Steven Spielberg: Film Professor Dennis Vellucci Discusses the Legendary Director

He has been called the most influential filmmaker in the history of cinema, with a legacy that features some of the most popular movies of all time including the four-picture Indiana Jones series, capped off by the 2008 release of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." In addition to being the most influential, Steven Spielberg might very well be the most prolific filmmaker in history as he prepares to release a myriad of potential blockbusters over the next couple of years alone. I recently sat down with Dennis Vellucci, film professor at a New York City high school and film historian, and asked about Spielberg's influence on the world of film making.

"There is no question Steven Spielberg is a miracle, really a genius of extraordinary proportion in the movie business," Vellucci said. "You can argue that some of his 'spectacle' films have been more spectacle than film, but he has shown an incredible capability to make any film he chooses at a very high level. The Indiana Jones films are great fun but pure blockbuster building. But for every 'Jaws,' and 'Jurassic Park' he creates, colossal successes both financially and critically, he can provide true depth and elicit great emotion with films such as 'Saving Private Ryan,' 'Schindler's List,' and 'Empire of the Sun.' He has the capacity and willingness to travel in so many directions as a filmmaker and he brings fresh approaches and real heart to almost all of them."

In "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," Spielberg is reunited with Harrison Ford as they seek to recapture the magic of a historical movie franchise. Ford stars with Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen (another Spielberg favorite), popular newcomer Shia LaBeouf, Ray Winstone and John Hurt. Shia LaBeouf adds a youth audience component for Indiana Jones after starring in critically acclaimed "Disturbia" and "Transformers," the latter of which was overseen by Steven Spielberg as Executive Producer.

"Spielberg has aligned himself with the very best Hollywood has to offer...or perhaps they've been smart enough to align themselves with him," said Vellucci. "Consider the names. He's never creatively far away from the brilliance of George Lucas, who has been almost as much a part of the Indiana Jones series as Spielberg. He regularly teams with the great Tom Hanks ('Saving Private Ryan,' 'The Terminal,' 'Band of Brothers,' etc.), Tom Cruise ('War of the Worlds,' 'Minority Report,') and, of course, Harrison Ford. And now that he is so prolific as producer and executive producer, he's even teamed with Clint Eastwood, another Hollywood legend, through 'Flags of our Fathers,' and 'Letter from Iwo Jima.' If Spielberg is involved, a Hollywood who's who is generally right there with him."

Steven Spielberg is extraordinarily busy lately as a variety of blockbuster projects will find their way to the big screen over the next couple of years. He is both director and producer for the following films: "Tintin," a story about a Belgian comic-strip hero and his faithful dog Snowy, on which Spielberg collaborates with "Lord of the Rings" Peter Jackson; "Lincoln," starring Liam Neeson, which will detail the 16th President's role in the Civil War; "Interstellar," a science fiction about physicist Kip Thorne's theories of gravity fields, wormholes and other hypotheses that Albert Einstein was never able to prove; and, "The Trial of the Chicago 7," the story of events following the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

"You can always be sure that a Steven Spielberg film is going to be successful on some level," said Vellucci. "Even when his films are not critically acclaimed, which is quite rare, moviegoers will be loyal because he is so accomplished. They are confident the movie will be, at the very least, entertaining. And I think people like him. He pays appropriate homage to other legendary filmmakers in his films and whenever he comments on filmmaking. He has such a passion for movies...he seems like such a movie fan, which I believe appeal to the film fan in all of us."