Filming Schindler’s List in Poland in the spring of 1993 was, by every account, a grueling and emotionally heavy experience. So how did Steven Spielberg keep his spirits up? With Seinfeld.
Laughter During a Dark Shoot
Speaking at Tribeca in 2018, Spielberg told Variety that he watched episodes of the show during the shoot. He also spoke weekly with Robin Williams, who would call and do around 15 minutes of stand-up over the phone. Williams never said goodbye, Spielberg recalled. He simply hung up on the loudest laugh he got.
It makes sense that he needed the relief. Schindler’s List recreated some of the darkest chapters of the Holocaust, often on location, and cast and crew have described how heavily it weighed on everyone. The film went on to win seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Perfect Timing
The timing lines up neatly. Principal photography ran from March into June 1993, right as NBC was airing new season 4 episodes of Seinfeld, the season when the show truly broke through as a hit.
What It Meant to Jerry
When Jerry Seinfeld found out, it meant a lot. In a 2014 Reddit AMA, he called it “one of the great moments in the history of the show for us,” adding that it made the team feel like they were “doing something worthwhile.”
For a sitcom famously about nothing, hearing that it had helped one of the world’s greatest directors through one of the hardest projects of his career was a meaningful reminder of what comedy can do.
The Show Returned the Favor
Seinfeld later made its own nod to the film. In season 5’s “The Raincoats,” Jerry and his girlfriend are caught making out during a screening of Schindler’s List, and Newman spots them and tells Jerry’s parents. It became one of the show’s most talked-about gags.
It’s a funny full-circle moment: the film Spielberg made while watching Seinfeld ended up becoming part of Seinfeld itself.