Do Aliens Exist? Steven Spielberg Believes They Do

What It Covers

Rachel Abrams interviews Steven Spielberg on The Daily about his 35th film, Disclosure Day, a science fiction thriller about government alien concealment. Spielberg discusses his genuine belief in extraterrestrial life, filmmaking as personal therapy, the erosion of social empathy, and his plans to study AI this summer.

Key Questions Answered

• •Belief formation through evidence accumulation: Spielberg's shift from hopeful speculation to genuine belief in extraterrestrial life came through decades of consuming documentary evidence, consistent witness testimony across tens of thousands of people globally, and smartphone video documentation post-iPhone. His framework: credibility builds when independent sources across cultures report consistent details without coordination or financial incentive.
• •Filmmaking as fear management: Spielberg deliberately chose to direct Jaws specifically because of his deep fear of water, using the production process to gain psychological control over the phobia. The method: confront the fear by building the narrative around it. The result was partial — his water fear persisted, but the creative output became a cultural phenomenon.
• •Character trust as the engine of audience engagement: Spielberg's story selection process follows two fixed steps — identify a compelling premise, then build one deeply identifiable character for the audience to follow. He argues that when viewers trust a character, they automatically trust the journey, removing the need for constant plot justification or spectacle to maintain attention.
• •Honest collaboration requires deliberate team construction: After Jaws became a phenomenon, Spielberg noticed collaborators stopped offering candid input, assuming he had all answers. His solution: maintain the same core team across decades, building relationships where honesty is normalized. Creative growth at the top requires actively soliciting criticism, not waiting for it to arrive organically.
• •Communal viewing amplifies emotional experience: Watching films in theaters creates a psychic contagion — shared laughter, fear, and awe among strangers that multiplies individual emotional response. Spielberg frames this as distinct from solo viewing: the collective reaction transforms a private experience into a felt agreement between people who never speak, reinforcing social connection.