Steven Spielberg wants to direct TV – and has revealed which of his movies he almost turned into an HBO show.
"I do have an appetite for longform, and someday, I will direct a longform series," the legendary director, who has only helmed films up until this point, told the Smartless podcast (H/T The Playlist). "I mean, if someone would have brought me Mare of Easttown, I would have done that. That was a beautifully directed story."
Mare of Easttown, starring Kate Winslet as a murder detective in Philadelphia, was a strong critical success for HBO – though a follow-up of the limited series looks unlikely.
Spielberg also said that Lincoln, the 2012 biographic film starring Daniel Day-Lewis as the 16th President of the United States, was considered for a six-part HBO series.
"I was willing to do Lincoln as a six-hour [show] because I couldn't raise all the financing for it. No one believed in it… I went around town and everyone turned me down," Spielberg explained.
He continued, "I was ready to make a deal with HBO to do it and expand it to six hours… I had the material. I don't know if I could have talked Daniel Day-Lewis into doing six hours, but I was on the brink of that."
The director may not want to leave Hollywood behind just yet, however. Spielberg's latest release The Fabelmans is getting some serious awards buzz and picked up the award for Drama Motion Picture at this year's Golden Globes.
For more on who could win big this awards season, check out our Oscars 2023 predictions.
