Many of Steven Spielberg’s movies are based on books. What caught his attention for him to adapt each one of these books?


Schindler's List. Poster of the 1993 movie and cover of the 1982 book
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Schindler's List
Thomas Keneally, 1982
movie vs book
Steven Spielberg, 1993

In Kraków during World War II, the Germans have forced local Polish Jews into the overcrowded Kraków Ghetto. To better protect his workers, Schindler bribes Göth into allowing him to build a sub-camp. As the Germans begin to lose the war, Göth is ordered to ship the remaining Jews at Płaszów to Auschwitz concentration camp. Schindler asks Göth to allow him to move his workers to a new munitions factory he plans to build in Brünnlitz near his home town Zwittau.


Jurassic Park. Poster of the 1993 movie and cover of the 1990 book
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Jurassic Park
Michael Crichton, 1990
movie vs book
Steven Spielberg, 1993

Industrialist John Hammond has created a theme park of cloned dinosaurs, Jurassic Park, on Isla Nublar, a Costa Rican island. After a dinosaur handler is killed by a Velociraptor, the park’s investors, represented by lawyer Donald Gennaro, demand that experts visit the park and certify its safety.


Catch Me If You Can. Poster of the 2002 movie and cover of the 1980 book, Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake
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Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake
Frank W. Abagnale, Stan Redding, 1980
movie vs book
Steven Spielberg, 2002

Frank Abagnale Jr. idolizes his father, who’s in trouble with the IRS. Frank runs away when his parents divorce. Needing money, he turns to confidence scams to survive and his cons grow bolder. He impersonates an airline pilot and forges Pan Am payroll checks. Soon, his forgeries are worth millions of dollars.


Jaws. Poster of the 1975 movie and cover of the 1974 book
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Jaws
Peter Benchley, 1974
movie vs book
Steven Spielberg, 1975

During a beach party at dusk on Amity Island, a young woman, Chrissie Watkins, goes skinny dipping in the ocean. Meanwhile, consulting oceanographer Matt Hooper examines Chrissie’s remains, and confirms her death was caused by a shark—an unusually large one.


Minority Report. Poster of the 2002 movie and cover of the 1956 book, The Minority Report
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The Minority Report
Philip K. Dick, 1956
movie vs book
Steven Spielberg, 2002

In April 2054, Washington, DC’s prototype PreCrime police department stops murderers before they act, reducing the murder rate to zero percent. While United States Department of Justice agent Danny Witwer ( Colin Farrell ) is auditing the program, the Precogs generate a new prediction, stating Anderton will murder a man he does not know named Leo Crow in 36 hours.


War of the Worlds. Poster of the 2005 movie and cover of the 1898 book, The War of the Worlds
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The War of the Worlds
H.G. Wells, 1898
movie vs book
Steven Spielberg, 2005

The plot begins with an opening narration explaining that Earth was being observed by extraterrestrials with immense intelligence and no compassion. Divorced longshoreman Ray Ferrier works at a dock in Brooklyn, New York, and is estranged from his children: Ray collects his children, steals a van that had just been repaired, and drives to Mary Ann’s empty home in suburban New Jersey to take refuge.


The Terminal. Poster of the 2004 movie and cover of the 2004 book, The Terminal Man
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The Terminal Man
Alfred Mehran, Andrew Donkin, 2004
movie vs book
Steven Spielberg, 2004

Viktor Navorski, a traveler from the fictional nation of Krakozhia, arrives at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, only to discover that his passport is suddenly no longer valid. With no other choice, Viktor settles in at the terminal with only his luggage and a Planters peanut can, much to the frustration of Frank Dixon, the temporary customs director of the airport.


The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Poster of the 1997 movie and cover of the 1995 book, The Lost World
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The Lost World
Michael Crichton, 1995
movie vs book
Steven Spielberg, 1997

Four years after the events on Isla Nublar, a wealthy British family docks their yacht ashore at the nearby Isla Sorna, unaware that the island contains genetically engineered dinosaurs. Hammond asks Ian to join a team who will document the dinosaurs in their natural habitat, in order to encourage a policy of non-interference.


Ready Player One. Poster of the 2018 movie and cover of the 2011 book
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Ready Player One
Ernest Cline, 2011
movie vs book
Steven Spielberg, 2018

In 2045, people seek to escape from reality through the virtual reality entertainment universe called the OASIS, created by James Halliday and Ogden Morrow of Gregarious Games. Wade Watts’s avatar Parzival, an avid Gunter, participates in the first challenge, an unbeatable race, alongside his best friend Aech, and Art3mis, a female avatar who Parzival has a crush on.


A.I. Artificial Intelligence. Poster of the 2001 movie and cover of the 1969 book, Supertoys Last All Summer Long
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Supertoys Last All Summer Long
Brian Aldiss, 1969
movie vs book
Steven Spielberg, 2001

In the 22nd century, rising sea levels from global warming have wiped out coastal cities, reducing the world’s population. In Madison, New Jersey, David, a prototype Mecha child capable of experiencing love, is given to Henry Swinton and his wife Monica, whose son Martin contracted a rare disease and has been placed in suspended animation. On the way there, Monica has a change of heart and spares David from destruction by leaving him in the woods.


Bridge of Spies. Poster of the 2015 movie and cover of the 2010 book, Bridge of Spies: A True Story of the Cold War
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Bridge of Spies: A True Story of the Cold War
Giles Whittell, 2010
movie vs book
Steven Spielberg, 2015

In 1957 New York City, Rudolf Abel is arrested and charged with spying for the Soviet Union. Abel is convicted, but Donovan convinces the judge to spare Abel the death penalty because Abel had been serving his country honorably, and he might prove useful for a future prisoner exchange.


Lincoln. Poster of the 2012 movie and cover of the 2005 book, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
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Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
Doris Kearns Goodwin, 2005
movie vs book
Steven Spielberg, 2012

In January 1865, United States President Abraham Lincoln expects the Civil War to end soon, with the defeat of the Confederate States. He is concerned that his 1863 Emancipation Proclamation may be discarded by the courts after the war and that the proposed Thirteenth Amendment will be defeated by the returning slave states.

“When you have worked as a screenwriter and watched as many films as I have watched, I think it seeps onto the page. I don't think that's always a good thing.”

DAVID NICHOLLS (Writer and Screenwriter)