Steven Spielberg 'Almost Quit Directing After Schindler's List'

The Oscar winner has now directed 29 films in total.

Steven Spielberg has revealed he almost quit directing after making the Oscar winner ‘Schindler’s List’.

The film, which went on to win seven Oscars when it was released in 1993, took such an emotional toll on the director that the thought of returning to work filled him with dread.

He tells The Hollywood Reporter: I just didn’t. I could not.”

“I was sad and isolated, and as well-received and successful as that movie was, I think it was the trauma of telling the story and forming the Shoah Foundation.

“I started to wonder, was 'Schindler’s List' going to be the last film I would direct?”

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Steven Spielberg hard at work on set with Ben Kingsley and Liam Neeson
Universal

By then, he already had the mega-hits 'Jaws', 'E.T', 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' and 'Jurassic Park' under his belt, so it would be understandable if he felt he had nothing left to prove. As it was, it would be another four years before he released another film, the mega-hit ‘Jurassic Park: The Lost World’.

Since then, the creative juices have continued to flow, with his forthcoming film ‘The BFG’ his 29th big screen release, starring Mark Rylance, Bill Hader and Rebecca Hall.

And Steven Spielberg hasn’t stopped yet. Also on his slate are another 'Tintin' film', a third 'Gremlins' film, more 'Real Steel' and a fifth instalment of ‘Indiana Jones’. No quitting just yet. 

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