Steven Spielberg was asked if he believes aliens exist in real life in the lead-up to his new film UFO Disclosure day.
“I don’t know any more than any of you, but I have a very strong suspicion that we’re not alone here on Earth right now — and I made a movie about it,” the legendary director, 79, said during a keynote interview at the South by Southwest Film and TV Festival in Austin, Texas, on Friday.
Illustrating his point, the director noted that when he heard former President Barack Obama’s recent widely reported comment that aliens were “real,” his first thought was: “Oh my God, this is so great for us.” Disclosure day!
He continued: “Two days later, he came back to say what he believed in the existence of life in the universe – which, of course, everyone should believe.” “Because no one should think that we are the only intelligent civilization in the entire universe. So I used to think when I was a child that we are not alone. This is self-evident. The big question is: Are we alone now? Have we been alone over the past eighty years? Have we been alone over the past few thousand years?
The director said he was “energized” to direct his first UFO film since 1977 Close Encounters of the Third Kind by New York TimesThe 2017 story of a secret government program to track UFOs, as well as congressional hearings in recent years involving government whistleblowers. However, the director said he had never seen a UFO himself – believing he was very much hoping to see one.
“I made a movie called Close Encounters of the Third Kind – I didn’t even have a close encounter or a first or second type! He said. “Why didn’t I see anything? Half of my friends have seen UFOs or UAPs. Where’s the justice in that? If you’re listening out there…
He added: “I’m not afraid of any aliens.” “I have no concerns about that at all. I think our film takes into account the social disintegration that can happen. If it is made public there will be a reaction.” [with aliens] Continuing for decades, it will cause disruption in many belief systems. “But I don’t think it’s a fatal disorder at all.”
Spielberg was appearing on a keynote panel discussion titled “The Big Picture with Steven Spielberg Live from SXSW” for a moderated conversation with podcast host Sean Fennessy.
The director also offered an impassioned defense of the cinema experience and indigenous filmmaking — while taking a playful shot at Timothée Chalamet, whose talk of opera and ballet has been spreading across the Internet in recent days.
“If we weren’t making the same part over and over again, and it wasn’t the same Marvel title over and over again, we would all have a real opportunity to experience something valuable,” he said. “I look at this room 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 do know is when we’re all watching something — which can hit us all independently, individually, in different ways — there’s a collective impulse of a good story that hits us all at the same time in exactly the same way. There’s something about community and connection and getting along with each other — and that happens in 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 influence a community to come together in a strange, dark place… It happens in movies, it happens in ballets and operas!”
Spielberg also considered making the film Close Encounters of the Third Kindwhich is suspected to be a precursor to Disclosure day (In front of the panel, one of the musicians came on stage and played moody music that repeatedly included the famous five notes from Close encounters).
“No one will let me do that Close encounters Because it was on the fringes of science and mythology, 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 them.” National Enquirer“Do you want to make a movie about crazy reports about things that don’t really happen? Do you want to make a completely crazy fictional movie about something that doesn’t happen?” he recalls.
On other topics, Spielberg revealed that he has a Western film in development, which would fulfill his long-standing desire to film a film of this type. “and [the project] “There will be no stereotypes or tropes,” he said.
Spielberg also said he would still rewatch Lawrence of Arabia every year. “The reason I watch this movie is because it makes me humble,” he said. “It reminds me: ‘You will never be good. ” [director] David Lean.”
When asked if there was a film he’d made that he thought was underrated, he cited the 1989 Richard Dreyfuss fantasy film always.
The director was also asked about his famous ability to improvise his shots on the fly. “I didn’t have a single story board Schindler’s List. I didn’t have a single story board Saving Private Ryan.
When I get to the set in the morning, something beautiful happens. There is a whole day of possibility yet to be discovered. Which probability will I choose first?”
Spielberg also confirmed that he has no plans to slow down anytime soon — let alone retire. “I never want to resign,” he declared.
worldwide Disclosure day Stars Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor and Colin Firth. The film chronicles global panic and societal unrest when humanity receives undeniable evidence of the existence of aliens.
The film is one of several current projects that take a “serious” look at UFO lore in the wake of recent congressional hearings and media reports about unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs). The film has caused some confusion online due to a documentary released last year titled The age of disclosurewho interviewed former government officials about UAPs, with some questioning whether Spielberg’s fictional film was part of a larger conspiratorial effort on the subject.
Disclosure day Opens June 12.
Mia Galupo contributed to this report.
