Steven Spielberg at the AFI Awards LuncheonPhoto: Kevin Winter/Getty Images (Getty Images)
Little-known director Steven Spielberg has decided he will step off the stage when it comes to future musical directing opportunities. After earning seven Oscar nominations — including one for best director — with his remake of West Side Story, the Jaws director has announced that he has no plans to direct any more musicals, per Variety.
During a breakfast session before the Producers Guild of America awards ceremony, Spielberg shattered our dreams of a musical adaptation of Jurassic Park by announcing that he was retiring from directing the genre.
He must have been tired of future musicals after trying to get the rights to Stephen Sondheim’s West Side Story. Spielberg spoke to the PGA panel about the ordeal. He recalls being trapped by the famous Broadway lyricist’s dogs, who sniffed at his crotch while he was “afraid to push them off [as] I didn’t mean to offend him.”
However, that doesn’t mean he won’t be involved in some high-profile musical films at all. Spielberg will partner with Oprah Winfrey to produce The Color Purple, a musical adaptation of the hit Broadway show starring Danielle Brooks and Fantasia Taylor. Originally producing and directing the 1985 film, Spielberg received eleven Academy Award nominations for the Whoopi Goldberg-led film and Spielberg’s first win at the Director’s Guild of America Awards.
However, if you’re not a musical fanatic, Spielberg’s upcoming film The Fablemans builds on his success with coming-of-age movies. Loosely based on the director’s childhood, who grew up in Arizona, The Fablemans will have Paul Dano portraying Spielberg’s father, Michelle Williams as his mother, Seth Rogen as his uncle, and a random David Lynch likely doing his lynch thing . The sort of autobiographical flick is slated for release on November 23, 2022, perfect timing for a family trip after Thanksgiving.
Always a busy man, Spielberg is also attempting to make a film based on another famous Steve – Steve McQueen’s police detective character Frank Bullitt from 1968’s Bullitt. Bye bye choreographed dance sequences, hello elaborate car chases!