Steven Spielberg Celebrates 50th Anniversary of His First Theatrical Release, ‘The Sugarland Express’ — Which Closed After 2 Weeks

Tribeca 2024: “People went to the movie expecting to see a Goldie Hawn picture, and they wound up with an ending like that,” the filmmaker says of its shocking conclusion

An older man with gray hair and a beard speaks into a microphone, wearing a sports coat, in front of a soft gray background.
Steven Spielberg speaks at screening of "The Sugarland Express" during the 2024 Tribeca Festival on June 15, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Dominik Bindl/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival)

Steven Spielberg was surprised and visibly moved by a video tribute from Goldie Hawn, star of the 1974 Texas car chase drama “The Sugarland Express,” which played Saturday at the Tribeca Film Festival. Spielberg spoke at this weekend’s screening celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the movie’s release, a milestone for the filmmaker, who made his feature debut with the film.

Casting his first theatrical feature

In a post-screening interview, Spielberg said that Hawn’s “pure and honest heart” made her perfect for the role of Lou Jean Poplin. He expressed gratitude and said that without Hawn, the movie would not have been approved by Universal Studios producers David Brown and Richard Zanuck.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.