Overview
- In mid‑June Spielberg revealed on Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast that he once developed a movie about Ira and George Gershwin and the staging of Porgy and Bess.
- He said he had a finished script and was deep into casting and that Colman Domingo was his choice to play Todd Duncan after their first meeting.
- Spielberg explained he experienced a rare change of heart after casting much of the film and decided not to proceed, which is why the planned collaboration with Domingo did not happen then.
- The director later worked with Domingo on Lincoln and The Color Purple and the two most recently reunited on the film Disclosure Day.
- The episode fits a pattern in Spielberg’s career of adapting stage works for screen and highlights how casting conversations can shape later collaborations and career paths.