Hollywood icon Steven Spielberg received harsh feedback early in his career, one studio hated his work so much they called in someone else to re-record it all.
The three-time Oscar winner told “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert about his experience on the horror anthology series “Night Gallery,” where he directed part of the 1969 pilot and then was brought back for another segment after the show was resumed.
It didn’t go as well.
Her segment was going to be about 11 minutes long, and she decided to do it almost entirely in one shot.
“I did the whole thing in four sets in one take,” he told Colbert. “Storyboard, try it, everyone enjoyed it.”
Everyone, that is, except the studio heads who saw the rushes the next day.
“They were terrified,” he said. “Where’s the close coverage? Where are the over the shoulder shots? Where are the premises to make it look like a TV show?
This led to a call from a director who called Spielberg’s work “one of the most irresponsible experiences I’ve ever had with a director working for me”.
That unnamed director told Spielberg that they would reshoot the entire segment, with a different director.
Spielberg did not name the director, but said he met him again 15-20 years later.
“He said some really nice things,” she recalled with a chuckle.
