In an about-face, lens is on Spielberg: HBO doc dares to put the very private filmmaker through his emotional paces

Steven Spielberg stood outside the main theater on the Paramount Studios lot last week, waiting for the premiere of a documentary that had already put him through an emotional wringer.

"It was like pulling a bandage off very, very slowly," said the Oscar-winning entertainment mogul in recalling the first time he had viewed the film about a year ago. "I had to watch it in stages, in dollops. But when the bandage finally came all the way off, I realized it didn't hurt so bad."

What had initially unnerved Spielberg was the subject of the documentary: Steven Spielberg.

The film, simply titled "Spielberg" and premiering Oct. 7 on HBO, is the most extensive and insightful examination to date of the filmmaker, who is at once the most