Movies - TV
Steven Spielberg's Divisive Ending For A.I. Artificial Intelligence Was Stanley Kubrick's Original 'Vision'
By JOE ROBERTS
Before he died in 1999, Stanley Kubrick planned to adapt Brian Aldiss' short story “Supertoys Last All Summer Long,” a tale that spoke to Kubrick’s fascination with artificial intelligence. Kubrick gave the film to Steven Spielberg to direct before his death — it became “A.I. Artificial Intelligence,” and despite what critics have said, the ending for “A.I.” is what Kubrick wanted.
Spielberg refuted critics who said he changed Kubrick’s cynical ending for “A.I.” to fit his own optimistic sensibilities. He asserted, “I of course get criticized for carrying the film 2,000 years into an advanced future [...] When in fact [Kubrick's] treatment, along with Ian Watson, went right into the 2,000-year future. [...] And this is where I was obligated to take the picture.”
Considering the love and respect Spielberg had for Kubrick — he once called Kubrick “one of his most important godfathers” — it seems highly unlikely that Spielberg infused the movie with his more optimistic ethos. Spielberg confidently concluded to EW, “While there was divisiveness when 'A.I.' came out, I felt that I had achieved [Kubrick’s] wishes, or goals.”