Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans” got a standing ovation at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday, with a crowd of film lovers loudly cheering the Oscar-winning author as he debuted at the ceremony.
“I’m really glad we came to Toronto,” said Spielberg, who was visibly impressed after taking the podium as the credits started.
The director said he was inspired by the COVID pandemic to tell his personal story so far, and look back at his early efforts in filmmaking, his childhood in Arizona and Northern California, and the breakup of his family.
“As things got worse and worse, I felt that if I was going to leave anything behind, what was the thing that I really needed to undo my mom and dad,” Spielberg said.
However, he reassured the crowd at TIFF that despite his peace with his past, “The Fabelmans” would not be a goodbye to movies.
“It’s not because I’m going to retire and this is my swan song,” he said. “Don’t believe any of that.”
The movie started about 15 minutes late, which is a little miracle given the waiting audience members outside the Princess of Wales theater were drawn to the “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” premiere that kicked off “The Fabelmans.” Spielberg was introduced by TIFF creative director Cameron Bailey, who said he was stunned by introducing the legend (TIFF competed with the Venice and Telluride Film Festivals for Spielberg’s latest film). Billy remembers that he was 12 years old and fell in love with the movie thanks to work from Spielberg.
The director’s biographical drama stars Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, and Gabriel Labelle as Sam Fabelman, Spielberg’s replacement.
Ahead of the show, the “Jurassic Park” director estimated that in his 34-film career, “The Fabelmans” was his first ever officially to play in a film festival selection, seemingly forgetting that “Bridge of Spies” premiered at a festival. New York Film Festival just a few years ago. Spielberg said the experience making the film was important to him, as it brought him closer to his late mother, Leah.
Breakthrough moments during the two-and-a-half-hour show included thunderous applause for 87-year-old Judd Hirsch. Hirsch plays the great-uncle of Spielberg’s screen replacement, Sam, and gives memorable talk about the losses an artist pays when it comes to honoring his family. Williams has also received a lot of backlash for her tender and generous portrayal of Sam’s mother, an artistic woman who also struggles with depression.
Bailey returned to host a Q&A after the examination, and cut a standing ovation at two minutes for asking questions.
The official synopsis of the film from TIFF reads: “The Fabelmans is a coming-of-age story about a young man discovering a broken family secret and exploring the power of films to help us see the truth about each other and ourselves.” The film is based on Spielberg’s own childhood, with Williams and Dano starring in the director’s parents. . Spielberg co-wrote the screenplay with “Lincoln”, “Munich” and “West Side Story” screenwriter Tony Kushner.
It’s funny, it’s sad, it’s kind of everything,” Williams said. diverse About the project earlier this year. “It’s the beauty of life. We try to reflect it all.”
Williams added about getting the role based on Spielberg’s mother, “My phone beeps, and I had a message that Steven wanted to talk to me.” “I couldn’t understand that he might want to work with me. I thought he had a question or something. Then he got Zoom and told me he wanted me to play this person, his mother.”
Williams is right because the final product is a two-and-a-half hour look at the forces that shaped Spielberg, and turned him into one of our preeminent legendaries. “Movies are dreams,” Williams’ character Sammy once said, and from “Jaws” to “ET,” no one has been more adept at making fantasies out of celluloid than Spielberg.
The Fabelmans also include Jenny Berlin, Julia Butters, Robin Bartlett, and Kelly Carsten. The film was produced by Kristi McCusco Krieger, Spielberg, and Kushner
“The Fablemans” is supported by Universal Pictures, which is scheduled to release the film in theaters on November 11.
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