Final answer:
Steven Spielberg provided financial support to the SETI Institute, highlighting his interest in searching for extraterrestrial intelligence.
Step-by-step explanation:
The movie director who gave money to help a search for extraterrestrial intelligence is Steven Spielberg. Spielberg has a well-known fascination with the prospect of extraterrestrial life, as evidenced by his work in films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. His financial support was directed towards the SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), which conducts research in astronomy, and searches for intelligent life outside Earth.