He gets a lot of peculiar criticism from the cynical Internet community, but Steven Spielberg remains one of my favorite directors ever. His blockbusters movies alone would be enough to earn a place among the greats (Jurassic Park and Jaws were particularly impactful for me) but his ability to deliver the goods in dramas like War Horse just shows how expansive and talented the filmmaker is.
His expansiveness is on display again here in his next two movies, which have just been given dates.
First up, is the cleverly titled Untitled Cold War Spy Thriller, which starts Tom Hanks and will debut on October 16, 2015. This is Spielbergs fourth acting collaboration with Tom Hanks (they've worked together in the roles of producers as well) and I'm excited to see the fruits of their labor, especially since the project reportedly takes place in the 60's a distinctive decade Spielberg could put a nice spin on.
The other film is based on a book I loved as a kid and in fact still admire as an 18 year-old man. Honestly, the author of this particular book, Roal Dahl, is easily one of my favorites of all-time and I'm so glad his book The BFG is being handled by a masterful filmmaker like Spielberg. Here's to hoping Dahl's darker vision of the world is kept intact by Spielberg, a man known for being involved in some darker family pictures (Gremlins anyone?) This one opens up on a crowded July 1st date, where it'll face off against Tarzan, Independence Day 2 and Angry Birds.
One interesting factoid about these projects, and really something I didn't pick up until Deadline pointed it out, is that these projects are being released by Disney, the company that has been distributing movies from the movie studio co-founded by Spielberg, DreamWorks Pictures (the animation side of that studio is a separate entity distributed by 20th Century Fox). While it was assumed after major recent financial disappointments like Need For Speed and Delivery Man the two would go their separate ways (many pointing to 20th Century Fox as a potential new home), this new announcement says otherwise. While exact details around this abrupt change of tune is unknown, I'm sure the promise of two new Steven Spielberg films was more than enough to soothe Disneys frayed nerves.
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