Steven Spielberg and Duel: The Making of a Film Career

328 Pages·2014·34.46 MB·English

by  Steven Awalt

Steven Spielberg and Duel
Steven Spielberg works in his office on
the Universal lot, early 1970s.
Steven Spielberg and Duel
The Making of a Film Career
STEVEN AWALT
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD
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Published by Rowman & Littlefield
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Copyright © 2014 by Rowman & Littlefield All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-
Publication Data Awalt, Steven, 1973– Steven Spielberg and Duel : the making of a film career / Steven
Awalt.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8108-9260-6 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8108-9261-3 (ebook) 1. Duel (Motion picture)
2. Spielberg, Steven, 1946– Criticism and interpretation. I. Title.
PN1997.D836A93 2014
791.43'72—dc23 2013042282
™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard
for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
Contents
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: It Began as It Would End—with a Crash
Chapter 2: Richard Matheson and “Duel”: From Genesis to Short Story
Chapter 3: Steven Spielberg, Universal Contract Director
Chapter 4: A Well-Oiled Machine: Preproduction
Storyboards for Duel
Chapter 5: Duel in the Sun: The Production, the Film
Chapter 6: Cutting to the Chase: Postproduction
Chapter 7: Premiere
Chapter 8: On the Road with Duel
Chapter 9: Legacy
Teleplay of Duel with Additional Scenes
Notes
Bibliography
About the Author
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the following people for the considerate and considerable
help and support they offered throughout the research and writing of this book.
Without their generosity, none of this could have happened as it did.
From the Duel crew and parties involved or associated with the film’s
production, releases, or history, thank you to Richard Matheson, James Fargo,
Frank Morriss, Billy Goldenberg, Sid Sheinberg, Steven Bochco, Charlie
Crutcher, Matthew R. Bradley, Kenneth Johnson, Jane Hallie, and, certainly,
dear Gerry Weaver. It was entirely my honor and education to have the chance
to speak at length with all of you, and I hope I have acquitted your personal
histories and memories with the great care and respect you all deserve.
Thanks also to Gregg Mitchell at the Writers Guild of America, Anita
Herrmann at the Editors Guild, Melanie Chapman, James Gelet, Michelle
Debbaudt, Alice Billings, Patty O’Malley, John Holden, Gary Gerani, Michael
Matessino, Neil Bulk, Lukas Kendall, and Justin Wilkinson.
At DreamWorks Studios and Amblin Entertainment, unending thanks to
Kristin Stark, Marvin Levy, Michelle Fandetti, Samantha Becker, and Mary
Hulett for all you have done for me and the book, and for all the kindness you’ve
shown me over the years.
At Universal, Deidre Thieman and Roni Lubliner; at the Wisconsin Historical
Society, Ben Brewster; and at the Paley Center for Media, Jane Klain and Martin
Gostanian—my sincere thanks to all of you for your assistance.
To my personal mentors who preceded me in bringing the world written
histories on the career of Steven Spielberg and reached back to mentor me all
along my journey, I can never show enough gratitude to my friends and
inspirations James Clarke, Joe Fordham, and Joseph McBride.
Of course, eternal thanks and love to my wife, Erin, who kept my chin up
through all the years I published SpielbergFilms. You always believed in my
abilities and dreams, even when I failed to do the same. Slow and steady does
win the race, and thanks for running this marathon with me, love. To our
creative, hilarious, and often irrepressible brood, Molly and Ethan, love and
thanks for all you both bring to my life. The sale of this book also brought us a
new family member, our little puppy Dooley, who I promised we’d get once dad
sold his first book.
To my friends near and far, Max Allen, Jill Balmer, Jocelyn Briggs, Callum
Farmer, Dana King, and Steve Loose, thank you for reading my writing, offering
corrections and suggestions, and for your enthusiasm for the work. I hope you
find this book almost as enjoyable as watching Duel itself. Thank you also to
Heather McRoberts for listening to my ups and downs throughout the process of
selling the book and moving toward publication, and to my father-in-law, Gary
Joyce, for pulling my rear out of the fire when things got too hot for comfort.
Much gratitude to my editors at Rowman & Littlefield, specifically Stephen
Ryan, Jessica McCleary, and Gail Fay, along with the many others who helped
take our book from manuscript to what readers are now holding in their hands.
And finally, I am a writer without proper words to even begin to express my
gratitude to Steven Spielberg. Your seemingly endless creativity awakened a
love of the cinema in a young boy and showed him how to dream big.
Decades on, you continue to inspire, now personally in your enthusiasm for
this project, in the generosity of your time and wonderful stories you offered me,
and in the words of encouragement you gave to me. More than anything, I hope I
told a master storyteller’s own tale well.
PERMISSIONS
Photos, teleplay, and storyboards: Universal Studios Licensing LLC (with thanks
to Amblin Entertainment, Inc.).
1
It Began as It Would End—with a Crash
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA—1952
The young boy was expecting an exciting time. His dad had promised to take
him to see the circus, after all, and remembering his previous trip to the big top,
five-year-old Stevie Spielberg already had anticipatory images of elephants,
lions, and clowns parading around in his head.
Arnold Spielberg, Stevie’s father, parked the family car and led his son by the
hand to a building with an outsized marquee that promised “The Greatest Show
on Earth” above its entrance. Stevie and Arnold took their place in a bustling
line of people. As they stood waiting, Stevie sized up the building. It was
certainly large, as most buildings were from the vantage of such a small boy, but
where could the circus big top be inside such a place? How did they fit all of the
animals and circus performers inside?