Seth Rogen shares a behind-the-scenes story from The Fabelmans
, explaining how director Steven Spielberg’s approach to working with kids surprised him. Spielberg has worked extensively with younger actors over the course of his career, including on movies like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Empire of the Sun (1987), Jurᴀssic Park (1993), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), and The BFG (2016). Spielberg’s latest film working with younger actors was on the critically-acclaimed The Fabelmans, which featured Rogen starring as Bennie Loewy.
During a recent interview with Esquire, Rogen is asked to share a story about his experience working with Spielberg on The Fabelmans. The actor recalls being surprised by Spielberg’s more adult and serious way of working with child actors, and he actually ended up asking the director about his approach. Spielberg then shared a nugget of wisdom with Rogen about the kind of authority figures children respond to. Check out Rogen’s story below:
“On the set of ‘The Fabelmans,’ I noticed there’s a lot of kids in the movie, and Steven Spielberg is famous for working with kids, basically. And I would notice that when he was directing the kids of the movie, he treated them like any other actor, in that I mean he was not particularly sensitive towards them, to the point that I commented on it.
“And I went to him and I was like, ‘I thought you’d be like really nice to them, basically.’ And he was like, ‘Kids always listen to the mean teacher more than they listen to the nice teacher.’ And I thought that was really interesting.”
What Rogen’s Story Means For Steven Spielberg
What A Former Spielberg Collaborator Has Said About His Experiences With The Director
Spielberg remains one of the most respected and successful Hollywood directors of all time. Many of his films were not just successful critically and commercially, but they remain iconic works of film. Rogen’s story speaks to the level of professionalism that Spielberg brings to a film set, and getting strong performances out of actors is a crucial aspect of being a director. By treating child actors with maturity and an adult level of professionalism, it’s clear that Spielberg has been able to get some strong performances while also keeping his film sets running smoothly.
Rogen’s story comes several months after actor Josh Brolin shared his own experiences with Spielberg during the making of The Goonies (1985), a film based on a story by Spielberg for which he also served as executive producer. During an interview on the Literally! With Rob Lowe podcast, Brolin, who was 16 during the making of The Goonies, recalls going to Spielberg with a convoluted idea about his character’s motivations and emotions, only for Spielberg to tell him: “Why don’t you just act? Just say the words on the page, you’ll be fine.“
The Goonies 2 is in development with original writer Chris Columbus attached to pen a treatment for the film.
Our Take On Rogen’s Spielberg Story
The Fabelmans Was A Critical Success
On Rotten Tomatoes, The Fabelmans has a 92% critics score and an 83% score from audiences. Clearly, Spielberg’s approach to working with child actors, some of whom anchor the entire story of The Fabelmans, is working. Plus, despite what Spielberg may have told Rogen, it’s not likely that he’s actually “mean” to younger actors, just that he doesn’t baby them and that he speaks to them candidly. This worked for The Fabelmans, and it will likely continue to work for what Spielberg movies are to come.
Source: Esquire
