Steven Spielberg has cemented his name among the greatest auteurs in all of Hollywood. The filmmaker has marked his legacy in every genre one can think of and has made some of the most beloved pieces of cinema in the last five decades, including Jaws, Saving Private Ryan, Jurassic Park, etc.
Steven Spielberg’s recent work The Fabelmans has also garnered colossal praise from critics and fans. But in a recent podcast with Smartless, the Jaws director revealed his desire to make some long-form content and how he was mesmerized by Kate Winslet’s The Mare of Easttown.
Steven Spielberg shared his desire to make long-form content
In a recent Smartless podcast, Steven Spielberg shared his desire to do some long-form content, while discussing his recent work The Fabelmans. While speaking about his love for long-form content, the director shared his fascination for the limited series Mare of Easttown.
Mare of Easttown has garnered immense praise for its writing, directing, and performances from its actors and has received four Emmy awards. The Jaws director also applauded the series for its beautifully crafted story, and shared that he would have loved to direct the series if he was offered the chance. He went on to state,
“I do have an appetite for long-form, and someday, I will direct a long-form series, I mean, if someone would have brought me ‘Mare of Easttown,’ I would have done that. That was a beautifully directed story.”
Even though Steven Spielberg has described his desire to do some long-form content, the director still hasn’t directed any TV shows to date. But in the podcast, he revealed that in 2012 he came very close to making his first TV show.
Also read: The Fabelmans TIFF Review: One of Steven Spielberg’s Most Tender Films Yet
Steven Spielberg wanted Lincoln to be a TV show
Steven Spielberg’s 2012 movie Lincoln was commended by fans and critics, and Daniel Day-Lewis went on to win an academy award for his role. But even with its success, Spielberg revealed that he wanted to tell the Lincoln story in a 6 hour TV show.
The director shared that he came close to turning the story into a six-hour show with the 550-page material by Tony Kushner, and was ready to talk HBO into it. But unfortunately, the director wasn’t able to raise all the financing that was required for a six-hour TV show and later went on to do a feature-length film. He stated,
“I was willing to do ‘Lincoln’ as a six-hour [show], No one believed in it…I went around town and everyone turned me down. I was ready to make a deal with HBO to do it and expand it to six hours. Tony Kushner’s first draft was 550 pages, so I had the goods! I had the material. I was on the brink of that.”
Although Steven Spielberg wasn’t sure if he could have convinced Daniel Day-Lewis for a TV show. But looking at the quality of the movie, it could have marked itself as one of the best TV shows ever made. With Steven Spielberg’s love for long-form content, fans hope it wouldn’t be a long before he gets to debut in the TV format.
Mare of Easttown is available to stream on Disney+.
Source: SmartLess
