The writer Steven Spielberg called his muse: “He is immortal”
Steven Spielberg has conquered pretty much every genre he’s ever turned his hand to, but one arena in which he really excels is science fiction. 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind still stands up as one of the greatest sci-fi movies ever made, as does 1981’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Even less polished projects like War of the Worlds and Ready Player One have elements that work really well. Basically, if it’s got aliens or robots in it, you can trust Spielberg to do a good job with it.
In terms of source material, Spielberg has adapted some of the greats. Michael Crichton provided the original novel on which Jurassic Park is based and Minority Report comes from a story by Philip K. Dick. However, for the director’s biggest sci-fi inspiration, we turn to a writer he never got the chance to bring to the big screen
On June 5th, 2012, legendary author Ray Bradbury passed away at the age of 91. Best known for the novel Fahrenheit 451, which was first adapted for the screen by François Truffaut in 1966, Bradbury also contributed several other books that were later made into movies. The Illustrated Man became a film starring Rod Steiger; Something Wicked This Way Comes was produced by Disney; The Screaming Woman was made into a television movie starring Olivia de Havilland and scored by John Williams; the list goes on.
Commenting on Bradbury’s passing, Spielberg was extremely complimentary of his work. “He was my muse for the better part of my sci-fi career,” he said in a statement (via The Hollywood Reporter). “He lives on through his legion of fans. In the world of science fiction and fantasy and imagination he is immortal.”
This admiration went both ways. In an interview with the Star Ledger (via Entertainment Weekly), Bradbury gave his thoughts on a Spielberg classic. “Close Encounters is the best film of its kind ever made,” he espoused. “It takes too long, but the transfiguration at the end, with the splendid arrival of the mother ship – that makes up for everything. I was so amazed and changed when I saw it that I went over to the studio to tell Spielberg what a genius he was.” In a full circle moment, Spielberg replied to this praise by claiming that Close Encounters wouldn’t have been possible without It Came From Outer Space, a 1953 film that Bradbury contributed the story to.
Spielberg wasn’t the only name from the world of film and TV to express their sadness at Bradbury’s death. Damon Lindelof, co-creator of Lost, wrote, “Fahrenheit 451: The temperature at which my heart aches,” whilst Ratatouille director Brad Bird said, “RIP Ray Bradbury. See you in the future…” Cameron Crowe, director of Almost Famous and Jerry Maguire, simply tweeted, “Don’t talk about it… write,” a quote attributed to Bradbury.
Even if you’ve never read one of his books, chances are you’ve read or seen something inspired by his work. The fact that he had such a profound impact on some of Spielberg’s greatest films without the two directly working together speaks volumes to the impact he had on pop culture at large. Someone like Spielberg describing him as a “muse” goes a long way, solidifying his already glittering legacy.
