Few filmmakers have shaped popular cinema as profoundly as Steven Spielberg. So when Sean Fennessey, co-host of The Big Picture from Spotify’s The Ringer, sat down with the director at SXSW earlier this month, it made for a conversation movie fans won’t want to miss.
Now streaming on Spotify, the interview spans from his filmmaking process to his career and the communal experience of going to the theater. But what does it take to prepare for a conversation with a figure like Spielberg? For the Record caught up with Sean to hear about his research process, his interviewing philosophy, and what helps a conversation feel both thoughtful and natural.
After having a little time to reflect, what has stayed with you most since your sit-down with Spielberg?
Well, aside from his confession that he believes we are not alone on this planet, I was struck by Spielberg’s balance between certitude and vulnerability. More than six decades into his legendary career, he’s as comfortable talking about being completely out of his depth while making Jaws as he is holding court on the communal nature of moviegoing.
It’s rare that such a godfather figure—someone who really knows everything about his field—retains that sensitivity, playfulness, and lack of cynicism. It was inspiring to find that he’s still the same guy who was excitedly putting his dreams on the big screen in the ’70s.
You’ve interviewed many filmmakers over the years. Do you prepare differently depending on who you’re speaking to, or is there a core approach you always come back to?
I always rewatch the work. Always. For directors whose films I already know well, I go hunting for themes and look for ways those ideas connect to their personal history. I’m an inveterate researcher, and I like to start with interview compendiums and contemporaneous magazine profiles. For this sit-down, I read a great collection of Spielberg interviews from The University of Mississippi Press. Spielberg is arguably the most famous film director in world history, so there’s no shortage of material, but he doesn’t often do State-of-the-Union-style conversations. That meant there was still a lot of ground we could cover together.
For other filmmakers, I look to biographies, criticism that connects their filmographies, and especially, director commentaries on physical media, where you can find subjects in a surprisingly revealing state talking about how and why they made certain creative and practical decisions.
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