Steven Speilberg: “The Fabelmans” is personal, but not just for fans

• Spielberg and co-writer Tony Kushner emphasize that the film is for everyone.
• It is not just for diehard fans.
• It will focus on his early life as he develops a passion for film.

Steven Spielberg has one of the most extensive and legendary filmographies of all time. The iconic director has helmed blockbuster such as Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones, heartbreaking historical pictures such as Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan, and, most recently, a musical with West Side Story.

With his next picture, the semi-autobiographical The Fabelmans, concentrating on his early life as he develops a passion for film, it is only natural to anticipate a few winks and references to the audience’s prior work.

During an interview with THR, however, Spielberg and his co-writer Tony Kushner emphasized the necessity of creating The Fabelmans for everyone, not just diehard fans.

As a very personal passion project, it was essential that both convey the familial drama at the heart of Spielberg’s story without letting it get lost in the director’s shadow.

Neither wanted the film to be perceived as the culmination of a career or as a tribute to Spielberg’s work. Kushner elaborated:

“It’s not a farewell and it’s not a victory lap. We said at the beginning, this is only worth making if somebody who didn’t know that Steven had made it could enjoy this just as a movie.”

Aside from the fact that the picture is about a film legend, the premise should appeal to a broader audience due to its emphasis on family.

The film focuses on Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle), a young filmmaker who explores the filmmaking process while dealing with a family rift.

He is caught between attempting to impress his rigorous engineer father Burt (Paul Dano), who views his films as little more than a pastime, and following his supportive, creative mother Mitzi (Michelle Williams), who encourages him to pursue his ambitions.

It is an all-too-familiar tale for anybody who has struggled to balance parental expectations with their own desires.

A great deal of care was devoted to reconstructing Spielberg’s childhood house and matching every aspect to what he experienced as a child.

Attempting to capture the director’s approach when he was a young man making 8mm home movies posed a particular difficulty for the director.

Spielberg, now an experienced auteur, remade some of his older films shot-for-shot, but he was eventually fearful of the films that are meant to demonstrate his progress as a filmmaker being too polished. He added:

“I was already improving on my work as a 12-year-old and 16-year-old, and I realized that if I re-created any more of my home movies, they wouldn’t look like some kid who was just learning the ropes. They would look like somebody who has ridden the ropes.”

In addition to the three actors that portray the Fabelman family in The Fabelmans, Seth Rogen and Judd Hirsch also appear.

In supporting roles are Jeannie Berlin, Julia Butters, Robin Bartlett, and Keeley Karsten. Carla Raij and Josh McLaglen served as executive producers, while Spielberg, Kushner, and the director’s longtime producer Kristie MacLasko Krieger served as co-producers.

On November 11, The Fabelmans will debut in select cinemas before being released nationwide on November 23.

View the film’s trailer below.

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