Steven Spielberg spent decades developing the idea for The Fabelmans, a film based on his own youth. Now that the autobiographical movie is nominated for seven Academy Awards, Spielberg is sharing more details about its making.
Speaking to Stephen Colbert on The Late Show, Spielberg discussed the process of making the film, which tells the story of a young man with a passion for filmmaking who deals with the ups and downs of his family life, including his parents’ eventual divorce.
Spielberg admitted that it was a daring thing to look at his own life honestly, but he and screenwriter Tony Kushner worked together to tell the story truthfully.
The end result is a heart-wrenching look at a child’s discovery that his parents’ marriage wasn’t perfect. However, Spielberg had many doubts about making a movie that centered on his discovery of his mother’s “affair of the heart” with his father’s best friend. The director said he had “a lot of second thoughts about that.”
Colbert asked Spielberg what it was like to step onto the set for the first day with Paul Dano and Michelle Williams. Spielberg replied that he thought it was just going to be routine, but he had never seen them together before.
When he saw Michelle and Paul in costume as his parents, he burst into tears. Michelle hugged him, and Paul came around the back of him and hugged him around the shoulders.
Spielberg had told his cast that writing the script with Kushner was a cathartic process, and they didn’t have to worry about his emotions while on set, but in reality, “it wasn’t to be.”
The film has been nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, a Best Actress nod for Williams for her performance as Mitzi Fabelman, and a Best Director nomination for Spielberg. You can watch Spielberg’s Late Show interview in the video above.
»Steven Spielberg drops more details about making The Fabelmans, as the film gets 7 Academy Awards«
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