WASHINGTON DC
Legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg has opened up about his early involvement with the sci-fi epic Interstellar, admitting the film was far better off in the hands of Christopher Nolan. In a candid interview, Spielberg revealed he spent nearly a year developing the project before deciding to step away.
The project originally began with physicist Kip Thorne and producer Lynda Obst. Spielberg became fascinated by the science, even spending months at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory studying aerospace engineering. However, despite early scripts from Jonathan Nolan, the director felt the project “didn’t stick” under his own vision.
“The second I decided not to make it, Chris jumped on board,” Spielberg recalled. He praised Nolan’s final product, stating, “Interstellar was a much better movie in Chris Nolan’s hands than it would have been in mine.”
The 2014 film, which starred Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway, has seen its reputation grow significantly over the last decade. Even actor Timothée Chalamet, who was just a teenager when the movie was filmed, recently joked about his close bond with Nolan. Now 30, Chalamet recalled a recent screening where Nolan playfully put him in a “headlock” and gave him a “noogie,” treating him like the 17-year-old he used to be.
Nolan himself noted that while fans used to recognize him for The Dark Knight, Interstellar has now become the film people want to talk about most. As both directors move toward the future, Spielberg is preparing for his next film, Disclosure Day, while Nolan is working on his upcoming project, The Odyssey.