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Steven Spielberg

Winston, of course, wasn't the only one feel the pressure. Everyone on the set
knew that Spielberg was focused on fulfilling Kubrick's vision. He also managed to
fulfill some dreams of his own, including writing another screenplay similar to his
previous Close Encounters. He has at the same time, created a film his children
can identify with: A.I. is an adventure of a boy that isn't ,losing his niavity, his
innocence in less-than-perfect world. His eyes open to world that is less than a
fairy tale.

DECIBEL

CIRRUS

teven said it was one of the most closed projects he's ever done...I rarely
remember any visitors on the set. Usually I couldn't see any people anyway,
because we were always hiding because of the makeup."

Steven Spielberg

"In the 1980s, Stanley took me
into his creative confidence to
tell me an absolutely beautiful
story that was impossible to
forget. I think it was the careful
blend of science and humanity
that made me anxious for Stanley
to tell it, and after he was gone,
led me to want to tell it for him."

SOCRATES

Haley Joel Osment

Steven's got seven kids, and their growing
up...A.I. is a movie for a more mature
audience. The child goes through an
adventure that is very different from what
the boy in E.T. experiences--Its a life of
adults, of violence, and of deep emotional
disappointment. E.T. was 'Let innocence
prevail.' Here, its 'I'm innocent, and I'm
entering the life of adulthood.' "

"...the creative process is going on all the
time: he's (Spielberg) always coming up
with new stuff--you can hear his mind
working when you're next to him."

"Steven, who usually works quickly , was
doing a lot of takes...He said he thought
the ghost of Kubrick was around the set."

"A.I. is about what love is and what it means to be human."

"The message, perhaps, is that if we create
artificial life, we will be responsible for
them, we will be their gods. We will choose
what they have, what they're good at. But
the one big thing we can't program is love.
Love is unstranslatable..."

"It's not a prediction of what's to come in the
future--Kubrick was very clear about that."

"Jude is one of the most upbeat people I've ever
met...Everday he showed up excited. He kept
everyone happy. He's almost a kid himself."

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"Jude is one of the most upbeat people I've ever
met...Everday he showed up excited. He kept
everyone happy. He's almost a kid himself."

"It's not a prediction of what's to come in the
future--Kubrick was very clear about that."

"Steven, who usually works quickly , was
doing a lot of takes...He said he thought
the ghost of Kubrick was around the set."

"...the creative process is going on all the
time: he's (Spielberg) always coming up
with new stuff--you can hear his mind
working when you're next to him."

"A.I. is about what love is and what it means to be human."

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) copyright Dreamworks Pictures and Warner Bros.

HURRICANE

Haley Joel Osment

Closed sets and gag orders never stopped the rumor mill before and Steven
Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence is no exception. Information ranging from the
ridiculous to the way-too-real has leaked out onto The Internet. Everything from
hidden messages in posters to voice-mail boxes for fictional characters have
provided fodder for those with the urge to learn every little secret before the June
29th U.S. premiere. For the benefit of those who favor suspense, we'll focus on
where A.I. came from, where it's going and what the people involved think about it.

It all began as an image in the mind of British
sci-fi writer Brian Aldiss. When his short story
"Super-Toys Last All Summer Long" was
published in Harper's Bazaar in 1969 it went
relatively unnoticed. In 1976 however, Stanley
Kubrick invited Aldiss to his home and the
journey of making A.I. began.

Kubrick and Aldiss discussed Super-Toys at
length, a story Aldiss explained simply as, "a
five-year-old android boy who thinks he's human.
But he cannot please his mother, whatever he
does." A.I. grew over the years to include a sub-
plot about global warming and a future New
York City partially submerged in water. Kubrick
was very sure that he could turn the story into a
major motion picture as he had done by making
Authur C. Clarke's "The Sentinel" into 2001.

Kubrick collaborated with special effects
experts, specialist in robotics and puppeteers to
somehow simulate an android like the one in
Aldiss's story, but never achieved the level of

belivability that he was looking for. And though he decided that he would wait
until the special effects had advanced to a satisfactory point, he didn't stop
thinking about this intriguing tale. Kubrick's facination with telling the story grew
into an obsession in 1982 when he was inspired by Steven Speilberg's E.T. The
Extra-Terrestrial. After seeing the movie, he repeatly told Steven that he thought
A.I. was a story better suited to be told by Steven. Kubrick's conversations with
Spielberg naturally progressed into an informal alliance. On and off for years they
poured over faxes and sketches, but never reached a real stopping point.

Kubrick never got a chance to see his vision come to reality. He passed away
in March of 1999, leaving Steven with thousands of pages of material. And since
Steven had been so involved in the concepting of the story, producer Kathleen
Kennedy suggested he write the screenplay himself, which he seemed very
intriqued about. In November 1999, four months after taking the challenge,
Kennedy received the call from Spielberg asking her to consider producing the
film. "It was one of those amazing first drafts," she said. "It was the movie we
shot." By mid-January of 2000 the wheels were in motion to start production.

Track Record: Steven Spielberg

from Entertainment Weekly #602/603

Opening
Weekend
Gross

No. of
Sites

Total
Domestic
Gross

$4.6

$72.1

$50.2

$0.7

$13.5

$3.7

$29.4

$1.3

$1.7

$30.6

322

3,281

2,404

2,197

1,016

2,327

225

192

2,463

$44.1

$229.1

$357.1

$96.1

$119.7

$43.9

$197.2

$22.2

$94.2

$216.2

Frances O'Connor

Spielberg had a good idea of who
he would like to see in the main parts,
so casting didn't go as usual. Jude
Law and Haley Joel Osment were both
first picks for their parts, and Frances
O'Connor and the rest fell into place
shortly afterward. The cast and crew
all noted Steven's respect toward
what Kubrick thought about the story
and how he was sure to pay close
attention to Kubrick's original
concept. Stan Winston, A.I.'s guru of
puppetry and animatronics felt the
pressure especially. In some scenes
up to 50 operators and pupeteers
were working at time.

Look for a review of A.I. soon after the June 29th release!

"How will A.I. do at the box office?" is a question going through many people's
minds. Numbers aren't everything. They can't measure the greatness of a
film, it's director or cast or crew. But numbers do reflect a film's popularity,
and usually how well they are remembered. Let's take a look at some
previous Steven Spielberg films and the relative coinage they collected.

1993 Schindler's List Universal

1997 Amistad DreamWorks

1997 The Lost World: Jurassic Park Universal

1993 Jurassic Park Universal

1991 Hook TriStar

1989 Always Universal

1989 Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade Paramount

1987 Empire of The Sun Warner Bros.

1985 The Color Purple Warner Bros.

1998 Saving Private Ryan DreamWorks

Janusz Kaminski, cinematographer

Jude Law

Haley Joel Osment

Janusz Kaminski, cinematographer

Jude Law

So many questions of ethics and morality will be asked about this film...

But what do those most closely involved feel about how the film affected them?

Take a look at some addional clips from the movie

and read opinions of the cast and crew below.

Francis O'Connor

"It's another installment that deals
with a very sophisticated world. This
creature, whether artificial intelligence
or robot, is looking for a place of his
own, that provides comfort and love."

Material herewithin referenced from the following sources:

Premiere Magazine June 2001 (Johanna Schneller & Fred Schruers)

Entertainment Weekly April 27, 2001

Entertainment Weekly June 22, 2001 (Josh Young)

Entertainment Weekly June 29/July 6, 2001 (Lisa Schwarzbaum)

Movieline May 2001

SciFi June 2001

Dallas Morning News Friday, May 4, 2001