The Fabelmans: the final cameo told by its screenwriter

Tony Kushner has excellent memories of (spoiler) coming to the set of Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical film.

This evening, Canal + is programming the latest film of Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmansalso available on MyCanal until January 31, 2024. A very personal work, inspired by his youth, which he co-wrote with Tony Kushneran author with whom the American filmmaker had already collaborated on Munich (2005), Lincoln (2012) and West Side Story (2022).

The Fabelmans was a big favorite of the editorial staff of First upon its release at the start of the year. On the occasion of its release on DVD and blu-ray in July, Tony Kushner agreed to decipher a handful of sequences for us. Beware of spoilers ! Below we share his best memory from filming: the day Steven Spielberg welcomed another renowned director on set for a cameo.

The ending scene surprised the audience with its light side, so much so that the theory of the horizon line developed by John Ford has become a meme, a joke shared among moviegoers. Kushner tells us in detail how it was conceived, with an artist we didn’t necessarily expect in this kind of role: the director David Lynch (Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive…).

The meeting was made possible thanks to Laura Dern, one of the latter’s favorite actresses, who is also at the heart of the saga Jurassic Park by Steven Spielberg.

“Steven told me about meeting John Ford on the first day of filming Munich in Malta, recalls his writing partner. We barely knew each other! We were preparing a night scene and I asked him what made him decide to become a director. He detailed this crazy anecdote to me, but while laughing, it was a funny memory. Like the scene, which is amusing, even if it basically says important things.

I know he told this story to lots of people, it was even in a documentary. It must be said that she is great! (laughs) We both wanted to use it, and he wanted to finish the film with it. The surreal exchange matches what they really said to each other. We struggled a bit with casting, we had ideas, but it didn’t work out exactly as we wanted. I asked him if he would like to have a filmmaker play another filmmaker, and my husband, Mark Harris, slipped in David Lynch’s name while we were prepping. West Side Story. He had just seen an interview with him and it’s true that it fit perfectly. Steven tried to contact him through his agent, got no response, so he called Laura Dern for help! She called him, he agreed, saying he would do the test but if it wasn’t good he would have to replace it.

The day of filming is unforgettable for me. It’s truly once in a lifetime: Steven Spielberg filming David Lynch during a scene where Steven Spielberg meets John Ford, who is played by David Lynch. Wow! It was so weird. I was happy like a kid. It’s truly one of the pinnacles of my career as a screenwriter. Already having been able to participate in films by Steven Spielberg, whom I followed since the start of his career… I love Encounters of the Third Kind, and this is partly linked to the fact that he hired François Truffaut to star in his film. Let him do it again years later with another filmmaker, who is so important in American cinema… Not to mention that at the start of his career, he also paid homage to Alfred Hitchcock. He proclaims his love of directors through his films.

Lynch is incredible too! This gesture that he makes with his cigar to make the flames shoot out was not at all planned, it was him who had fun with it, it caught his attention and he literally plays with that. In addition, this fire, this smoke, it adds a little creepy side to the character, and we see that he is easily distracted, we don’t know how he will react.

It’s true that this scene is funny. But it also makes sense, deep down. It shows that we can use art to control our lives, that by becoming a maestro in our field, we learn to no longer let ourselves be overwhelmed by anything that can turn our existence upside down. Except that once you begin to understand the power of art, you also realize that it can take you into dangerous, very dark places. Clearly, John Ford was a genius. However, he was not a very happy man. That’s why he asks this young boy why he is so keen to become a director. When he gives him this advice in relation to the horizon line, he knows that it is a ‘ruler’ stupid, but at the same time it’s the only thing he is able to control. It is a tool that allows him to master his art and therefore his life.

It’s all the more beautiful thanks to the passage just before where Sammy is waiting to meet him without immediately knowing who he has an appointment with. He understands this at the same time as the viewer when seeing the posters for his films. Steven had put on the music of The Prisoner of the Desert on set that day and everyone was amazed by this room with the posters of all these masterpieces. The camera takes its time, film after film: The Fantastic Ride, How Green Was My Valley, The Snitch, The Prisoner of the Desert, The Son of the Desert, The Heroic Charge, The Grapes of Wrath, The Quiet Man, The Man Who Killed Liberty Valance… we understand how important this artist is to Sammy. And from Steven who pays tribute to John Ford, whom he undoubtedly considers to be the greatest filmmaker of all time. I love this scene in particular, I love the way it showcases her talent in such a simple, obvious way.”