Cinema maestro Steven Spielberg has tested positive for Covid-19. As a result of it, the 75-year-old auteur missed his planned introduction of the Michelle Williams tribute at the Gotham Awards in Manhattan, New York, reports Deadline. Paul Dano, Williams`s co-star in the Spielberg-helmed film, `The Fabelmans`, took to the podium and read some background on -- and recounted personal memories of -- the four-time Oscar-nominated actress, adds Deadline. Dano recalled the pair being at the Hollywood premiere of `The Fabelmans` and how they got to talking about being young actors in Los Angeles.

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Dano recalled: "Michelle said, `I remember just driving around town looking for work.` And I thought, `Imagine, if that teenage girl knew that at the midpoint of her career she`d be seeing a tribute award at the Gothams from none other than Steven Spielberg, and what would she have thought?`" He later added, according to Deadline: "And then I thought, `Well, what if we had to tell that girl that Steven got Covid?` She`d be like, `What`s Covid? And that Paul Dano is going to introduce you?` 

That was the only mention that the three-time Oscar winner had contracted Covid, but it was enough to get the point across: Steven Spielberg was not in the building. The timing of his diagnosis is brutal, coming just as the 2022-23 film awards season kicks into high gear. Spielberg and his semi-autobiographical `The Fabelmans` are right in the thick of contention for hardware, including Best Picture. The film opened on November 11.