Denis C. Hoffman |
| Written by | Steven Spielberg |
| Starring |
Richard Levin Pamela McMyler |
| Music by | Michael Lloyd |
| Cinematography | Allen Daviau |
| Edited by | Steven Spielberg (uncredited) |
| Distributed by | Sigma III Corp. |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 26 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Budget | $15,000 |
Amblin' is a short film released in 1968. It is the first completed film shot by Steven Spielberg on 35mm. The film is a short love story[1] set during the hippie era of the late 1960s about a young couple making their way through the desert to a paradisiacal beach. In later years Spielberg named his successful company after his first movie — Amblin Entertainment.
Plot
A young man carrying a closely guarded guitar case befriends a free-spirited young woman while hitchhiking across the desert in southern California en route to the Pacific coast. Along the way, the man engages the woman in an olive-spitting contest, and then she introduces him to the joys of smoking cannabis and having sex in a sleeping bag. Following the scene alluding to sexual intercourse, the young man is seen walking on the median of a road, which is perhaps symbolic. As the pair reach the beach, the man frolics in the surf, while the woman covertly inspects the contents of his guitar case: a suit and tie, toothpaste, mouthwash, a roll of toilet paper and a copy of Arthur C. Clarke's The City and the Stars. The woman smiles in bemusement, perhaps sensing all along that her companion was not the quintessential hippie that he appeared to be. She then proceeds to stand up and leave the beach, leaving the man behind.
Casting
Spielberg found his lead actor Richard Levin working as a librarian in the Beverly Hills library. For the mysterious redhead in the film, Spielberg discovered Pamela McMyler from the Academy Players directory. She had previously been a member of the Pasadena Playhouse and had a small role in The Boston Strangler.
Steven Spielberg as writer and director
Amblin' became a reality after Spielberg was introduced to aspiring producer Denis C. Hoffman. This movie, only 26 minutes long, led to his becoming the youngest director ever to be signed to a long-term deal with a major Hollywood studio (Universal) after Sid Sheinberg, then the vice-president of production for Universal Television saw the film. The movie had a $15,000 budget. In 1968, his friend Denis Hoffman provided financing of approximately $10,000 for the production of the film. At the time, Hoffman had no experience in producing, writing or developing projects for motion pictures. At Hoffman's request, the music of a band he was managing at the time was used for the film.
In exchange for the financing provided by Hoffman, Hoffman exacted from Spielberg the young filmmaker's agreement to (a) direct Amblin' for no compensation whatsoever and (b) be bound for ten years to direct any script selected by Hoffman if such a script was brought to Spielberg by Hoffman. As compensation for this second film, Spielberg was to receive the payment of $25,000 plus 5% of the profits after expenses (the so-called "1968 Amblin Contract").
Production
Amblin' started shooting on July 6, 1968 at Denis Hoffman's Cinefx soundstage. The filming commenced with a complicated tracking shot following a trail of matches leading to a bonfire which was shot in the studio in order that cinematographer Allen Daviau could control the lighting. After Cinefx and the filming of the final sequence outside Jack Palance's beach house in Malibu, the crew moved on to various desert locations around Pearblossom, California, for the remaining eight days of filming. On rough terrain and under a punishing 105-degree sun, many of Spielberg's unpaid crew left before the shoot was completed. Spielberg confessed to one crew member that he had vomited every day before he went to the set. Anne Spielberg (Steven's sister) who wrote Big also worked with him on this first effort which started his career and won him his contract at Universal.
Release and impacts
Opening on December 18, 1968 at Loews Crest Theater in Los Angeles, Amblin' shared a double bill with Otto Preminger's Skidoo. Amblin' won several film festival awards including a showing at the Atlanta film Festival in 1969. Spielberg was then signed to a 7-year contract with Universal Television.
See also
References
- ↑ Spielberg on Spielberg (documentary film). 2007.
- Freer, Ian: The Complete Spielberg, Virgin Books, 2001.