Spielberg challenges Chalamet's dismissal of ballet and opera

Steven Spielberg, 79, disagreed with recent remarks that opera and ballet no longer matter. “At the end of a really good movie experience, we are all united with a whole bunch of feelings that we walk into the daylight with, or into the nighttime with,” he said during Friday’s panel at the 2026 SXSW Conference and Festival.

“And there’s nothing like that. It happens in movies, and in concerts. And it happens in ballet and opera, by the way,” Spielberg continued as the crowd applauded. “We want that to be sustained. We want that to go forever.” Timothée Chalamet, 30, made the original remarks at a town hall produced by Variety and CNN last month, saying he didn’t “want to be working in ballet or opera where it’s like, ‘Hey!

steven spielberg, timothée chalamet, ballet, opera, sxsw, variety, cnn, town hall, movie experience, concerts