Oscars Best Picture nominee profile: Steven Spielberg reflects on his roots with ‘The Fabelmans’

After six decades of continually proving his mettle as one of the most revered directors in film history, Steven Spielberg has finally brought his own origin story to the big screen. Through “The Fabelmans” character Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle), the legendary filmmaker not only recounts how he discovered his calling but also how his bumpy childhood influenced the development of his distinctive eye for storytelling. With the film’s nomination for the Best Picture Oscar, Spielberg has solidified his status as the academy’s most-recognized producer and tied William Wyler’s record of having 13 Best Picture nominees in his directing filmography.

Set primarily in the early 1960s, “The Fabelmans” is a coming-of-age story in which the adolescent lead character’s relationships with his parents drive the entire plot. From an early age, Sammy bonds with his free-spirited mother, Mitzi (Michelle Williams), due to her boundless support of his artistic dreams. Although he periodically gravitates more toward his straight-laced father, Burt (Paul Dano), as he matures, he only manages to truly discover his own sense of self by landing somewhere between the two extremes.

Spielberg, who won the Best Director Golden Globe earlier this awards season, is competing in three Oscar races as the writer, director and producer of “The Fabelmans.” His history with the academy dates back to 1978 and consists of 22 competitive nominations that have so far led to Best Director wins for 1993’s “Schindler’s List” and 1998’s “Saving Private Ryan” as well as a Best Picture victory for the former. He shares his producing bid for “The Fabelmans” with Tony Kushner and Kristie Macosko Krieger, the latter of whom was also recognized alongside him here for “Bridge of Spies” (2015), “The Post” (2017) and “West Side Story” (2021).

Kushner’s additional role as the co-writer of this film’s original screenplay brings his writing Oscar nomination total to three, as he previously picked up bids for adapting the scripts for Spielberg’s “Munich” (2005) and “Lincoln” (2012). “The Fabelmans” received two more above-the-line nominations for the respective lead and supporting performances of Williams and Judd Hirsch (who briefly appears as Sammy’s great uncle, Boris). Hirsch has one previous acting Oscar bid to his name for his featured turn in “Ordinary People” (1980), while Williams has four (lead: “Blue Valentine,” 2010 and “My Week with Marilyn,” 2011; supporting: “Brokeback Mountain,” 2005 and “Manchester by the Sea,” 2016).

“The Fabelmans” is also up for this year’s Best Production Design and Best Score prizes, with the latter nomination constituting frequent Spielberg collaborator John Williams’s 48th in the category and 53rd overall. The nonagenarian has previously won for scoring Spielberg’s “Jaws” (1975), “E.T. the Extra Terrestrial” (1982) and “Schindler’s List,” as well as “Fiddler on the Roof” (1971) and “Star Wars” (1977). The film’s production design nominees, Rick Carter and Karen O’Hara, have seven past bids between them, with him having won for “Avatar” (2009) and “Lincoln” and her for “Alice in Wonderland” (2010).

This article is a part of Gold Derby’s “Oscar nominee profile” series spotlighting the 2022 Best Picture nominees. 

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