Ask the handful of relatively young film directors on the Hollywood A-list about their formative influences and film heroes and it would be a surprise if any failed to cite the pioneering efforts of Ridley Scott. However, it would be positively shocking if the name Steven Spielberg wasnt mentioned by all and sundry. Much like Scott, Spielberg is not yet ready to leave the movie business behind for his protégés, and he continues to make films of critical and commercial value. However, the director generally considered most likely to inherit the Spielberg mantle is J.J. Abrams, and in 2011 he released the Spielbergian love letter Super 8. Set in 1979, Super 8 follows the adventures of a group of teenagers as the movie they are shooting coincides with a train derailing and a mysterious creature escaping from its cargo. In truth, the film was such an unapologetic homage to Spielberg (who was also one of the projects producers) that it suffered plenty of criticism, but Abrams nostalgia-infused paean to childhood was still an enjoyable romp. Nolan has said: theres a great spirit to films like Close Encounters and Jaws that I really wanted to try and capture, because I havent seen it in a very long time, and the early word on Interstellar suggests that, like Abrams, he has delivered a film with distinctly Spielbergian overtones.
I watch movies and I watch sport. I also watch movies about sport, and if there were a sport about movies I'd watch that too. The internet was the closest thing I could find.
