Science

Steven Spielberg Thinks Virtual Reality Is a "Dangerous Medium" for Film

He says storytellers will have trouble controlling the narratives of their stories. 

Venturelli / Contributor / Getty Images

Steven Spielberg is an advisor to Los Angeles-based firm Virtual Reality Company, but that doesn’t mean he necessarily likes what the future of film using VR looks like.

In an interview at the Cannes Film Festival, Spielberg told Reuters that virtual reality is a “dangerous medium that could take hold in a profound way,” the news site reports.

But it seems like Spielberg might have an exaggerated view of what constitutes “danger,” judging by his follow-up remarks. “The only reason I say it is dangerous is because it gives the viewer a lot of latitude not to take direction from the storytellers but make their own choices of where to look,” he told Reuters. “I just hope it doesn’t forget the story when it starts enveloping us in a world that we can see all around us and make our own choices of what to look at.”

Speilberg isn’t just an advisor at VRC; the VR-pioneering company’s CEO Robert Stromberg, who directed Disney’s Maleficent, also said earlier this year that the acclaimed director is working on a VR project with the company.

Spielberg’s VR pessimism hasn’t seemed to infect the rest of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where attendees have been regaled with a line-up of VR screenings and workshops, reports Variety. It sounds like the E.T. director himself, however, might be suffering from a case of cold feet with regards to his own ties to VR filmmaking.

Related Tags