Solaris (2002 Film) - Production

Production

For a while, James Cameron was looking to remake Solaris. His production company Lightstorm Entertainment spent close to five years securing the rights with both author Stanisław Lem and the Russian film studio Mosfilm, which owns the 1972 Russian film by Andrei Tarkovsky based on the novel. However, because of his many commitments in the 90s, Cameron was unable to take on directing duties.

"What I would’ve done would’ve been more like The Abyss, where visual set pieces might have gotten in the way of what is a clean line as a relationship film. ’s not interested in the hardware or the visual effects very much, which is good."

In 2000, around the time Steven Soderbergh was working on Traffic, he pitched his ideas of a Solaris film adaptation to Cameron and Lightstorm producers Rae Sanchini and Jon Landau. Cameron was thrilled with what he heard and development began on the project. As Traffic was wrapping up, Soderbergh began drafting a script. Using both the 1972 film and the book as reference, the script allowed him to dig into various themes and subject he wasn't able to come to terms with in his earlier films. Soon after, Soderbergh and Lightstorm took the story to 20th Century Fox.

Soderbergh originally intended Daniel Day-Lewis to play the role of Chris Kelvin, but Day-Lewis was busy with Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York at the time. Since George Clooney was Soderbergh's producing partner, having formed Section Eight Productions together in 2000, Soderbergh was obligated to send Clooney a copy of the Solaris script. A month later, during the editing of Ocean’s Eleven, Soderbergh received a letter from Clooney stating that he was ready to step into the role.

Because both Soderbergh and Clooney had prior commitments at the time, the film did not enter production until close to mid-2002. Principal photography began May 5, 2002 in downtown Los Angeles. Following a week of filming exteriors, the crew moved to the Warner Bros. lot where it shot on stages 19 and 20 for the remainder of production. These were the same stages that held the sets for Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven.

In addition to fulfilling the roles of director and screenwriter, Soderbergh also acted as the film's cinematographer and editor, both of which were credited under pseudonyms.