In a surprising revelation, legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg has disclosed that he originally envisioned his 1977 sci-fi masterpiece Close Encounters of the Third Kind as a musical. The director, known for his groundbreaking work in blockbuster films like Jaws and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, apparently had grand plans to incorporate musical numbers into his dark and mysterious tale of alien encounters.
A Surprising Shift in Vision
In a recent interview with The Guardian, Spielberg revealed that he had hired legendary composer John Williams to write original songs for Close Encounters. However, the director ended up abandoning the musical concept just a week into filming, realizing that the songs "didn't seem right" for the dark, contemplative tone he was aiming for.
"I chickened out after the first week of shooting and took all the songs out," Spielberg admitted. "It was the biggest paradigm shift I've ever had while directing a movie. It just didn't seem right for some strange reason. Maybe I didn't feel ready to do a musical."
Spielberg's Gradual Embrace of the Musical
While Close Encounters ultimately became a landmark sci-fi film without any musical numbers, Spielberg's interest in the genre persisted. As he told Slash Film, he had "a couple of false starts" with scripts he began developing into original musicals over the years. Finally, in 2021, Spielberg summoned the "courage of [his] convictions" to direct a new adaptation of the classic Broadway musical West Side Story.
The bigger picture here is that Spielberg's abandoned musical plans for Close Encounters reveal a versatile filmmaker constantly exploring new creative frontiers, even if he sometimes has to course-correct during production. His willingness to take risks and experiment with different genres has undoubtedly contributed to his status as one of the most influential directors of all time.