ON PREVIOUS DAYS:
- YESTERDAY:
Introducing... The Fork - DAY BEFORE:
Henry VIII's 'Ugly Wife' - DAY BEFORE THAT:
The Town Disney Built - DAY BEFORE BEFORE THAT:
O.J. Simpson's Car Chase
ON THIS DAY
When Kubrick Met Spielberg
After nearly three decades of development, A.I. Artificial Intelligence finally had a theatrical release on 29th June, 2001. Written and directed by Steven Spielberg – following the death of his friend Stanley Kubrick – it promised to be a cinematic masterpiece. But many critics saw it as akin to a custody battle between two very different parents—Kubrick’s icy intellect clashing with Spielberg’s sentimental warmth.
Kubrick first bought the rights to the short story Supertoys Last All Summer Long in 1983, envisioning a film about climate catastrophe, underwater Manhattan, and artificially intelligent robot children that would tug at your heartstrings—if only the tech could catch up. Spielberg stuck close to Kubrick’s original vision, especially the perfectly eerie first and third acts—but admitted the middle was “pieces of a dream.”
In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca pore over the box office receipts this “mess” achieved; explain why ‘Jurassic Park’ played a pivotal role in the movie’s development; and reveal why Kubrick insisted on being told the layout of Spielberg’s Hollywood home…
Further Reading:
• ‘Artificial foolishness / “A.I.’ starts out promising but ends up combining the worst of Kubrick, Spielberg’ (San Francisco Chronicle, 2001): https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Artificial-foolishness-A-I-starts-out-2905798.php
• ‘From Kubrick to Spielberg: The Story of ‘A.I.’’ (The Ringer, 2021): https://www.theringer.com/2021/06/29/movies/ai-artificial-intelligence-steven-spielberg-stanley-kubrick
• ‘Spielberg on Spielberg: Spielberg Explains Ending of A.I. Artificial Intelligence’ (TCM, 2007):
ON THIS DAY
When Kubrick Met Spielberg
After nearly three decades of development, A.I. Artificial Intelligence finally had a theatrical release on 29th June, 2001. Written and directed by Steven Spielberg – following the death of his friend Stanley Kubrick – it promised to be a cinematic masterpiece. But many critics saw it as akin to a custody battle between two very different parents—Kubrick’s icy intellect clashing with Spielberg’s sentimental warmth.
Kubrick first bought the rights to the short story Supertoys Last All Summer Long in 1983, envisioning a film about climate catastrophe, underwater Manhattan, and artificially intelligent robot children that would tug at your heartstrings—if only the tech could catch up. Spielberg stuck close to Kubrick’s original vision, especially the perfectly eerie first and third acts—but admitted the middle was “pieces of a dream.”
In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca pore over the box office receipts this “mess” achieved; explain why ‘Jurassic Park’ played a pivotal role in the movie’s development; and reveal why Kubrick insisted on being told the layout of Spielberg’s Hollywood home…
Further Reading:
• ‘Artificial foolishness / “A.I.’ starts out promising but ends up combining the worst of Kubrick, Spielberg’ (San Francisco Chronicle, 2001): https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Artificial-foolishness-A-I-starts-out-2905798.php
• ‘From Kubrick to Spielberg: The Story of ‘A.I.’’ (The Ringer, 2021): https://www.theringer.com/2021/06/29/movies/ai-artificial-intelligence-steven-spielberg-stanley-kubrick
• ‘Spielberg on Spielberg: Spielberg Explains Ending of A.I. Artificial Intelligence’ (TCM, 2007):
ON PREVIOUS DAYS:
- YESTERDAY:
Introducing... The Fork - DAY BEFORE:
Henry VIII's 'Ugly Wife' - DAY BEFORE THAT:
The Town Disney Built - DAY BEFORE BEFORE THAT:
O.J. Simpson's Car Chase
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OLLY MANN
Olly Mann made his name with another trivia-wielding podcast, Answer Me This! with Helen Zaltzman – and now presents The Modern Mann, The Week Unwrapped, and Four Thought for BBC Radio Four. He also has an A-Level in History, so Dan Snow beware.
REBECCA MESSINA
Rebecca got a passion for podcasting working at The Week magazine and a passion for trivia appearing on University Challenge in 2011, making The Retrospectors her natural home.
ARION MCNICOLL
Arion started out in satirical news in Australia, then moved to the UK to work for ostensibly serious publications including The Times, CNN, and The Week… before realising that since around 2016 the news has all been satire really.
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