How hiding in a toilet helped Steven Spielberg get into the movie business
Desert Island Discs

How hiding in a toilet helped Steven Spielberg get into the movie business

B1IntermediateSeptember 28, 20263 min

The film director Steven Spielberg was cast away by Lauren Laverne in 2022. He gave the world Jaws, ET and Jurassic Park, but Steven Spielberg got his start in the film business when he went on a bus tour of Universal Studios. He also explains why the frequently malfunctioning mechanical shark in Jaws was really a blessing in disguise. You can listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds.

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Transcript

The opening of the episode. The whole transcript is in the player.

0:00

Hello, I'm Lauren Laverne. Welcome to Desert Island Discs postcards where we share funny, moving and memorable moments directly from our desert island with you every weekday. His postcard comes from the director, Stephen Spielberg, who I spoke to in 2022.

0:30

He gave the world Jaws, E.T. and Jurassic Park, but Stephen told me how he got his start in the film industry by employing both skill and stealth. I heard that there was a tour at Universal you could get on a bus, so I took the tour on the bus and we had a bathroom break and everybody was allowed to get out, stretch

0:50

and go to the restroom, and I hid in the stall of one of the restrooms. I didn't come out until I was sure everybody had gotten back on the bus, and the bus drove away, and I spent the rest of my day literally walking around the lot going into sound stages and watching some television being shot.

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