The Fabelmans

 The Fabelmans is a 2022 film co-written, co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg.  It is basically the story of Spielberg's early life from the time he saw his first movie until he started his career making movies.  The story also deals with his relationships with his mother and father.

When Spielberg was five years-old, his parents took him to see his first movie, The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille.  Young Steven (Sammy in the film) was particularly impressed by the train crash scene.  

From there, Sammy (Steven) developed a tremendous interest in making movies.  He continued making movies all the way through high school.

Spielberg found it difficult accepting his Jewish heritage; he said: "It isn't something I enjoy admitting [...] but when I was seven, eight, nine years old, God forgive me, I was embarrassed because we were Orthodox Jews. I was embarrassed by the outward perception of my parents' Jewish practices. I was never really ashamed to be Jewish, but I was uneasy at times."  I can relate to that.  

Spielberg also suffered from anti-Semitism: "In high school, I got smacked and kicked around. Two bloody noses. It was horrible."  Thankfully, I did not have a similar experience at OHS.

Among Spielberg's films were a long list of successes:  Jaws (1975), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E. T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), The Color Purple (1985), Jurassic Park (1993), Schindler's List (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Lincoln (2012), Bridge of Spies (2015) and West Side Story (2021).

In 2010, I nearly crossed paths with Steven Spielberg.  I was working as a customer service rep/cashier at Kohl's department store in Durham, North Carolina.  He was on a business trip to the area with some staff and was staying at a hotel near the store.  

Spielberg came to Kohl's with a female associate to buy her a swimsuit.  The cashier recognized him and saw his credit card.  Unfortunately, I did not have a shift while he was at the store.  Close, but no cigar.

The Fabelmans ends with a real life story of Spielberg's, meeting the legendary director, John Ford, when Spielberg was just at the beginning of his film making career.  With Sammy sitting in Ford's waiting room, the theme from the opening scene of The Seachers (1956) is heard.  There are movie posters of many of Ford's films on the walls.  When Ford finally arrives, he gives Sammy a quick lesson in art (where is the horizon in a picture?) and then tells him to "get the fuck out of my office."