The Auteurs #39: Steven Soderbergh

One of the key figures who would kick-start a new wave of American independent cinema in the 1990s only to become a major player in American cinema. Steven Soderbergh is a filmmaker who makes a diverse array of films that often plays to people’s struggles with the realities of their situations and how they overcome it. Whether it’s in polished studio releases or offbeat, experimental film pieces, Soderbergh always keep people guessing into what he would make. While he has retired from the world of filmmaking in 2013, there is no question in how much of an impact Soderbergh has made for cinema.

Born on January 14, 1963 in Atlanta, Georgia to an university administrator/educator in Peter Andrew Soderbergh and a house wife in Mary Ann Bernard, Steven Soderbergh spent much of his childhood moving in various places in the American South before finally settling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where his father was the Dean of Education at the University of Louisiana. In his teens, Soderbergh became fascinated with the world of filmmaking as he would make a bunch of 8mm short films with equipment from the school as he would hone his craft during those years. Especially as he became influenced by an array of filmmakers such as Richard Lester, Terry Gilliam, and many others. After graduating from high school in 1981, Soderbergh went to Hollywood in an attempt to forge his career as a filmmaker but things eventually didn’t go well as he would work in odd jobs in the industry as well as being a freelance film editor.

Part one covering 1985 to 2000 can be read here and part two covering 2001 to 2014 can be read here at Cinema Axis.

© thevoid99 2014