Why Steven Spielberg Couldn't Direct Rain Man

When you're one of the greatest directors in film history, letting go of a project becomes a common occurrence. This was one of the challenges that Steven Spielberg faced when, after much deliberation, he had to set aside "Rain Man" in favor of another major project in the works. The 1988 movie starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise is regarded as one of the finest films in both of their careers — one to which Spielberg dedicated a considerable amount of time before passing it on to another filmmaker. While Barry Levinson was telling the story of Charlie Babbitt (Cruise) reuniting with his estranged and autistic brother, Raymond (Hoffman), Steven Spielberg was off on another whirlwind adventure with one of cinema's most beloved heroes, who this time was bringing his dad.

Chronicled in Brent Notbohm and Lester D. Friedman's "Steven Spielberg: Interviews, Revised and Updated," the Oscar-winning director explained why he had to part ways with the film that would ultimately earn Hoffman and Levinson shiny gold statues for their contributions. "With 'Rain Man,' I spent almost half a year developing it with Dustin, Tom Cruise, and [writer] Ron Bass," Spielberg explained. "I kept trying to get the screenplay to be better and better while having a stop date of the 12th of January, at which time I would have to start shooting 'Indy 3,' or we couldn't make our Memorial Day 1989 release date." Unfortunately, as time dwindled, decisions had to be made, and commitments had to be honored, which took priority over Spielberg's collaboration with two of Hollywood's biggest stars.

After building one of the most iconic franchises ever, it made sense for Steven Spielberg to keep an eye on things when the third installment came around. Since 1977, the director had followed George Lucas at every step in fleshing out the world of Indiana Jones, so abandoning it before "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" was not an option, even in the case of "Rain Man," to which he had contributed so much.

"When I saw that I was going to go past January 12th and that I would have to step down from 'Indy 3,' the promise I made to George was more important than making 'Rain Man,'" Spielberg revealed. "So, with great regret, because I really wanted to work with Dustin and Tom, I stepped down from the movie." It wasn't a massive loss for the director. At the time, it was the second most successful film in the franchise after "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and what even /Film considers the second-best film in the series. Nevertheless, it still didn't stop Spielberg from wondering, "What if?" when awards season rolled around, and "Rain Man" received an impressive amount of praise that the director missed out on. The truth is, however, Spielberg believed that had he been part of the project, "Rain Man" might not have even gotten a mention.

Many projects crossed Steven Spielberg's desk, but he seemed almost relieved that "Rain Man" was one that slipped away. In a 1990 interview for "Film '90," he confessed that while he felt a bit envious of Sonnenfield's Oscar win, he thought it might not have been considered if his name had been on the poster instead.

"I have a very strange relationship with Hollywood, and practically speaking if my name had been on 'Rain Man' shot for shot, what Barry had done, simply my name had been substituted for his, I probably in my heart of hearts, don't even think I'd have been nominated as director on that film," the director theorized. "And I'm not sure that would've won that many awards."

It would be another eight years before Spielberg walked home with not just one, but two awards from the Academy for "Schindler's List," after being nominated five times up to that point. Who can say if he would have received it any sooner? In any case, let's not split toothpicks over this and be grateful for the version of "Rain Man" we didn't get and the beloved Indy threequel that we did.