Legendary Hollywood director Steven Spielberg once said, "I was 20 when I walked into the studio system. Most people thought I was an intern." He made the utterance while talking about his incredibly precocious entry into the highly competitive and often ageist world of Hollywood in the late 1960s.
Spielberg was an early prodigy. He was a filmmaking enthusiast from a very young age, making amateur films with his father's 8mm camera as a child and teenager. He directed a 40-minute war film named Escape to Nowhere at the age of 13. He directed a 140-minute sci-fi film, Firelight, at 16. The film was screened at a local theater.
The "studio system" at the time when Spielberg entered it was hierarchical and largely dominated by older, experienced figures. For a fresh-faced 20-year-old to walk in with a directing contract was highly unusual.
