Steven Spielberg has earned EGOT status after winning his first Grammy Award.
The legendary filmmaker joined the exclusive club of award winners on Sunday (Feb 1) as the documentary Music by John Wiliams — which the Jaws director produced — won in the Best Music Film category during the non-televised premiere ceremony before the main show.
Steven Spielberg’s Grammy win adds to his four Emmys, three Oscars and Tony Award for producing the Broadway musical A Strange Loop.
The 79-year-old director said in a statement: “Thank you to all the Grammy voters, whose recognition of Music by John Williams means the world to me and our Amblin team, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey, and congratulations to our partners at Imagine and the Walt Disney Company.
“This acknowledgement is obviously deeply meaningful to me because it validates what I have known for over 50 years: John Williams’ influence on culture and music is immeasurable and his artistry and legacy is unrivaled. I am proud to be associated with Laurent’s (Bouzereau) beautiful film.”
Steven Spielberg is just the 22nd person to achieve EGOT status, joining an elite group that includes Audrey Hepburn, Sir Elton John and Whoopi Goldberg.
The director became a household name after directing Jaws — which marked its 50th anniversary last year — but revealed that he feared his “career was over” midway through filming due to the blockbuster’s troubled production.
He recalled last year: “Everybody was saying to me, ‘You are never going to get hired again. This film is way over budget, way over schedule and you are a real liability as a director. You are not going to get hired again.’
“I really thought that I better give this my all because I’m not working in the industry again after they see the movie. Fortunately, fortune smiled on us.”
The Jurassic Park filmmaker revealed how the production problems meant that the studio tried to get him to “gracefully bow out” on several occasions as they attempted to scrap the movie.
He recalled: “I was offered, actually, several times a chance to gracefully bow out of the film, not to be replaced by another director, but for the film to be shut down.
“We shot 158 days [which was 100 over schedule], but nobody wanted to quit. Nobody wanted to stop.”
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