Steven Spielberg Loved THE LAST OF US Episode 3 So Much He Sent a Letter to the Writer

Steven Spielberg is apparently a huge big fan of the HBO series adaptation of The Last of Us, and he loved Episode 3 so much that he wrote and sent a letter to the writer, Craig Mazin, praising what he did.

Episode 3 of The Last of Us is titled “Long Long Time” after the 1970 Linda Ronstadt song, and it expands on the story of Bill and Frank from the game. The episode received a lot of praise from fans, and many of them want to see Nick Offerman, who gave an incredible performance as the character Bill, get all the award nominations.

The episode charts Bill’s story from when the outbreak first started and his survival over several years in Lincoln. During that time he meets a weary traveler named Frank (Murray Bartlett) who finds himself stuck in one of Bill’s traps. The two begin a relationship with each other, and their social circle comes to include Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Tess (Anna Torv). 

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, “Long, Long Time” director Peter Hoar talked about Spielberg reaching out to Mazin, saying: "I didn't get it directly, but [an actual Spielberg letter] came to Craig Mazin, the writer of my episode on The Last of Us – the writer of all the episodes.”

Haor added: "He shared it with myself, Nick Offerman, Murray Bartlett and [cinematographer] Eben Bolter. Basically, a whole group of middle-aged men started squealing because their idol had realized who they were. I think he probably knew who everyone else was, but he didn't know who I was. And now he's probably forgotten."

He went on to say: "Craig may be straight, but he's got the warmest heart. I think that's partly why it is so universal, because his attention was on the love rather than the gender."

That’s the reason why that episode was praised by so many people. It must’ve been such a cool experience to get a personal letter from Spielberg praising your work! That’s awesome!