Steven Spielberg Says Ballet and Opera Are Just Like Moviegoing Amid Timothée Chalamet Controversy: ‘We Want’ Them to ‘Go Forever’

Mar 13, 2026 12:32pm PT Steven Spielberg Says Ballet and Opera Are Just Like Moviegoing Amid Timothée Chalamet Controversy: ‘We Want’ Them to ‘Go Forever’ By Selome Hailu Plus Icon Selome Hailu Latest ‘Animal Kingdom’ Boss Eliza Clark Sets Hulu Crime Drama Pilot ‘Durango’ About Runaway Lovers 2 days ago Will Ferrell’s Netflix Golf Comedy ‘The Hawk’ Unveils Teaser and Sets Summer Premiere 2 days ago ‘War Machine’ Debuts With 39.3 Million Views in Three Days on Netflix 3 days ago See All Steven Spielberg is the latest celebrity to weigh in on Timothée Chalamet’s hotly debated comments about ballet and opera. Spielberg was speaking about the importance of movie theaters during a SXSW keynote conversation when he made the jab. After saying that he values streaming and enjoys working with Netflix, he added, “But for me, the real experience comes when we can influence a community to congregate in a strange, dark space where all of us are strangers. 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. And there’s nothing like that. It happens in movies, and in concerts. And it happens in ballet and opera, by the way.” Spielberg grinned as the audience broke out into laughter and cheers. “And we want that to be sustained,” he continued. “We want that to go forever.” Popular on Variety More to come.. Jump to Comments More from Variety Bob Iger, as He Readies Exit as Disney CEO, Says There’s ‘Healthy Competition’ Between Parks and Entertainment Divisions to Be No. 1 Profit Center ‘Zootopia 2’ Surpasses ‘A Minecraft Movie’ as 2025’s Highest-Grossing Domestic Release With $424 Million Tonies Debuts Disney Plush Toys — Including Simba, Mickey Mouse, Olaf and More Disney Reveals Pay Packages for New CEO Josh D’Amaro, Creative Chief Dana Walden Blackpink and Disney Go Punk in New Streetwear Collection — And Each Purchase Comes With a Collectible Photo Card of the Kpop Group D...