His contest record is unequalled, but it was his incredible free-surfing that raised the bar to a new level.
Mr. Spielberg will no doubt try again, and in the meantime he and the other also-rans can console themselves with another prize, Hollywood's ultimate popularity contest: record-breaking ticket sales.
This year, 56-year-old Napa Valley resident John Hawkley broke the contest record and won first prize for his pumpkin.
Spokesman Rupert Adams said: "We have never seen so many bets on the Eurovision Song Contest - records could be broken and there is even a chance we will see a UK winner".
The defense did not contest telephone records, recovered e-mails and testimony indicating that Mr. Miller helped the mother, Lisa A. Miller, flee to Nicaragua with her daughter, Isabella, in September 2009.
The dueling reactions to the shooting of Patrick Dorismond, an unarmed black man, by a New York City police officer seemed quickly to become a contest of records -- who could dig up the most about whom.
Ireland has won the contest a record seven times, including three straight in the 1990s, but finished last in 2007 in Helsinki.
But given our recent Song Contest track record, could this be a chance for the UK to actually drag itself out of the "nul points" doldrums?
How does the contest's record look over the long haul?
When he finally left the crease almost three hours later, Australia sensationally with a lead of 65, his own score a scarcely believable 98, both contest and record books had been blown apart.
Rose went on to win the contest by recording a 35.3 seconds time while finishing the course with a dunk.
