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"Steven Spielberg has paid tribute to late author Ray Bradbury. The legendary science-fiction writer passed away yesterday (June 5) at the age of 91.   Spielberg explained in a statement that the Fahrenheit 451 scribe was a huge influence on his career. &amp;quot;He was my muse for the better part of my sci-fi career,&amp;quot; The ET director said. &amp;quot;He lives on through his legion of fans. &amp;quot;In the world of science fiction and fantasy and imagination he is immortal.&amp;quot; Bradbury had previously spoken of his fondness for Spielberg&amp;#039;s work. In 2003, he told the Newark Star Ledger: &amp;quot;Close Encounters is the best film of its kind ever made. &amp;quot;It takes too long, but the transfiguration at the end, with the splendid arrival of the mother ship - that makes up for everything. I was so amazed and changed when I saw it that I went over to the studio to tell Spielberg what a genius he was. &amp;quot;And he said, &amp;#039;You know, I never would have done this film if I hadn&amp;#039;t seen [your] It Came From Outer Space when I was a kid&amp;#039;.&amp;quot; TV and filmmakers including Mark Gatiss, Duncan Jones and Armando Iannucci have led the tributes to Bradbury.      "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/news/a385702/steven-spielberg-ray-bradbury-was-my-muse/>