You would think that Steven Spielberg has seen and done it all by now. But during a Thursday night appearance — his first appearance on late night — he told Stephen Colbert about a moment from making “The Fablemans” that immediately caused him to “burst into tears.”
Spielberg is in the midst of a media blitz for the semi-autobiographical film, which is sitting on seven Oscar nominations. “Fablemans” tells the story of how the legendary director became interested in filmmaking – a pursuit he’s been doing for so long, you’d think nothing would faze him.
But then Spielberg explained what it was like to step onto the set and see Michelle Williams and Paul Dano as his parents for the first time.
Spielberg said, “I thought it was going to be routine.” “I’ve done it a million times. I know the first day of shooting is like assembling the cast and figuring out the first thing to block.
But he had not yet seen Williams and Dano in costume together. When he did, something unusual happened:
“The first day of shooting, Mark Bridges came up to me and said, ‘I’ve got Paul and Michelle here, with their hair, makeup and costumes.’ And I think I was talking to Christy, and so I turned around and there was my father and mother, and I just burst into tears,” Spielberg said.
Spielberg said Willums and Dano ran up to her and hugged her and held her, overwhelmed with emotion.
Spielberg told Colbert that he had been thinking about telling the story of “The Fablemans” for years, and realized that he was putting parts of the story into other films. Spielberg said that when he completed the projects that were on his wishlist, he knew it was time to tell about his life.
Colbert asked Spielberg if he ever felt it was a mistake to tell the story so candidly. Spielberg said that he second-guessed himself at times but did it anyway.
Spielberg said, “Yes, I thought that telling a story about how I discovered that my mother had a heart-to-heart affair with her and my father’s best friend – and my father’s business partner – was something that had never been made public.” Should not have been expressed so clearly.”
Spielberg continued, “I had a lot of second thoughts about it. But to his credit, Tony Kushner said he’s the MacGuffin of this movie. He’s the center-ring in this circus of your life, he’s the center- There is a ring.
Spielberg talked with Colbert about the dozens of films made over the past 50 years. She said she rarely watches them – but there is one 1980s classic she enjoys watching with her children.
Spielberg said, “I don’t look back often, but from time to time I watch a movie with my kids, because I want to go with them when they see ‘ET’ for the first time.” “I don’t want them to watch ‘ET’ without Dad, especially the scary parts in the beginning.”
Spielberg said that many times he looks back on things he intended to do in films that he didn’t finish, and often thinks of better ideas many years later. But when it comes to “ET,” he pats himself on the back.
Spielberg said, “For the most part, ‘ET’ is a great movie.” “It’s one of the few movies I’ve made that I can actually look back and watch it over and over again. It’s one of only a few movies I’ve seen more than once, but not too many ”
Watch the video above to see Colbert’s full interview with Spielberg.