How Michelle Williams Prepared to Play Steven Spielberg's Mom for the Fabelmans

Speaking to Time during "The Fabelmans" press tour, Spielberg said: "My mother was always called Peter Pan, the little girl who never wanted to grow up. She loved being in our lives. Like our friend more than our mother. She befriended us more than she was our mother. That's also true in the movie, where Mitzi is an eccentric who plays with her children and buys a pet monkey on a whim.

While Arnold/Burt was a computer engineer, Leah/Mitzi was a pianist. A filmmaker is both artist and technician; Spielberg/Sam inherited skills from both parents. Even so, Mitzi nurtures his son's creative side more than his practical father. While she didn't live to see "The Fabelmans" (died 2017), Leah Adler actually encouraged her son to make an autobiographical film: "My mom was really quite pushy about, 'Steve, when are you gonna will you tell our story? When will you tell my story?'"

Mother and son part ways when Sam discovers Mitzi's affair with Burt's friend Bennie (Seth Rogen) while making a home movie for his mother. Sam must keep adultery a secret, and when Burt decides to hide the truth of the divorce from his children, Sam must hide what he knows.

“The Fabelmans” is not a condemnation, however. Mitzi is prone to depression and just plain happier with Bennie than Burt. There is no villain, just two unfortunately incompatible people. Speaking to 60 Minutes, Spielberg admits he blamed the divorce on his father for many years, but if the film is any indication, he's moved past that.