Steven SpielbergThe filmography of includes some of the greatest movies of all time: we’re talking classics like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park, Saving Private RyanAnd bridge of spies, just to name a few. Although most of his productions have been critically acclaimed, the Oscar-winning director says there’s one film he considers “pretty perfect.” It’s his 1982 blockbuster HEY
Spielberg dropped the gem during a recent interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbertsaying he rarely looks at his work after they come out.
“I don’t often look back, but once in a while I see a movie with my kids,” he told the host. “I want to accompany my children when they see HEY for the first time. I don’t want them to see HEY without dad sitting there. Especially the scary parts at the start.
He continued, “Sometimes I see things I intended to do that I didn’t do, and sometimes I see things that would have been a better idea than I see now all these years later, but for the most part HEY is a pretty perfect movie. It’s one of the few movies I’ve made that I can watch again and again. There are about five or six movies that I can rewatch, but I usually don’t.
HEY is a sci-fi film about an alien who befriends a young boy named Elliott played by Henry Thomas. Dee Wallace, Peter Coyote, Robert MacNaughton and Drew Barrymore co-starred in the film, which grossed around $800 million at the box office. It also earned a number of accolades, including multiple Oscars and the Golden Globe for Best Drama Picture.
Spielberg is now on a promotional tour for this latest film, The Fabelmans– a semi-autobiographical film about his unconventional upbringing and early passion for cinema. The Fabelmans is up for seven Oscar nominations, including Best Director, Best Actress (Michelle Williams), Best Supporting Actor (Judd Hirsch), and Best Picture.
The director told Colbert that he had wanted to do The Fabelmans for years, but was admittedly hesitant to share such a deeply personal story.
“I thought telling a story about how I found out my mom was having an affair with her and my dad’s best friend – and my dad’s business partner – was something that didn’t have ever to be expressed publicly,” he said. “I had a lot of doubts about it. But to his credit, Tony Kushner, went on to say it’s the McGuffin of this movie. It’s the center ring in this circus of your life, it’s is the central ring.
You can check out parts of the interview above and below.