From Winter 2003: For 25 years, 小乔治·史蒂文斯. ’53 has saluted living legends in performing arts through the 肯尼迪 Center Honors. 但这只是一个制片人职业生涯的巅峰，他的作品提升了美国电影作为一种严肃媒介的地位, examined some of the great social movements of the 20th century, and fostered a renewed respect for his father’s legacy
如果你要拍一部短片 讲述小乔治·史蒂文斯的一生. ’53, there would be no shortage of material from which to choose. 史蒂文斯位于华盛顿特区肯尼迪表演艺术中心的办公室的墙壁.C., 陈列着一组令人惊叹的照片，这些照片跨越了半个世纪的工作——包括美国新闻署(United States Information Agency)的工作, 美国电影学会, and the nation’s millennium celebration; a fistful of thought-provoking 电影s that he has written, 生产, or directed; and the centerpiece of his career, 25 years as founding producer of the 肯尼迪 Center Honors.
当谈到捕捉我们这个时代伟大表演者的精髓时，史蒂文斯几乎没有同行. 他有一种表演的天赋，也是业内最时髦的名片之一——这两者的结合造就了一些最令人难忘的成就, 和情感, moments of the last 25 years on the 肯尼迪 Center Opera House stage. “它们很难用一句话来描述,史蒂文斯说。, 但我脑海中浮现出几场精彩的表演:马友友和100名大提琴手在舞台上为世界上最伟大的在世大提琴家表演, Mstislav Rostropovich; the veterans of four wars recalling where they had seen the United Service 组织’ premier goodwill ambassador, Bob Hope; and the children from the Alabama School for the Blind singing for the school’s most famous graduate, 雷·查尔斯.
“I think an awful lot of my work relates to our country,史蒂文斯说。. “我一直努力让我做的每件事都有一定的品味和质量.”
A former alumni trustee (1978-83) of the College and honorary degree recipient in 1996, Stevens grew up in North Hollywood and majored in speech and English at Oxy. “I very much enjoyed being the sports editor of 西方的 and somehow fancied myself as a sports writer,史蒂文斯说。, “but the gravitational pull of motion pictures was pretty strong.” Under the wing of “guiding spirit” Omar Paxson ’48, he also worked on 剧院 projects alongside Ming Cho Lee ’53, who became one of the most distinguished set designers of his generation. “他做布景。, and we all acted and did whatever was called for,史蒂文斯说。, who portrayed Sir William Blunt in a 1952 production of 亨利四世，第一部: “If there were any great reviews of my performance, I haven’t seen them lately.”
毕业后, 史蒂文斯加入了空军, where he directed training 电影s as a motion picture officer. 在他出院后, 他和父亲一起工作, Academy Award-winning director George Stevens, 在电影中包括 巨大的 (1955), 《正规博彩十大网站排名推荐》 (1959)和 有史以来最伟大的故事 (1965). “我从爸爸那里学到的最重要的东西之一就是尊重观众，”小乔治说. 说. “He always had great regard for the intelligence of the audience, 这也是我的一种习惯.”
1962年，应爱德华·R·肯尼迪的邀请. 默罗, 史蒂文斯负责美国新闻署的电影和电视活动, 负责通过制作纪录片向全球130个国家讲述美国的故事. (该机构成立于1953年，于1999年解散.)在史蒂文斯的五年任期内, USIA 电影s received four Academy Award nominations, winning a Best Documentary Short Oscar in 1964 for 来自小石城的九. “It introduced me to the world of government, 的政治, 国际事务, and my life was never quite the same after that,史蒂文斯说。. “Instead of having a career that was entirely based on motion pictures, 我更多的是在全国范围内工作.”
史蒂文斯的政府工作经历使他成为1967年美国电影协会创始主任的理想人选. 国家艺术基金会(两年前由国会成立)的产物, 美国电影学院的创立恰逢美国人意识到电影是一门艺术,史蒂文斯说。. The Institute was focused not only on preserving 电影 classics, 他补充说, but also providing training and opportunities for new 电影makers.
When the AFI Board of Trustees established the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1973, “We wanted to create something that in our phrase, “经受住了时间的考验”——不是谁今年流行，而是谁的作品经久不衰，多年来一直保持着高质量,史蒂文斯说。. 他与许多“电影史上最伟大的电影人和演员”(包括约翰·福特)一起编写和制作了25场颁奖典礼, 詹姆斯贾克纳, 奥森·威尔斯, 威廉惠勒, 和贝蒂·戴维斯, 这只是前五位获奖者的名字.
The AFI’s East Coast offices are housed in the 肯尼迪 Center for the Performing 艺术, 从1961年到1988年退休，由百老汇制片人罗杰·史蒂文斯(Roger Stevens)主持. In 1978, 乔治·史蒂文斯带着奖励个人舞蹈成就的想法去找罗杰·史蒂文斯, 音乐, 剧院, 歌剧, 电影, 和电视. 他的指导影响是已故的约翰. 肯尼迪, 谁曾经说过, “艺术的生命, 一点也不打扰, 分心, 在一个国家的生活中, 是否非常接近一个国家目标的中心，是对一个国家文明质量的检验.对史蒂文斯来说, “肯尼迪中心荣誉奖确实体现了肯尼迪总统灌输给我的一种理想主义，以及他对我们国家及其未来的广阔视野.”
