The Fabelmans

The Fabelmans
File:FabelmansSpielberglogo.jpg Official logo
Directed by	Steven Spielberg
Produced by	Steven Spielberg Tony Kushner Kristie Macosko Krieger
Written by	Steven Spielberg Tony Kushner
Starring	Michelle Williams Paul Dano Seth Rogen Gabriel LaBelle
Music by	John Williams
Cinematography	Janusz Kamiński
Edited by	Sarah Broshar Michael Kahn
Production company	Amblin Entertainment
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	September 2022 (2022-09) (TIFF) November 11, 2022 (2022-11-11) (United States)
Running time	151 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Fabelmans is an upcoming American coming-of-age drama film directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay he co-wrote with Tony Kushner. It stars Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, and Gabriel LaBelle, the latter of whom plays the lead role of Sammy Fabelman, a young aspiring filmmaker based on Spielberg himself. The rest of the ensemble cast includes Jeannie Berlin, Julia Butters, Robin Bartlett, Keeley Karsten, and Judd Hirsch.

The film will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2022. It is scheduled for a limited theatrical release by Universal Pictures in the United States on November 11, 2022 before expanding wide on November 23.

Premise

Growing up in the post-World War II era Arizona, from age seven to eighteen, a young man named Sammy Fabelman discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.

Cast

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The film's cast includes Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen and Julia Butters as fictional versions of Spielberg's mother, father, uncle and sister respectively.

• Gabriel LaBelle as Sammy Fabelman
  • Mateo Zoryna Francis-Deford as 7-year-old Sammy
• Michelle Williams as Sammy and Anne's mother
• Paul Dano as Burt Fabelman, Sammy and Anne's father
• Seth Rogen as Sammy and Anne's favorite uncle
• Oakes Fegley
• Gabriel Bateman
• Nicolas Cantu
• Judd Hirsch as an elderly uncle on Sammy's mother's side of the family
• Julia Butters as Anne Fabelman, Sammy's sister
• Robin Bartlett
• Keeley Karsten
• Sam Rechner as Chad
• Chloe East
• Isabelle Kusman
• Jonathan Hadary
• Cooper Dodson
• Jeannie Berlin
• Gustavo Escobar as Sal
• Lane Factor
• Stephen Matthew Smith
• Birdie Borria
• Alina Brace
• David Lynch
• Sophia Kopera as Lisa
• Kalama Epstein as Barry
• Jan Hoag as Nona
• Greg Grunberg as Bernie Fein
• Brinly Marum as Janet Benedict
• James Urbaniak as Principal
• Alex Quijano as Coach

Production

Development

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Steven Spielberg (on the left) directed and co-produced the film, and co-wrote the screenplay with Tony Kushner (on the right).

In 1999, Steven Spielberg said he had been thinking of directing a film about his childhood for some time. Titled I'll Be Home, the project was originally written by his sister Anne Spielberg. He explained, "My big fear is that my mom and dad won't like it and will think it's an insult and won't share my loving yet critical point of view about what it was like to grow up with them." In 2002, Spielberg said he was nervous about making I'll Be Home: "It's so close to my life and so close to my family – I prefer to make films that are more analogous. But a literal story about my family will take a lot of courage. I still think I make personal movies even if they do look like big commercial popcorn films."

Pre-production

In March 2021, Spielberg was announced to direct a coming-of-age film loosely based on his childhood growing up in Arizona. Michelle Williams was in negotiations to star in the role inspired by Spielberg's mother Leah Adler, but with "an original voice." Spielberg also co-wrote the script alongside recurring collaborator Tony Kushner; it will mark Spielberg's first writing venture on film since A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001). On March 22, 2021, it was reported that Seth Rogen joined the cast to play "the favorite uncle of young Spielberg", while Williams was confirmed to have been cast. It was also reported that Kristie Macosko Krieger would produce the film with Kushner and Spielberg. On April 8, 2021, Paul Dano joined the cast as Burt Fabelman, the role inspired by Spielberg's father Arnold. Dano admitted that he felt intimidated by playing the role because "the stakes felt really high ... You're embodying one of the most important, influential, complicated figures in [Spielberg's] life. It was incredible to see how much of this was in his work the whole time. He's sharing a piece of himself that I find very moving. There's a real gift in it, when somebody of that stature and at that level of artistry is willing to do that." In May, Gabriel LaBelle entered final negotiations to portray the lead role, Sammy Fabelman, a young, aspiring filmmaker based on Spielberg himself. He would be confirmed the next month in addition to the casting of Julia Butters as Anne Fabelman, the role inspired by Spielberg's sister. Later that June, Sam Rechner was cast as well. In July, Chloe East, Oakes Fegley, Isabelle Kusman, Jeannie Berlin, Judd Hirsch, Robin Bartlett and Jonathan Hadary were added to the cast. In August, Gabriel Bateman, Gustavo Escobar, Nicolas Cantu, Lane Factor, Cooper Dodson and Stephen Matthew Smith were cast. They were later followed by newcomers Keeley Karsten, Birdie Borria, Alina Brace, Sophia Kopera, and Mateo Zoryna Francis-Deford. In February 2022, it was announced David Lynch would also star in an undisclosed role.

In March 2022, cinematographer Janusz Kamiński said the film would chronicle Spielberg's life from age seven to eighteen and deal with "his family, with his parents, conundrums with his sisters, but primarily deals with his passion for movie-making," while adding that it will touch on the themes of "young love, parental divorce, and early formative relationships ... It's a very beautiful, beautiful personal movie. It's very revealing about Steven's life and who he is as a filmmaker."

Filming

Principal photography began in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in Los Angeles in July 2021.

Music

The musical score was composed by John Williams, marking his 29th film collaboration with Spielberg. On June 23, 2022, Williams revealed that this and the fifth Indiana Jones film may be the last two films he will score before retirement.

Release

The Fabelmans will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2022. On the announcement of the premiere, TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey remarked: "It’s different from a typical Spielberg blockbuster, but it is just as easily impactful in terms of the emotional effect it’s going to have on people. If you love movies, this is going to be a very powerful film for you to watch. I’m excited that it’s launching in an environment that celebrates cinema."

It is scheduled to be released by Universal Pictures in select theaters in Los Angeles and New York City on November 11, 2022, with a nationwide release on November 23 in the United States. It is Spielberg's first film distributed by Universal since Munich (2005). Entertainment One will handle distribution in the United Kingdom, while Nordisk Film will release the film in select international territories.

The film was sneak previewed on July 26, 2022 in Nanuet, New York.

External links

• Official website
• The Fabelmans at IMDb