It would be hard to find someone who hasn’t liked at least one of Spielberg’s films. No one else has been as brilliant at creating innumerable blockbusters that stick with us long after their initial release, from 1982’s cult classic E.T. to 2021 is multiple award-nominated West Side Story.

Nobody saw this coming, but for his semi-autobiographical play The Fabelmans, set to be released in 2022, the acclaimed director has begun digging into his past.

Premiere Date of The Fabelmans

Beginning on November 11, The Fabelmans will premiere in select theatres around the country. In the United States, it will be released to a wider public on November 23, a week before Thanksgiving.

Plot of The Fabelmans

Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, which he began working on in 1999 but initially named “I’ll Be Home,” is a labor of love for the director. He finally brought it into existence in the late 1940s and early 1950s via the eyes of a little kid, dubbing the project The Fabelmans. Although the idea for the film came from Spielberg, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner collaborated on the screenplay (Angels in America). Kushner had worked with Spielberg before on Munich, Lincoln, & West Side Story, all of which he co-wrote with Spielberg.

Production again For Fabelmans began in Los Angeles in July 2021, with pre-production beginning in October 2020, at the height of the lockdown imposed due to the Covid-19 outbreak. John Williams, a longtime partner of Spielberg’s, scores The Fabelmans; the film is the pair’s 29th joint effort.  Williams plays Sammy’s talented pianist mother, Mitzi Fabelman, while Dano portrays Sammy’s computer engineer father, Burt. Rogen portrays Burt’s closest friend and co-worker, Bennie Loewy, who is also an honorary uncle to the kids; Hirsch plays Mitzi’s distant uncle Uncle Boris, and Berlin makes an appearance as Sammy’s biological grandma. 

Birdie Borria plays young Reggie; Bartlett plays Sammy’s great grandma Tina Schildkraut; Penn Fegley plays Sammy’s bully Chad Thomas; Jason Bateman plays Sammy’s Boy Scout friend who assists him with his short films. Daniel Cantu plays another member of the Boy Scouts and a friend of Sammy’s. Roles played by Rechner (Logan Hall), East (Sherwood), Escobar (Sal), Hadary (family member), Epstein (Barry), Hoag (Nona), Lovelle (Renee), Grunberg (Bernie Fein), Marum (Janet Benedict), Urbaniak (Principal), and Brace (little Natalie) are listed.

Trailer of The Fabelmans

The Fabelmans’ official trailer features Sammy and his family, with the film’s dazzling photography transporting viewers to another era. Sammy’s mother is also an artist, but she long ago gave up on her goals, which motivates him to do the same. Watching Sammy develop into a young teenager who, despite his father’s misgivings, decides to pursue his dream of being a filmmaker no matter the obstacles he faces is inspiring. Moreover, he brings his narrative to life through the eyes of a made-up guy named Sammy Fabelman.

Sammy is an Arizonan kid growing up in the immediate aftermath of the war. His mother is a creative spirit who constantly cheers him on, while his father is a computer programmer and a very practical guy. He also has three younger sisters. Sammy’s life is profoundly altered by a trip to the theatre with his family. He developed an interest in filmmaking and ultimately fell in love with the medium. Even if his loved ones don’t always back his endeavors, he keeps at it and improves.