Steven Spielberg recalls ‘reliving trauma’ while making ‘The Fabelmans'

Steven Spielberg candidly opened up about the challenges he faced while directing The Fablemans in his latest interview.

Speaking to W Magazine, the Indiana Jones director shared that he got emotional while making the Oscar-nominated fictionalized autobiopic.

“During Fabelmans, I had to retain my objectivity, and that was difficult,” Spielberg said. “Subjectivity is a filmmaker’s greatest enemy, and I always try and stay in the mind of the audience, or the characters—but never too far away from either.”

He explained, “That takes some distance, and with this film, there were some scenes where I was reliving trauma—an instant replay of something that happened when I was 16 years old.”

“Often it would take me five minutes or so to collect myself. I’d tap [cinematographer Janusz Kamiński] on the shoulder, and he’d know that I’d need a moment to compose myself,” he added.

The West Side Story maker also talked about the process of casting the members of his own family with actors like Michelle Williams and Paul Dano and recreating his childhood memories.

“It was cathartic,” he admitted. “We re-created the house I grew up in from blueprints and photographs, and we matched it exactly. I stepped into my childhood home! I wanted to ask everyone to leave me alone in the house, but I didn’t do that.”

The Fabelmans has earned seven Oscar nominations including Best Picture.