“Strong Suspicion We’re Not Alone on Earth”
Steven Spielberg was asked if he believed in the real existence of extraterrestrials in the run-up to his new UFO film. Disclosure day.
“I don’t know any more than any of you, but I strongly suspect that we’re not alone here on Earth right now — and I made a movie about it,” the legendary 79-year-old filmmaker said during a keynote interview at the South by Southwest Film & TV Festival in Austin, Texas, on Friday.
Expanding on his point, the filmmaker noted that when he heard former President Barack Obama’s recent viral comment that aliens are “real,” his first thought was, “Oh, my God, that’s so great for Disclosure day! »
“And two days later, he came back and said what he believed to be life in the cosmos – which, of course, everyone should believe in,” he continued. “Because no one should ever think that we are the only intelligent civilization in the entire universe. So I thought when I was a child that we were not alone. So it goes without saying. The big question is: Are we alone now? And have we been alone for the last 80 years? Are we alone in the last few thousand years?
The filmmaker said he was “invigorated” to make his first UFO film since 1977. Close Encounters of the Third Kind by The New York Times‘ The 2017 story about a secret government UFO tracking program, plus congressional hearings in recent years featuring government whistleblowers. Yet the filmmaker said he had never seen a UFO himself – desperately thinking he had.
“I made a film called Close Encounters of the Third Kind — I haven’t even had a close encounter, neither the first nor the second type! he said. “Why didn’t I see anything?” Half of my friends have seen UFOs or UAPs. Where is the justice in all this? If you’re listening there…
“I’m not afraid of any aliens,” he added. “I have no fears about that. I think our film takes into consideration the social dislocation that could occur. If it was announced, there would be an interaction. [with aliens] which has been going on for decades, this will disrupt many belief systems. But I don’t think it’s a fatal disturbance at all.
Spielberg appeared on a keynote panel, “The Big Picture with Steven Spielberg Live from SXSW” for a moderated conversation with podcaster Sean Fennessey.
The director also passionately defended the cinematic experience and original cinema, while attacking Timothée Chalamet, whose comments on opera and ballet have invaded the Internet in recent days.
“If we don’t always make the same sequel, over and over again, and it’s not always the same Marvel title, over and over again, we all have a real chance of experiencing something valuable,” he said. “I’m looking out at this auditorium with everyone here, and we’re all together. We don’t know each other and we probably agree with each other more than we disagree with each other. But the one thing I know is that when we all look at something – it can hit us all independently, individually, in different ways – there’s a collective impulse from a good story that hits us all at the same time in exactly the same way. There’s something community, communication and getting along with each other – and that happens in the full movie theaters, not sitting in living rooms watching TV Netflix is a great company to work with, but the real experience comes when we can inspire a community to come together in a strange, dark space… It happens in movies and in concerts.
Spielberg also reflected on directing Close Encounters of the Third Kindwhich is believed to be a prequel to Disclosure day (In front of the panel, a musician took the stage and played moody music that repeatedly included the iconic five notes of Close Encounters).
“No one would let me Close Encounters because it was on the fringes of science and mythology, and so no one really understood it. When I said, “I want to make a movie about UFOs,” everyone thought, “You want to make a movie about The national investigator?’ Do you want to make a film about far-fetched reports about things that don’t actually happen? You want to make a crazy fantasy movie about something that doesn’t happen? he remembers.
In other news, Spielberg revealed that he has a western in development, which would fulfill his long-held desire to make a film in that genre. “And [the project] “It’s really awesome,” he said. “There will be no stereotypes or tropes.”
Spielberg also said that he is always reviewing Lawrence of Arabia every year. “The reason I watch this movie is because it keeps me humble,” he said. “It reminds me that, ‘You’ll never be as good as [director] David Lean.’
When asked if there was a film he’d made that he thought was underrated, he cited Richard Dreyfuss’s 1989 fantasy. Always.
The director was also asked about his famous ability to improvise his shots on the fly. “I didn’t have a single storyboard on Schindler’s List. I didn’t have a single storyboard on it. We must save Private Ryan.
When I arrive on set in the morning, something magnificent happens. There is still a whole day of possibilities to discover. Which option will I choose first?
Spielberg also confirmed that he has no plans to slow down anytime soon, much less retire. “I never want to stop,” he said.
Universal Disclosure day stars Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor and Colin Firth. The film chronicles a global panic and societal upheaval when humanity receives undeniable proof that aliens exist.
The film is one of several ongoing projects taking a “serious” look at the history of UFOs in the wake of recent congressional hearings and media reports on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP). The film has caused some confusion online given a documentary from last year called Age of disclosurewhich interviewed former government officials about UAPs, with some questioning whether Spielberg’s fictional film is part of a broader conspiratorial effort on the subject.
Disclosure day opens June 12.
Mia Galuppo contributed to this report.
