Steven Spielberg Directs Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, and the cast of THE FABELMANS for W MAGAZINE’s Directors Issue

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W Magazine released the first of three covers for its latest issue, Volume 2, The Directors Issue, featuring the stars of “The Fabelmans” five-time Academy Award nominee Michelle Williams and award-winning actor Paul Dano directed and photographed by the legendary Steven Spielberg.

Now in its fifth year, the beloved Director’s Issue highlights and celebrates some of the greatest and most talked about directors in film this year. Shot in the desert in Lancaster as a reunion for The Fabelmans cast, including Seth Rogen, Gabriel LaBelle, Julia Butters, and Keeley Karsten in addition to the magazine’s cover stars, the film family was dressed as versions of their movie alter egos.

Not only was it a cast reunion, but Spielberg also brought together the incredibly talented crew of the film, cinematographer Janusz Kaminsk, Oscar nominated production designer Rick Carter, and costume designer Mark Bridges for the shoot.

Michelle Williams and Paul Dano Starring in “A Fabelmans Redux”

Directed and Photographed by Steven Spielberg

Director of Photography Janusz Kaminski, Production Design by Rick Carter, Styled by Mark Bridges, and Written by Lynn Hirschberg

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Recalling what sparked the idea for The Fabelmans: “I didn’t know if Covid was going to be an extinction-level event. I wasn’t sure whether the film Contagion was, in fact, art becoming life…I started to think, If I had a chance to make only one more movie, what would that be? And the answer came as easy as taking the next breath: It would be the story of how my mom and dad got divorced, and my role in that. Just like that.”

On how it felt to see the cast of the film as the members of his family: “It was cathartic. We re-created the house I grew up in from blueprints and photographs, and we matched it exactly. I stepped into my childhood home! I wanted to ask everyone to leave me alone in the house, but I didn’t do that. I wanted to have a good cry, but I didn’t want to cry in front of my entire crew and cast on the first day of interior shooting. Instead, I turned around, and there was Paul looking like my dad and Michelle looking like my mom, and I just broke down. Paul and Michelle came over and hugged me, and I will never forget that moment: The family was forged in those few seconds.”

On making Jaws at only 26 years old: “I never would have guessed that so many people would have gone to see Jaws. In my mind, the shark looked dumb. When I went to the first preview, in Dallas, and people were screaming and popcorn was flying at the screen, my first feeling was—Oh my god! I didn’t think any of this was going to work. The truth is, you never ever know.”

On what’s next and whether he’d ever do a sequel of The Fabelmans: “I never say never, but I don’t know what to do next. I was so emotionally invested in The Fabelmans, I left a vast body of water between myself and the next project. I didn’t plan ahead at all. I haven’t found my passion. And I can’t work without passion. I won’t.”

[Photo Credit: Steven Spielberg for W Magazine]

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• Gabriel LaBelle
• Julia Butters
• Keeley Karsten
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• Michelle Williams
• Paul Dano
• Seth Rogen
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