Director Steven Spielberg and writer David Koepp reunite after 18 years for the upcoming science-fiction film, Disclosure Day, starring Emily Blunt and Josh O'Connor, among others. The duo first collaborated on 1993's Jurassic Park, and went on to work together for films such as The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), War of the Worlds (2005), and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).
Disclosure Day is a cinematic experience mounted on a big scale. Much like any other film from the legendary director, it is set to explore the inner worlds of the characters with a focus on the relationships between them. Speaking about his collaborator's storytelling approach, Koepp notes, "Steven was very insistent on making our heroes and all the characters as rich and complex as possible. He was always asking: 'Who are these people? Let us find the details and bits of behaviour that can express a very specific character, not just a functional archetype.'"
Disclosure Day brings Spielberg back to extraterrestrial themes after War of the Worlds. However, Koepp shares that regardless of whether Spielberg is making a historical drama, a thriller, or a film about aliens, his goal has always been to explore how real characters behave, react, and feel without taking away from the cinematic experience.
The writer explains, "Steven’s goal in any movie is to explore human nature, regardless of genre, text, theme. He wants to know, 'Can I discover something true about these characters? Can I put characters on the screen that people relate to in some way and how can I do that in a cinematic way?'"
He adds, "There is never really any talk of grand themes going into the work. We are just trying to tell the best story we can and create the most believable people we can. And if we do that well, interesting themes will arise. But that cart cannot go before that horse."
Disclosure Day stars Emily Blunt as Margaret Fairchild, an erstwhile journalist and a meteorologist at Kansas City TV, who tries to solve the mystery behind the presence of aliens on Earth with the help of a cybersecurity expert named Daniel Kellner (Josh O'Connor). It also stars Tyler Renaud as a younger Kellner, Eve Hewson as Jane Blankenship, Colman Domingo as Hugo Wakefield, and Colin Firth as Noah Scanlon, among others.
David Koepp reveals that there has been a systematic approach towards the screenwriting process because the film has a large ensemble cast. Speaking about how he and Spielberg ensured that there are no underdeveloped characters, Koepp shares, "We went through an interesting process of writing and rewriting, where we focused on one of the main characters. There was a Daniel draft, a Margaret draft, a Jane draft, a Hugo draft, a Scanlon draft. Every character got a pass through the script where we thought about the entire story from their perspective. The characters really came to life in that process."
Disclosure Day has been receiving much appreciation from critics and film fraternity members after its world premiere earlier this June. The film is set to hit theatres on June 12, Friday, including IMAX and EPIQ screens.
