2022 drama film by Steven Spielberg
The Fabelmans is a 2022 American coming-of-age drama film directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg, who co-wrote the screenplay with Tony Kushner. Loosely based on Spielberg's early life and beginnings as a filmmaker, the semi-autobiographical film follows Sammy Fabelman, a young aspiring filmmaker who explores how the power of films can help him see the truth about his dysfunctional family and those around him. It stars Gabriel LaBelle as Sammy, alongside Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, and Judd Hirsch in supporting roles. David Lynch makes a cameo as filmmaker John Ford during the film's final scene, in his final acting role before his death in 2025.
Spielberg had conceived the project as early as 1999, with his sister Anne writing a screenplay titled I'll Be Home. Spielberg postponed the project for 20 years due to concerns about how it might affect his parents. He revisited it in 2019 with screenwriter and frequent collaborator Kushner while they were making West Side Story, and the screenplay was completed in late 2020. Development of the film officially began soon after, with casting taking place between March and May 2021. Principal photography began that July in Los Angeles and wrapped in September. The film is dedicated to the memories of Spielberg's parents, Leah Adler and Arnold Spielberg, who died in 2017 and 2020, respectively.
The Fabelmans premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2022, where it won the People's Choice Award. Distributed by Universal Pictures, the film opened as a limited theatrical release in the United States on November 11, 2022, and then expanded to a wide release on November 23. Even though it only grossed $45.6 million on a $40 million budget, it received widespread critical acclaim and was named one of the top ten films of 2022 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute, and was considered a return to form for Spielberg. The Fabelmans earned numerous awards and nominations including seven nominations at the 95th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Williams), and Best Supporting Actor (Hirsch). It also earned 11 nominations at the 28th Critics' Choice Awards, winning Best Young Performer (LaBelle), and five nominations at the 80th Golden Globe Awards, winning Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director.
Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.