The Fabelmans (2022), arguably Steven Spielberg’s most personal movie to date, had everyone talking. Starring Michelle Williams and Paul Dano, it’s a semi-autobiographical tale that’s loosely based on the director’s childhood and his early years as a film director.
However, Spielberg’s reluctance to delve into his family’s history stemmed from worries that his parents would suffer, so the project was dropped for twenty years. Regardless, with seven Oscar nominations upon its release, The Fabelmans has generated a lot of Oscar buzz.
Does that encourage other filmmakers to document their own life stories on screen? Well, the director of Avatar and Titanic, though, is not going to take that route. James Cameron remains surprisingly uninterested when it comes to sharing the story of his own journey to success on the big screen because he finds it “boring”.
Why James Cameron Won’t Bring His Youth to the Big Screen
The man behind The Abyss and True Lies, James Cameron, was in Paris recently to attend a retrospective of his work at the Cinematheque Française. The career of the Canadian director was on display in this exhibition. The event provided an opportunity for Le Figaro to interview the filmmaker, 69, about a variety of topics, including his potential autobiographical film.
When asked whether he would be interested in making a film about his own life, just like Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, Cameron simply replied:
“No, I will never make a film about my personal story. It would be too boring. I prefer to inspire vocations through my drawings. I have the impression that there is a crisis of confidence among young artists. They feel overwhelmed by a bombardment of images and media.”
Even though these artists are sometimes “very good”, he continued, they are “reluctant” to share and exhibit their work. “Making a movie about my past does not interest me”, Cameron added.
In light of The Fabelmans’ critical success (the film was ranked among the top ten films of 2022 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute), Cameron must give a second chance to his decision.
Steven Spielberg on Why he Hesitated to Tell the Story of The Fabelmans
After defeating James Cameron, Baz Luhrmann, Martin McDonagh, Daniel Kwan, and Daniel Scheinert, Steven Spielberg took home the 80th Golden Globe for Best Director. The latter discussed how, at first, he was apprehensive to share The Fabelmans’ story (via PEOPLE):
“I’ve been hiding from this story since I was 17 years old. I put a lot of things in my way of this story. I told this story in parts and parcels all through my career. E.T. has a lot to do with this story, Close Encounters has a lot to do with this story, but I never had the courage to hit this story head-on until Tony Kushner, when we were working on Munich, which was a long time ago, sat me down and said, ‘Start telling me about all these stories I’ve heard about your life.’”
The Fabelmans received a plethora of accolades and nominations, including seven 95th Academy Awards nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Spielberg, 77, revealed that his parents had been “nagging” him to see them on the big screen before they died.
“They were actually nagging me, ‘When are you going to tell that story about our family, Steve?’ And so this was something they were very enthusiastic about.”
With $17.3 million in revenue in the US and Canada, The Fabelmans has brought in $45.6 million at the box office globally (Box Office Mozo). It has received high praise ever since its premiere, being regarded as one of the best movies of the 2020s and as Spielberg’s “most personal film” (via Collider).
Well, despite the possibility that James Cameron’s life will never be the subject of a film biopic, we can still honor his legacy as one of the greatest directors of all time.
Stream The Fabelmans on FuboTV.
