Spielberg Says He Declined Harry Potter to Honor Kubrick

Director Steven Spielberg revealed this week that he was originally scheduled to direct the first Harry Potter film but walked away from the project to fulfill the dying wish of his friend, Stanley Kubrick. Spielberg made the disclosure in an interview with TCM while discussing his new film, "Disclosure Day," which is scheduled for release in U.S. theaters on June 12.

Spielberg explained that after Kubrick's death in 1999, he was approached at the funeral by Kubrick's widow, Christiane, and her brother, Jan Harlan. They asked him to take over the project Kubrick had intended to direct, "A.I. Artificial Intelligence." Spielberg said he was already committed to "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" as his next film, having participated in early casting sessions and made casting suggestions. He described the Potter book as a runaway cultural phenomenon and acknowledged the film was destined to be huge. Nonetheless, he chose to relinquish the directing role to work on "A.I."

The first Harry Potter film was subsequently directed by Chris Columbus and released in 2001, the same year Spielberg's "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" debuted. Spielberg dedicated "A.I." to Kubrick. The...