Steven Spielberg credits“ The” “Age of Disclosure ”doc with 'raising awareness' for new alien thriller “Disclosure Day”
Steven Spielberg credits“ The” “Age of Disclosure ”doc with 'raising awareness' for new alien thriller “Disclosure Day”
Mike MillerFri, June 5, 2026 at 3:00 PM UTC
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Emily Blunt, Steven Spielberg, and Wyatt Russell on the set of 'Disclosure Day'Credit: Niko Tavernise/Universal Pictures and Amblin EntertainmentKey points -
Steven Spielberg credits the 2025 doc The Age of Disclosure with helping to "raise awareness" for his upcoming sci-fi thriller Disclosure Day.
Though the films aren't directly connected, Dan Farah, the doc's director, worked with Spielberg as a young producer on 2018's Ready Player One.
Farah tells EW he never would have made The Age of Disclosure without Spielberg's influence.
From the big screen to the halls of Congress, aliens have crash-landed at the center of public conversation.
In the years following the groundbreaking 2023 congressional UFO hearings, two films in particular are capturing the world's imagination with the question, Are we alone in the universe?: Steven Spielberg's upcoming return to the alien sci-fi genre, Disclosure Day, and last year's bombshell documentary, The Age of Disclosure.
Though they share a similar title and subject matter, the two films are not directly related. Still, Spielberg does have a surprising connection to the best-selling doc, which he credits with sparking broader public interest in disclosure.
Dan Farah and Marco Rubio in 'The Age of Disclosure'Credit: Dan Farah
Spielberg confirms to Entertainment Weekly that he has seen and enjoyed the exposé, which lays out the case for an 80-year cover-up of the existence of non-human intelligent life. "We started filming Disclosure Day before the documentary came out," the filmmaker says, adding that it "was great that it came out first and helped raise awareness" about the discussion surrounding UAPs (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena) and non-human intelligent life.
The Age of Disclosure, which shattered Prime Video's record for highest-grossing documentary, features interviews with dozens of high-profile government officials, including former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and current Secretary of State Marco Rubio. JFK director Oliver Stone hailed it as "a once-in-a-generation cultural flashpoint" that "confronts an enormous cover-up in U.S. history with credibility, urgency, and staggering implications for all of us."
After its release, its director, Dan Farah, predicted it would prompt President Trump to make groundbreaking public disclosures about UAPs. And sure enough, last month the administration declassified hundreds of such files, including military incident reports, photos, videos, intelligence files, astronaut mission material, and historical sightings dating back to the 1940s. (That this occurred just weeks before Disclosure Day's release is a lucky coincidence not lost on Spielberg.)
"One of the most senior people in The Age of Disclosure told me early in the process that the film's release would lead to an unprecedented White House disclosure within months, and that's exactly what happened," Farah says. "On Nov. 21, 2025, the film was released by Relentless Releasing in select theaters in the U.S. and worldwide for rental and purchase on Prime Video, and on Feb. 19, 2026, President Trump issued an historic directive instructing federal agencies to declassify evidence of UAP and non-human intelligent life, putting in motion the first official government disclosure process, which is currently unfolding before our eyes."
Steven Spielberg and Dan Farah behind-the-scenes of 'Ready Player One'Credit: Dan Farah
Spielberg's classic alien films, E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, had a massive impact on Farah, who, in another twist of fate, worked with his hero as a producer on the 2018 sci-fi adventure, Ready Player One, a memory Spielberg says he recalls fondly.
"Steven Spielberg is the greatest filmmaker of all time. I never would have made The Age of Disclosure if not for the impact his work has had on me," Farah notes. "Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. are my two favorite movies, and they influenced and inspired my lifelong interest in this topic at a very young age. Like millions of people around the world, including those running the U.S. government right now, Steven's movies captivated me and made me curious about big, important questions like 'are we alone in the universe?' And 'has the government kept the truth from the public?'"
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Steven Spielberg, Dan Farah, Zak Penn, and Ernest Cline on set of 'Ready Player One'Credit: Dan Farah
He adds, "We would not be living through this extraordinary time, the age of disclosure, in which humanity learns we are not alone in the universe and that the truth has, in fact, been kept from us for 80 years, if not for the cultural impact of Steven Spielberg's movies."
Speaking of working as a producer on Ready Player One, Farah says, "It was a dream come true. I feel incredibly lucky to have had that opportunity. He was very kind and collaborative. Witnessing him direct and seeing how he constructs scenes was the greatest experience imaginable, and once again, he inspired the direction of my life. It was on the set of Ready Player One, watching Steven direct, that I started feeling inspired to want to direct a movie after years of producing."
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Steven Spielberg, Dan Farah, and Tye Sheridan behind-the-scenes of 'Ready Player One'Credit: Dan Farah
Farah reveals he will be attending the NYC premiere of Disclosure Day on Monday, along with two of the main interview subjects from his documentary, Commander Dave Fravor, the Navy fighter pilot who famously chased the "Tic-Tac" UAP and testified to Congress, and Jay Stratton, a former senior government official who ran the investigation of the Tic-Tac UAP. (Spielberg has often spoken about how the Tic-Tac event and Fravor's testimony to Congress sparked his renewed interest in the topic.)
"Movies have the unique power to usher in cultural transformation, to open people's minds to new ideas, and accelerate change," Farah says. "I have no doubt they will continue to play an important role in this paradigm shift humanity is experiencing."
Jay Stratton, Dan Farah, Rep. Eric Burlison watching a private advanced screening of 'The Age of Disclosure' on Capitol HillCredit: Justin Gellerson
Earlier this week, EW exclusively announced that on Oct. 13, Stratton is publishing a memoir, Out of the Shadows: Revealing the Truth About Non-Human Intelligent Life, which promises to blow the lid off "the deepest and most significant mystery in human history." We also reported that Farah is adapting the book (now available for pre-order) into an upcoming TV series.
In another surreal coincidence for Farah, which he likens to a "glitch in the Matrix," The Age of Disclosure opened at the SXSW Film Festival in 2025, in the same theater that Ready Player One had its world premiere seven years earlier. "In 2026, I returned to SXSW to do a panel about the impact of The Age of Disclosure and got to attend Spielberg's keynote speech about Disclosure Day," he adds. "It all feels like it was meant to be."
Disclosure Day hits theaters June 12, and you can rent or buy The Age of Disclosure on Prime Video.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
