126. The Fablemans (with Paul of Twin Flicks) (Summer of Spielberg)

Load Bearing Beams: A Movie Podcast

The Summer of Spielberg comes to a somber, respectful conclusion as we say goodbye to Mr. Spielberg by prying into his personal affairs and taking a look at his latest film, the autobiographical The Fablemans (2022).

It’s the story of young Sammy Fableman (but they’re not hiding that the Fablemans are the Spielbergs) and his budding love of picturemaking. And we have the perfect guest to help us along the way, as we welcome in filmmaker and physical media enthusiast Paul of Twin Flicks (https://www.youtube.com/@TwinFlicks).

Paul tells Laci and Matt about how Spielberg inspired his filmmaking journey, and then the three discuss the real lives of Steven Spielberg’s parents and how Steven decided to finally stop making movies about other people’s divorces and make one about his parents’ divorce.

And how about this? At 75 years old, Steven Spielberg made one of his best-ever movies.

Watch this episode in full: https://youtu.be/ouKRlcanTyw

Next week: We’re taking a week off. The Bonus episode will be a replay of our YouTube Live discussion wrapping up the Summer of Spielberg. And then, on September 6, we’re coming back with an episode about Drumline (2002).

Time stamps: 11:22 — Paul's history with Spielberg and our histories with The Fablemans 32:04 — History segment: The real story of Spielberg's parents, and the genesis of The Fablemans 53:57 — In-depth movie discussion 1:30:30 — Final thoughts and star ratings

Artwork by Laci Roth.

Music by Rural Route Nine. Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify (https://bit.ly/48WBtUa), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/3Q6kOVC), or YouTube (https://bit.ly/3MbU6tC).

Songs by Rural Route Nine in this episode:

“Summer of Spielberg” - https://youtu.be/yglAqqLEaoI

“Winston-Salem” - https://youtu.be/-acMutUf8IM

“Snake Drama” - https://youtu.be/xrzz8_2Mqkg

“The Bible Towers of Bluebonnet” - https://youtu.be/k7wlxTGGEIQ

“Summer of Spielberg” theme song credits:

Words and music written by Matt Stokes

Performed by Wade Hymel (drums/guitar), Laci Roth (vocals), and Matt Stokes (vocals/guitar/bass)

Produced by TJ Barends, Wade Hymel, and Matt Stokes

ngineered and mixed by TJ Barends at Bare Sounds Studio in Ponchatoula, Louisiana

Sources:

Steven Spielberg: A Biography by Joseph McBride - https://amzn.to/3xzYOx1

“Steven Spielberg gave his sisters veto power on ‘The Fabelmans.’ They gave him their trust” by Glenn Whipp | The Los Angeles Times, 2023 - https://lat.ms/3XfTuJi

“Steven Spielberg Gets Personal” by A.O. Scott | The New York Times, 2022 - https://nyti.ms/3WUV4iA