New from Spielberg

Von Ellstein:  "You know what you must do, Mr. Shields, so that you will have it exactly as you want it? You must direct this picture yourself. To direct a picture, a man needs humility. Do you have humility, Mr. Shields?" ~from 1953's THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL directed by Vincente Minnelli.

Way back in the late 1980s, I told myself that -- if I ever had the opportunity to conduct a sit-down interview of director Steven Spielberg -- I would ask him that question from Minnelli's Hollywood-on-Hollywood drama. And here's why:

The legendary cartoon character voice actor, Mel Blanc, told me that he did not like young Spielberg. He felt that Old Hollywood voting members of the Academy would not really embrace him until he learned humility. I did a half-hour interview of Mr. Blanc in his warm, inviting L.A. home for my old VH1 talk show. We taped and aired the show in June 1988. Blanc passed away the following month at age 81. He was a most gracious man, appreciative of the interview. Off-camera he told me how Spielberg had irritated him.

Steven Spielberg was one of the hottest New Hollywood filmmakers at that time. When I was in high school, classmates and I were raving about the ABC TV Movie of the Week we'd seen the night before. It was a made-for-TV thriller called DUEL about a motorist whose vehicle is being threatened by an almost demonic-seeming diesel truck. The 1971 production was directed by Spielberg, then in his early 20s. He'd been directing episodes of network TV shows. Then he graduated to directing innovative box office blockbuster films such as JAWS (1975), CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977), INDIANA JONES AND THE RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981) and E.T. the EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL.

Mr. Blanc said that Spielberg, although extremely talented, had to learn how to work with veteran production people. He added that Spielberg would hire crew members who'd worked on Hollywood classics, but not honor their experience by asking for their input. They had to follow his orders. That was the lack of humility noted by Old Hollywood crew people. They felt he needed to learn a lesson. Mel Blanc then pointed out the success of Spielberg's THE COLOR PURPLE. 

Spielberg had gotten Best Director Oscar nominations for CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and E.T. the EXTTRA-TERRESTRIAL. THE COLOR PURPLE got an impressive 11 Oscar nominations including Best Actress, two for Best Supporting Actress, Best Song and Best Picture of 1985.  Spielberg did not get a nomination for Best Director.

Why was Mel Blanc, who had about 50 years of fame as a Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon character voice actor, mad at Spielberg? The director was the executive producer of 1988's WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT. He wanted Mel Blanc to recreate some of his cartoon character voices for the fabulous live action/animated feature.

But he wanted Mel Blanc, basically, to audition. That's when Blanc blew his top. He got the job -- without auditioning. 

An older, more mature Spielberg got his next Best Director Oscar nomination for 1993's excellent, important SCHINDLER'S LIST. He won and his film won for Best Picture.

According to entertainment news, Steven Spielberg's new film premiered to "a rapturous audience" over the weekend at the Toronto Film Festival. THE FABLEMANS was described as "a semi-autobiographical tale about the director's early life and how he fell in love with filmmaking." Variety wrote that it "could be a frontrunner for Best Picture." Deadline Hollywood  calls it a "glorious tribute to art and family." The Hollywood Reporter calls it "a deeply moving childhood memoir" and critic Matt Neglia writes "Michelle Williams is heartbreakingly magnificent while Judd Hirsch and David Lynch steal the film..."

I love this from critic Brian Tallerico: "Life ain't like the movies. And yet the movies help us hold onto life. Spielberg's whole heart is up on that screen."

Here's a trailer for THE FABLEMANS:

It opens November 11th.