“I should have told you to find someone else for Indiana Jones 3!” Steven Spielberg regrets turning down this movie for The Last Crusade

If you’re a fan of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, you know that the two legendary filmmakers are best friends — which is interesting, since one went on to become one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, while the other created what is arguably the most important. A film franchise in history. But despite all this, the two remained close friends. However, in an old interview, Steven Spielberg He remembers the movie that almost made him leave the friendship George Lucas. for some reason

In the filmed interview that Steven Spielberg Appearing on British television in 1990, the director spoke of the films he had to abandon and the regrets that followed. And at the time, the film at the top of the list was Barry Levinson’s Oscar winner, starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman, Rain Man (1988), a film he had originally developed and was supposed to shoot before his commitment. George Lucas And Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade doesn’t stand in his way. Then Spielberg felt obliged to join his friend and let him go Rain Man…

“I almost did Rain Man with Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, and because of a promise I made to George Lucas, I had to turn it down to do Indie 3.“

When asked if he regrets this decision, he did not hesitate: “Oh, I regret not working with Tom and Dustin. The main pity is that none of us could have imagined that the film would be such a success. I worked on the script with Tom, Dustin and the writers for almost 5 months.“

Heartache when the film won an Oscar? “Of course. When the movie started winning Best Picture and Best Writer, I kept thinking, “Gosh, maybe I can forget about my friendship with George Lucas and say, ‘George, go find someone else to do Indie 3, and I should have done it.’ .. Of course I thought about it.“

The Oscars or was he the director?

Even when Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade After it became a classic, the director still wished he had a chance to direct Rain ManEspecially after Levinson won the Oscar, a year when the Golden Cup still eluded Spielberg. Since then, he has won three Golden Statues: Best Picture and Best Director for Schindler’s List (1994) and Best Director also for Saving Private Ryan (1999) – and in all the nominations.

However, knowing his place in Hollywood at the time, he stated:But realistically, I’ve had a strange relationship with Hollywood and practically speaking, if my name had been attached to Rain Man, it would have been filmed, which Barry did, but my name would have just been replaced by his, I think, deep down. Heart that I wouldn’t have even been nominated as a director for this film and I’m not sure that the film would have won so many awards.“

He went on to explain:I think I bring a lot of baggage to the film, the same baggage that some actors bring to their roles, and a lot of people don’t really see my style transitioning to other types of films. It was very much a Barry Levinson movie, it’s like The Tricksters. This is one of Barry’s best films and Barry was a perfect choice for this film. I was an abstract choice for Rain Man. Interesting, but abstract. And I’m not sure that I would have been recognized or the film would have been recognized in the same way if I had been in it.“

Spielberg notes for Levinson

In an extract from the book Steven Spielberg: The Interviews, Revised and UpdatedThe director of The Fabelmans also mentioned the subject – and the remarks he gave to his successor.

“With Rain Man, I continued to try to improve the script while setting a cutoff date of January 12th, when I would have to start shooting Indie 3 or we wouldn’t be able to release it by Memorial Day 1989. When I saw that I was going to pass on January 12 and have to leave Indy 3, the promise I made to George was more important than making Rain Man. So, with great regret, because I really wanted to work with Dustin and Tom, I left the film.“

Steven Spielberg He also revealed that he has given away all his records Barry Levinson And that he left the project amicably.

“Yes. I gave Barry some information and all my records. And Barry went his own way and made his own movie, but enjoyed the hours we spent together talking about my grades. But that’s how I used to make a film, and it’s not me, and he had his own way of making a film.“

However, according to viewers, these two feature films are among the best of 1989. Discover the top 5 here:

And for the record, he’s not the only one who regretted not working out Rain Man : Mel Gibson, on the other hand, was one of the candidates for the role Dustin Hoffman Which he eventually refused – and which he later bitterly regretted and became famous for.

Rain Man is currently available to stream on Prime Video. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, meanwhile, is also available on the same platform as well as Disney+.

Discover the original interview with Steven Spielberg below: