decade." In 1994, he found success producing the successful medical drama ER. In the early 1980s, Spielberg befriended WarnerMedia CEO Steve Ross, which eventually resulted in him making films for Warner Bros. This started with The Color Purple (1985), an adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, about a generation of empowered African-American women during depression-era America. It was Spielberg's first film on a serious subject matter, and he expressed reservations about tackling the project: "It's the risk of being judged-and accused of not having the sensibility to do character studies." Starring Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey, the film was a box office hit and critics started to take note of Spielberg's foray into the dramatic genre. Roger Ebert rated it as the best film of the year. The film also received eleven Academy Award nominations, and Spielberg won Best Director from the Directors Guild of America. As China underwent economic reform and opened up to the American film industry, Spielberg shot the first American film in Shanghai since the 1930s. Empire of the Sun (1987), an adaptation of J. G. Ballard's autobiographical novel of the same name, starred John Malkovich and a young Christian Bale. The film tells the story of Jamie Graham (Bale), a young boy who goes from living in a wealthy British family in Shanghai, to becoming a prisoner of war in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. Critical consensus was mixed at the time of release; criticism ranged from the "overwrought" plot, to Spielberg's downplaying of "disease and starvation". However, critic Andrew Sarris called it the best film of the year and later included it among the best of the decade. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, but a commercial disappointment at the box office. The New York Times thought it was overlooked by audiences; Spielberg recalled that Empire of the Sun was one of his most enjoyable films to make. After directing the last two serious films, Spielberg intended to direct the comedy Rain Man, but instead directed the third Indiana Jones film to meet his contractual obligations: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Producer George Lucas, and Harrison Ford returned for the film. Spielberg cast Sean Connery in a supporting role as Henry Jones, Sr. As a result of the mixed reaction to 1984's Temple of Doom, Spielberg toned down the darkness and violence