Spielberg praises ballet, opera at SXSW amid Chalamet backlash

Steven Spielberg weighed in on the debate over ballet and opera during a live podcast at SXSW on March 13. Reflecting on the communal power of moviegoing, he suddenly shouted out two of the oldest performing arts institutions: "It happens in movies. It happens in concerts.

It happens in ballet and opera!" The audience cheered and whooped. He spoke about the uniquely communal experience of the arts — the feeling of gathering with strangers in a dark room and emerging united after the story ends. "The real experience comes when we can influence a community to congregate in a strange, dark place," he told Sean Fennessey, host of The Big Picture podcast.

"At the end of a really good movie experience, we are all united… There’s nothing like that." The moment landed against the backdrop of the online controversy around Timothée Chalamet, who earlier this year joked about the challenge of keeping movie theaters alive while promoting Marty Supreme at a February town hall hosted by Variety and CNN alongside Matthew McConaughey.

spielberg, sxsw, ballet, opera, moviegoing, communal experience, sean fennessey, timothée chalamet, marty supreme, matthew mcconaughey