Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day” ties childhood wonder to faith

Spielberg gratitude – In a wide-ranging interview about “Disclosure Day,” Steven Spielberg links his long-running fascination with extraterrestrials to a lesson from his late mother, Leah Adler—encouraging him not to assume humans are the only intelligent life. The film, in theater

NEW YORK — “Disclosure Day” director Steven Spielberg doesn’t talk about aliens like a punchline. He talks about them the way his mother trained him to look at the world: with humility and an open mind.

During a recent afternoon at a Central Park hotel. the nearly 79-year-old three-time Oscar winner sat with the question that has followed him through a career nearly half a century long. He has asked audiences to consider the implications of alien life in films including “War of the Worlds,” “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” His latest movie, “Disclosure Day,” opens in theaters June 12. In Spielberg’s view. it would also be a new favorite for his late mother. Leah Adler. an accomplished pianist and restaurateur.

“She always said. ‘Let’s not be conceited to think that we’re the only intelligent life in the universe. ’ ” Spielberg said. “She would always make jokes like. ‘Well. there’s got to be many more intelligent planets out there.’ I’d say. ‘Mom. we’re pretty smart. ’ and she’d go. ‘No. there’s got to be a lot more we can learn if we open up our hearts and minds.’ ”.

Adler, he added, was “a champion of encouraging me to probe the unknown.”

In “Disclosure Day,” that instinct finds a modern shape. The film centers on a young whistleblower. played by Josh O’Connor. who is on the run from government officials after threatening to release sensitive information that definitively proves the existence of aliens. A Kansas City meteorologist. played by Emily Blunt. searches for him after discovering she has an uncanny ability for otherworldly communication.

Spielberg said the film is based on an original idea by him, and that he reunites with “Jurassic Park” screenwriter David Koepp.

The movie arrives as the public conversation around unidentified aerial phenomena has shifted—less theoretical, more immediate. Spielberg describes how his own thinking about extraterrestrials has evolved along with what people can now see and share.

When he made “Close Encounters. ” he said. he “needed a lot of imagination.” He believed there was other life out there. though he “wasn’t quite sure if it had come here.” He also drew a line between storytelling and certainty. saying. “I’m not going to call ‘Close Encounters’ science fiction – I’m going to call it science speculation.” But since the beginning of the 21st century. he said. “there’s been more and more access to the actual visual truth.” With devices that let people show others what they shot. he said it has become “overwhelming” that “we’re not alone in the universe.”.

He made that point with a childhood example when he reflected on “E.T.” He said he watched Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore enthralled with the character. He singled out Barrymore’s belief that “E.T. was not being controlled by 15 special effects people. ” but instead “was actually a living. breathing entity.” Spielberg said the experience led him to wonder whether belief is tied to age: “Is it only children that can believe in extraterrestrial life. or is it possible that we are all still children in the nether reaches of our souls?”.

If aliens showed up tomorrow, Spielberg said, he would not treat it as a total shock. “If there was really a ‘disclosure day’ that would occur someday – with all of my experience faking it for science-fiction movies – I think I would not be surprised. I would be actually quite grateful.”

That gratitude connects back to the moral center he keeps returning to: curiosity without ownership. He pointed to a line from “Disclosure Day. ” “I don’t want to be anyone’s religion. ” and used it to press a broader question about influence—how Spielberg’s films have helped shape worldviews for audiences. and how that attention can feel uncomfortable.

He responded by shifting focus to the filmmakers who trained him rather than the ones who idolize him now. “It’s not that I’ve grown into the role so much. but I project myself back to the icons that trained me. ” he said. He listed directors he never had a chance to meet—Akira Kurosawa. Alfred Hitchcock. François Truffaut. and Luc Besson—as well as “all the contemporary directors” who. he said. keep him from losing the hunger to make movies.

When he sees a film like “One Battle After Another. ” he said. “I want to keep making films.” He also described how being intimidated by Paul Thomas Anderson’s spectacular filmmaking gave him “another 10 years of wanting to make movies.” He said he needs that growth—then described a reciprocal loop with younger directors: when filmmakers tell him how his work influenced them. he turns around and talks to them about how their films influence him now.

Spielberg’s conversation also moved to technology and skepticism. He addressed “A.I. Artificial Intelligence,” his 2001 movie that has been critically reevaluated and now is considered among his very best. He said he believes “the world caught up,” adding that the film reflects Stanley Kubrick’s vision. Spielberg said he wrote the screenplay. but that “it was Stanley’s idea. ” noting that he knew Kubrick for 15 years and then. “a few years after he died. ” he began adapting “A.I.”.

He connected Kubrick’s impact on his era of science fiction to a chain of other films Kubrick helped set in motion—“2001: A Space Odyssey”—which Spielberg said “changed science fiction forever,” and caused films like “Alien,” “Star Wars,” and “Close Encounters” to be made.

Spielberg said “A.I.” was “a bit misunderstood. ” because many viewers said it was about aliens. not super-mecha—or robots—at the end. He tied that confusion to timing: “That was before the digital era; before AI really became an advancement.” He said. “I fear AI as much as I embrace AI as a tool. ” and he said he thinks Kubrick had those feelings when he wrote the story.

In “A.I. ” the ending features Haley Joel Osment’s android David. described in the interview as “the last remaining proof that humans existed on Earth.” Spielberg was asked what he would hope robots might discover if one of his movies were found 2. 000 years from now. He laughed at the idea of ranking his own work. saying. “I would be arrogant to say. ” and comparing it to choosing among “seven children. ” saying he likes them all equally.

The last question returned to “Disclosure Day” as a culmination. Spielberg said the film lays out evidence that aliens are real—“This is everything we’ve got”—and he characterized “Disclosure Day” as “a summation in the trilogy of ‘Close Encounters,’ ‘E.T.’ and now ‘Disclosure Day.’ ”

Yet he insisted it was not an ending. “It’s not going to end my curiosity – it’s not going to end my love for science fiction.”

Within that arc, his mother’s advice sits like an anchor: not to assume humans are the only intelligence worth imagining. In Spielberg’s telling, the wonder isn’t just a sci-fi device. It’s a way to keep asking questions without arriving at a final, closed answer.

Steven Spielberg Disclosure Day aliens extraterrestrial life Leah Adler Drew Barrymore Josh O’Connor Emily Blunt David Koepp Close Encounters E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial A.I. Artificial Intelligence Stanley Kubrick AI