The movie Steven Spielberg will always regret: “A year and a half developing it”
A career defined almost entirely by success isn’t one that throws up much in the way of regret, but there’s one movie that ended up haunting Steven Spielberg after he opted to let it slip through his fingers and be directed by somebody else.
There are probably hundreds of movies that could have been directed by Steven Spielberg. The legendary director probably has first shot at more scripts than he can even remember. And, because of that high volume, it increases the chances that some of the movies he gave away or turned down would become big hitters. But one seems to irk the icon more than most.
Having exploded into the spotlight by revolutionising the face of cinema with Jaws, the wunderkind would soon become the master after cementing himself as the defining populist filmmaker of his generation, crafting a string of box office-busting hits, including Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
However, the mid-1980s saw him pivot into hard-hitting dramatic territory for the first time, with The Color Purple and Empire of the Sun outlining that there was no medium he couldn’t master. The latter accrued six Academy Award nominations without success, while the former famously tied an unwanted record by leaving empty-handed despite 11 nods. In the cruellest of ironies, though, the film he opted to walk away from would win four.
Barry Morrow’s screenplay for Rain Man immediately captured Spielberg’s attention, and as he told American Premiere, “I spent almost a year and a half developing it with Dustin and Tom Cruise and Ron Bass”. That confirmed he was involved when the two lead roles had been cast, which highlighted the level of his involvement considering Bill Murray was in early consideration before Mel Gibson and Mickey Rourke both turned down a part during the casting process.
Unfortunately for Spielberg, a certain intrepid archaeologist was looming just over the horizon, creating inescapable scheduling conflicts. As the bearded legend divulged, “I would have to start shooting Indy 3 or we couldn’t make our Memorial Day release date”, but his long-standing friendship with fellow hirsute game-changer George Lucas made the ultimate decision for him.
Spielberg reflected on how “the promise I made to George was more important than making Rain Man“, forcing him to step down with feelings he described as “great regret”. Of course, while Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was a huge box office success that marked a spectacular conclusion to the title hero’s original trilogy of adventures, Rain Man stole the majority of awards season plaudits.
Principal photography occurred in early 1988 when Spielberg was gearing up to begin his own shoot, with Rain Man making it into cinemas before the end of the year. A substantial commercial hit, he must have been watching on with envious eyes when replacement Barry Levinson took to the stage months later to collect his Oscar for ‘Best Director’, with the movie also securing the statues for ‘Best Picture’, ‘Best Actor’, and ‘Best Screenplay’.
He did get his ‘Best Director’ trophy eventually when he helmed Schindler’s List, but Spielberg could have gotten there a lot sooner were he not obligated to treat Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade as a priority.
