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From: reiher@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Spielberg
Message-ID: <3262@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU>
Date: Tue, 13-Aug-85 17:53:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: topaz.3262
Posted: Tue Aug 13 17:53:00 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 15-Aug-85 00:49:53 EDT
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Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
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From: Peter Reiher 

>1) All that Steven Spielberg touches turns to gold.  In evidence
>against this, I would like to mention "~The Sugarland Express"
>(something like that), which was one of SS's earlier films and went
>over like a lead balloon.  ...
>An interesting thing: after this flopped, it took SS a long
>time to get anyone to even think about hiring him.

"The Sugarland Express" (1974) was a major critical success and made a
modest amount of money.  (It also cost a modest amount of money.)  In
1974-1975, Spielberg made "Jaws", his first big hit. "Jaws" was a difficult,
big budget production one wouldn't assign to a questionable director.  
Obviously, "The Sugarland Express" did Spielberg no harm in Hollywood.

>2) SS has never had a major female character.  Although Princess
>Leia is not exactly Kate Hepburn, she isn't all sweetness and light
>either.  ...
>However, in "Sugarland" SS had Goldie Hawn playing the main
>character, who happened to have a very strong personality.  This
>also may have had something to do with the film's short life.  

Spielberg had nothing to do with any of the "Star Wars" movies, so he
deserves neither credit nor blame for Princess Leia.  In my original
note, I mentioned Goldie Hawn's role in "The Sugarland Express".  I
do not think that the fact that the major character was a strong woman
(if not the world's brightest) had anything to do with the film's
failure, which was only a relative failure, anyway.

        			Peter Reiher
				reiher@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU
        			{...ihnp4,ucbvax,sdcrdcf}!ucla-cs!reiher