‘My brother is very talented.’ How Steven Spielberg’s ‘The Fabelmans’ was a real life family affair

Steven Spielberg‘s new movie The Fabelmans is heavily inspired by the director’s own life as a young filmmaker. His sisters Anne, Sue, and Nancy, were involved every step of the way.

Anne Spielberg, who had previously penned a screenplay for the family’s autobiography in the late 90s titled I’ll Be Home, was a recurrent presence on set. One particular moment during filming left her in awe of her brother, co-writer Tony Kushner told The Hollywood Reporter.

The cast was shooting scenes from a camping trip on location in a forest when Spielberg asked the crew to capture Michelle Williams’s shadows, cast over the rest of the family as they watched her dance. The entire set went quiet as they watched, and when Spielberg yelled “Cut!,” his sister turned to Kushner and said, “My brother is very talented.”

Steven, Anne, Nancy, and Sue’s mother died in 2017, with their father passing away shortly after in 2020. The Fabelmans honors their memories and, as such, the director’s sisters’ opinions on the film were crucial. Anne, Sue, and Nancy got to read every draft of the script.

Producer Kristie Macosko Krieger revealed that Spielberg “was nervous about what his sisters would think,” and after they watched a screening of the film, he had to leave the room to give them time to process.

“It was like somebody had run over their dog,” the revered director described, adding that The Fabelmans was a “deeply cathartic,” but “not traumatic” experience for the family.

During The Fabelmans world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September, Spielberg said the movie “brought my sisters, Annie, Susie, and Nancy, closer to me than I ever thought possible.”

The movie won People’s Choice Award at TIFF and is already generating major Oscar buzz. It stars Gabriel LaBelle as Sammy Fabelman, the character inspired by a young Spielberg, and Michelle Williams and Paul Dano as his parents. Julia Butters, Keeley Karsten, and Sophia Kopera play Anne, Sue, and Nacy.

The Fabelmans comes out in select theaters across the U.S. Nov. 11, before expanding its release Nov. 23.