Steven Spielberg’s latest film, the autobiographical drama The Fabelmans, has been garnished with several Oscar nominations but has still flopped commercially, making back barely half its $40 million budget at the box office so far. His previous film West Side Story also did not make its costs back. Where once Spielberg prided himself on knowing what audiences wanted, he is deemed either to have lost his touch or is aiming to be a filmmaker for critics and the elite, rather than ‘ordinary’ people.
His next film is said to be a semi-remake of the Steve McQueen crime film Bullitt, with Bradley Cooper starring which does not sound as if it would generate Jurassic Park queues round the block.
He was born 18 December 1946 6.16 pm Cincinnati, Ohio, with a hard working Sagittarius Sun conjunct Mars in his 6th, an entertaining and can-be-frivolous Moon, Jupiter, Venus in Scorpio and Mercury in Sagittarius in his performing 5th; and a heavyweight Saturn Pluto in Leo in his financial 2nd house.
At the moment and since 2020 he’s been soaked in Neptunian influences. First tr Neptune started to move across his Midheaven and then across his 10th house of career to stay for many years. It could be said to favour the movie business but is often not ego-supportive in terms of personal glory though can be creative and healing. His Solar Arc Neptune was conjunct his Sun in 2022 and tr Neptune then squares his Sun in 2023/4, before moving on to square his Mars in 2025. So the next three years look a touch lacklustre.
Where his Solar Returns indicate a return to great success wouldn’t be till 2027 when he has cleared Neptune off his Sun and Mars. Though by that time tr Pluto is on the cusp of his 8th which might suggest darker subjects or restrictions in his life.
It’s a tough business to stay consistently at the top.
A remake of Bullitt with Bradley Cooper? That sounds awesome!
I’m just watching Schindler’s List which Spielberg made in 1993. He was in a down period then having made Hook a couple of years earlier when people said he was losing his touch. SL is hardly family entertainment but did well at the Oscars. But as he was making that he was editing Jurassic Park, which became the biggest box office ever to that point and reinvigorated him. Late 90s he made Amistad and Saving Private Ryan, which again are hardly family entertainment but again the latter did well at the Oscars and is well received by audiences. Roll into the 2000s and there’s Munich, War Horse, Lincoln which are all somewhat serious fare. I have little doubt he’ll rebound other than it’s amazing to realise he’s now 76 and probably only got 5-10yrs of directing left.
Astrologically it’s notable that he began to move on from the blockbusters in the mid-80s to more serious themes like The Colour Purple and Empire of the Sun when transiting Pluto was going over his Scorpio moon and Saturn over his Scorpio / Sag planets.
It’s not superclear in the timings but transiting Saturn was hitting his 9th / MC during the mid-90s as he started the second round of success with Schindler’s, JP and SPR.
What an astonishing career! I went back to Jaws, which some say was the very first ‘summer blockbuster’. It was a chaotic shoot, with the stars fighting, running way over budget and on and on. Spielberg was 26, and knew this film could make his career, or ruin it. This film is now so embedded in popular culture, it was (unfortunately) referenced during the recent pandemic by one Boris Johnson.
Shooting finishing on 6 October 1974. Fishy Neptune was 7 Sagittarius, conjunct Spielberg’s Mercury. The transiting North Node was 11 Sagittarius, conjunct Spielberg’s South Node. Symbolically, I like the fact that transiting Jupiter was in Pisces – a gigantic fish! Plus mutual reception between Neptune and Jupiter at the time.
Neptune was transiting Spielberg’s Sun when ET was released in the USA, in June 1982. In Sagittarius, there’s a dreamy, fantastical journey – Elliot and ET riding that bike up into the sky, silhouetted against a full Moon…..maybe heading for Spielberg’s Pisces MC?!
Jupiter in Pisces … gigantic fish … brilliant!
When I looked again, after E.T. he was commercially unsuccessful from 83-93 other than a couple of Indiana Jones sequels which made a lot of money and I guess kept the studios happy enough to let him do other things.
Interesting how much the 80s hit the Scorpio/Sag areas of his chart with Uranus going through Sag (81-88), Saturn through Scorpio / Sag (84-88) then Pluto moving into Scorpio in 83. You can see how his films grow up from there on. Not much for the kids other than Hook – even Jurassic Park is more like Jaws in its violence/scares.
A remake of Bullitt by Spielberg sounds great to me – I’d go and see it.