The 肯尼迪 Center Honors found a home at CBS, which had been airing the AFI tributes. In an era of cheap reality fodder and a cable channel for every interest, 荣誉奖仍然是高质量网络节目的绿洲——”这是人们所能找到的最好的文化定义,” in the words of a Washington Post editorial. “That’s really at the heart of what it’s about,史蒂文斯说。, “在商业电视上占有一席之地，让人们可以看到最优秀的表演艺术.”
After an artists committee representing the various disciplines makes its selections, 获奖者将于7月公布. 然后史蒂文斯和他的团队开始研究和制作每一部将在CBS播出的传记电影. “Knowledge and experience are a great tool when it comes to doing something like this,史蒂文斯说。, just off a conference call to discuss performers for this year’s Paul Simon tribute. “我们面临的挑战是保持新鲜感，不要让所有的知识和经验变得陈旧.”
“What keeps it fresh for me is that each year it’s five new honorees and five new lives,史蒂文斯说。, who plans to continue producing the Honors with no end in sight. “I like the variety of challenges that are open to me.” In 1985, 他父亲死后十年, Stevens completed the acclaimed documentary 乔治·史蒂文斯: A Filmmaker’s Journey, 这部电影用之前从未见过的诺曼底登陆日及其后果的彩色画面震撼了评论家和观众. “It is among the most satisfying things I’ve ever done,史蒂文斯说。. “It is such a rare opportunity for a son to be able to make a 电影 about his father.”
除了第二部纪录片， 乔治·史蒂文斯: 登陆柏林, 生产 for television in 1994, Stevens co-wrote and 生产 玛丽·费根谋杀案(1988), 这部迷你剧描述了一个真实的故事，一个在格鲁吉亚的犹太工厂工人在1913年因谋杀一个十几岁的女孩而被私刑处死. Three years later, he wrote, 生产, and directed 隔离但平等戏剧化 布朗诉. 教育委员会segregation battle of 1954 and starring Sidney Poitier as Thurgood Marshall. 两人都获得了艾美奖. In 1997-98, Stevens spent six months on location in Australia as executive producer on 细细的红线, the Oscar-nominated 电影 directed by the reclusive Terence Malick (天堂的日子), a friend since the latter’s days as an AFI 电影 student.
当美国进入21世纪时，史蒂文斯在那里纪念这一时刻. “美国千禧年庆典”是12月11日在国家广场上演的灯光和音乐盛宴. 31, 1999, 第一夫人希拉里·罗德姆·克林顿(Hillary Rodham Clinton)请来史蒂文斯和老朋友昆西·琼斯(Quincy Jones)策划了这次活动. They hired a cast of hundreds for the spectacular, which took place outside the Lincoln Memorial, and brought aboard Steven Spielberg to produce an 18-minute 电影 for the occasion, 但其他因素超出了他们的控制范围. 大约500人,000 - 5倍于预期的人数不仅经受了38度的天气，还经受了恐怖主义的威胁，给庆祝活动蒙上了阴影. 所有的安全措施都到位了, “I kept saying this was going to be the safest place in America,史蒂文斯说。, 活动顺利进行:“我们用有史以来最壮观的烟火流装饰了华盛顿纪念碑. 这是一个欢乐而高贵的夜晚.”
After a nearly 12-year absence behind the camera, Stevens is at work on the script for An American Requiem, 他希望在2003年执导哪部电影. 根据1996年国家图书奖得主詹姆斯·卡罗尔的小说改编，故事发生在20世纪60年代的华盛顿, the 电影 explores the relationship between Joe Carroll, a three-star general at the Pentagon during the Vietnam War, 和他的儿子吉姆, 一位年轻的牧师公开反对战争. The book’s subtitle details the central conflict: God, My Father, and the War That Came Between Us.
In addition, Stevens is writing a book for Knopf tentatively titled 黄金时代的电影人. “When we started the AFI School in 洛杉矶 in 1969, I had this idea of what we called a tutorial method, where we invited the great 电影makers to come and do seminars,史蒂文斯说。. 他正在为这本书挑选那些会议的记录——“大约35位有史以来最伟大的导演”, 其中包括英格玛·伯格曼, 弗兰克·卡普拉, 费德里科•费里尼, 约翰·休斯顿, 比利怀尔德, 和乔治·史蒂文斯. 小史蒂文斯说:“这将是一条漂亮的小丝带，把我生命中的一段时间系在一起。.
如果你要拍一部短片 about 小乔治·史蒂文斯., 你一定要包括他的家庭(“我有三个成年的孩子，他们是我快乐和骄傲的来源”)，你可能会包括他在高尔夫球场上的一张照片(他是每年参加AT的人)&(美国卵石滩国家职业业余选手锦标赛，最初以平·克罗斯比的名字命名). And if you were looking for a closing thought that ties his career together, you’d be hard-pressed to do better than this:
“我很幸运，我有一个职业，如果他们不给我任何报酬，我仍然想做,史蒂文斯说。. “这可能很困难，要求很高, 有时甚至很可怕, but the pleasures associated with it are huge.”
