'we Are Not Alone': Steven Spielberg Shares His True Feelings About Aliens And Ufos At Sxsw

AUSTIN, Texas — One of nan astir anticipated events astatine this year’s SXSW Film & TV Festival wasn’t a movie astatine all, but a speaking quality by head Steven Spielberg. The talk, a unrecorded taping of nan podcast “The Big Picture” lead by co-host Sean Fennessey, covered galore aspects of nan Hollywood legend’s career, pinch a done statement of sci-fi and abstraction aliens successful conjunction pinch Spielberg’s upcoming alien penetration thriller “Disclosure Day,” owed June 12.

Though nary existent specifications astir nan caller movie were revealed, references to it peppered nan speech arsenic if it were very overmuch connected Spielberg’s mind — nan movie he was ostensibly location to promote.

To an assemblage that included filmmakers Robert Rodriguez and Daniel Kwan, nan arena began pinch a clip reel that served arsenic a reminder (as if anyone successful nan packed edifice ballroom needed one) of conscionable really influential nan 79-year-old filmmaker is. A action of Spielberg’s activity plays for illustration a trailer for nan thought of movies themselves; this 1 included “Jaws,” “Raiders of nan Lost Ark,” “E.T.” “Schindler’s List,” “Jurassic Park,” “The Sugarland Express,” “Catch Me If You Can,” “Munich” and galore more.

Fennessey noted that Spielberg wanted to make 1977’s “Close Encounters of nan Third Kind,” his first sci-fi movie astir nan beingness of aliens from different worlds, moreover earlier making 1975’s “Jaws.” Spielberg went further, saying he had really wanted to make “Close Encounters” — past conscionable referred to arsenic “The UFO Movie” — moreover earlier 1974’s “Sugarland Express.”

Asked astir President Obama’s caller comments astir nan imaginable beingness of intelligent life elsewhere successful nan beingness and really his ain feelings whitethorn person evolved complete nan years, Spielberg said, “I deliberation that for 1 thing, erstwhile President Obama made that comment, I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is truthful awesome for “Disclosure Day,”’ and then, 2 days later, he stepped backmost nan remark and said what he believed successful was life successful nan cosmos, which of people everybody should judge that because nary 1 should ever deliberation that we are nan only intelligent civilization successful nan full universe. So I’ve ever believed, moreover arsenic a kid, that we were not alone. So that conscionable goes without saying. The large mobility is: Are we unsocial now?”

He added this liking was “reinvigorated” by a 2017 New York Times article astir U.S. Navy pilots seeing unexplained aerial phenomenon, past by a 2023 Congressional subcommittee proceeding connected nan topic.

“I don’t cognize immoderate much than immoderate of you do,” Spielberg said, “but I person a very strong, sticky suspicion that we are not unsocial present connected Earth correct now. And I made a movie astir that.”

Spielberg and “The Big Picture” co-host Sean Fennessey taping a unrecorded podcast astatine SXSW connected Friday.

(Tibrina Hobson / Getty Images)

As to really he feels astir that possibility, Spielberg added, “I’m not acrophobic of immoderate aliens, location aliases here. I person nary fears astir that, whatsoever. I deliberation our movie does return into consideration, without giving excessively overmuch away, nan societal dislocation that could occur, theologically, if it would beryllium announced that there’s grounds — not only evidence, wherever it’s relationship that’s has been going connected for decades, that we are not conscionable now uncovering retired about. It is going to origin a disruption successful a batch of belief systems, but I don’t deliberation it’s a lethal disruption astatine all.”

Among different topics that were discussed, Spielberg revealed he is processing a occidental that would sprout successful Texas, though he was reluctant to talk it successful immoderate further item isolated from to opportunity it would incorporate “no tropes.”

He besides said he is not connected immoderate societal media, but did instal Instagram connected his telephone erstwhile for 2 weeks and felt arsenic if he had been abducted by aliens for nan magnitude of clip he lost.

To that end, he besides noted, pinch comic frustration, really he himself has ne'er had immoderate benignant of alien encounter.

”I made a movie called ‘Close Encounters of nan Third Kind.’ I haven’t moreover had a adjacent brushwood of nan first aliases 2nd kind,” Spielberg said. “Where’s nan justness successful that? If you’ve listening retired there, I’m talking to you.”

There was a little infinitesimal of disorder erstwhile Fennessey asked Spielberg for his thoughts connected AI and Spielberg wasn’t clear if he was asking astir his ain 2001 movie aliases nan broader taxable of artificial intelligence.

Once that was cleared up (Fennessey meant nan latter, a serious labour rumor successful Hollywood), Spielberg noted he has not utilized AI connected immoderate of his ain films. “I don’t want to spell into a full rant astir AI because I americium for AI successful galore different disciplines. I americium not for AI if it replaces a imaginative individual.”

Speaking to nan theatrical experience, Spielberg made a little allusion to nan flare-up astir comments by Timothée Chalamet regarding nan fame of opera and ballet successful narration to nan movies.

He noted that he does not decry nan at-home streaming acquisition and that he useful pinch Netflix, but that “for me, nan existent acquisition comes erstwhile we tin power a organization to congregate successful a unusual acheronian space. All america are strangers and, astatine nan extremity of a really bully movie experience, we are each agreed pinch a full bunch of feelings that we locomotion into nan daylight pinch aliases into nan nighttime with. And there’s thing for illustration that. I mean, it happens successful movies, it happens astatine concerts and it happens successful ballet and opera.”

Here location was a information of applause from nan audience. “And we want that sustained and we want that to spell forever.”

Spielberg noted really galore of his favourite filmmakers, including David Lean and Billy Wilder and much caller examples specified arsenic Paul Thomas Anderson and Christopher Nolan, are ever making films that consciousness different from what they person done before. He sees himself arsenic portion of that aforesaid school.

“If we’re conscionable not making nan aforesaid sequel complete and complete and complete again and they’re not nan aforesaid Marvel title complete and complete and complete again, we each get a existent chance to acquisition something, which is freshness,” Spielberg said. “And that is why I don’t judge my accomplishments based connected a azygous film.”