This person was voted as the PHIL'S WORLD BRAIN OF THE MONTH Awarded for January 2009

Many mock the Hollywood A-List. Call them names better used for the arrogant and self serving who think more of themselves and no one else. Some deserve such a tag but others do not. And today (January 12, 2009) one of them stood up to be counted in the best possible way.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association awarded the Cecil B DeMille award for outstanding contribution to the entertainment industry to Steven Spielberg. A man who has directed some of the great movie classics of the late 20th century. Close Encounters, Jaws, ET, The Color Purple and Schindler's List amongst others, and a man who has found it tough to be accepted into the Hollywood elite as his lack of success at the Academy Awards (until Schindler's List) despite these efforts is a testament to.

But that's not why I'm nominating him for Brain of the Month for January 2009 by itself. If you get the chance, get a transcript or listen to his acceptance speech. This wasn't a toffee nosed effort - this was grass roots movie making. Ranging from a wonderful story of how as a child he tried to re-create the train crash scene from "The Greatest Show on Earth" and ending up recording it on 8mm film when he was told to stop it or lose his train set (pre-empting the habits of Gomez Adams as Lee quipped at the time!), to the mentoring system amongst directors in the industry.

He made his best point though when he made mention of the importance of entertainment, particularly in the hard economic times we are going through. I heard this as "stuff reality - bring on escapism". That might not be what he meant, but I found myself thinking about those who mock me (in particular John Best Junior and Daniel Faiella) for my following of pro wrestling. It's entertainment. It's a lot like a movie except that it's done in one take. Story telling in a wrestling ring.

Steven is highly respected by his peers and by the actors and actresses who have worked with him. Whether it be Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, Richard Dreyfuss in Close Encounters - or Drew Barrymore in ET (who had a winning smile on her face every time they took a shot of her). In a world of know it alls amongst movie directors, Spielberg is the down to earth sort of person we need in entertainment. The movie industry still has plenty to offer the world. Steven mentioned that if something wasn't controversial (like The Color Purple, Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan) he wouldn't do it. Perhaps the next controversy he should tackle is reality itself. And who knows - maybe he will.

Steven Spielberg, if you aren't remembered as a Hollywood legend - there's something wrong with historians.