Just shy of six weeks ago HE passed along predictions about likely Oscars noms for The Fabelman‘s Judd Hirsch and Michelle Williams. Late last night several Toronto tweeters emphasized the same. When Spielberg is able to get it just right by restraining himself without diluting the emotional essence, his touch is golden. Here’s hoping that last night’s praise is genuine and verfifiable.

Fabelmans director Steven Spielberg to Variety: “As we started working on this, I realized there was no aesthetic distance between me and this experience. I wasn’t able to put a camera the way Sammy is able to put a camera between himself and the horrible, realistic things that are happening to him. And I’ve always been able to put a camera between myself and reality to protect myself and I couldn’t do it telling this story. As the cast knows, it was emotionally a very difficult experience. Not all of it. But some of it was very, very hard to get through.”