Steven Spielberg Reveals Backwards Way He Developed Disclosure Day

In crafting his new UFO thriller Disclosure Day, director Steven Spielberg started at the end and retraced this steps from there.

That is to say he came up with the movie's conclusion first and built the screenplay (written by Jurassic Park and War of the Worlds alum David Koepp) around it.

 "Ironically, that’s how I started writing Close Encounters, too,” the legendary filmmaker revealed in the official Disclosure Day production notes. “I started with the last scene, then backed up and figured how to earn that ending, with characters that can take us on a very identifiable journey through all the mystery toward a final act of communion."

Disclosure Day began in Steven Spielberg's iPhone notes app

Before Koepp entered the picture, Spielberg had already compiled a 52-page treatment on his iPhone's Notes app. His conception of the general story resulted in the director's first writing credit since A.I. Artificial Intelligence 25 years ago.

“I thought it was extraordinary,” Koepp said of the treatment. “Steven knew exactly what he wanted to say. He had a lot of specifics and a lot of huge ideas. Most of the characters and plot were there and the last act was just perfect."

"I gave him thoughts and urged him to write it himself, but he felt like he wanted a collaborator," Koepp continued. "And because I just could not stop thinking about it, when he asked me if I would step in and write the script, I agreed to take it on after I finished [Jurassic World] Rebirth.”

The road to a final screenplay was no easy feat, with Disclosure Day going through 42 different drafts before Spielberg was satisfied enough to begin principal photography.

"Every character got a pass through the script where we thought about the entire story from their perspective," Koepp shared. "The characters really came to life in that process."

The main heroes of the story are whistleblower Daniel Kellner (Josh O'Connor) and meteorologist Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt), who find themselves at the heart of a conspiracy regarding the truth behind extra-terrestrial life. Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), ruthless head honcho of government contractor Wardex, is determined to keep the secret under wraps and will do almost anything to achieve his aims, even if it means going after Kellner's girlfriend, Jane (Eve Hewson). 

Rounding out the cast are Colman Domingo as Hugo Wakefield, a former associate of Scanlon's at Wardex who now believes in full disclosure; Wyatt Russell as Jackson, Margaret's boyfriend; Henry Lloyd-Hughes as Casper Boyd, a loyal Wardex henchman; and Elizabeth Marvel as Sister Maura, a nun with ties to Jane.