With the box office success of Jaws, Steven Spielberg was given the opportunity to direct and produce a film that he had longed to make. Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind was that film and was based of several short stories that Spielberg had earlier written. Along with the films Superman and Star Wars, Close Encounters is looked upon as reviving the science fiction genre. Douglas Trumbull who did the special effects for 2001, A Space Odyssey handled the special effects and John Williams contributed another brilliant score.