Poilish writer Stanislaw Lem's classic science-fiction novel Solaris was first adapted to the big screen by Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky in 1972 and hailed as a 'milestone in the history of science-fiction cinema'. Steven Soderbergh, described as the 'Prince of Independents' decided to adapt the novel for a new film, and stuck an alliance with James Cameron, who had acquired the rights to Solaris as a directing project for himself.

Due to his involvement with producing the TV series 'Dark Angel' and several documentary projects including an upcoming 3-D film featuring under-water photography of the real Titanic, Cameron gave his blessings and stayed on as a producer of the $47 million film starring George Clooney as a psychologist brought in to explain the bizarre behaviour of a group of scientists on a remote space station.

In an interview with the media, Soderbergh and Cameron gave their views on the project:

Steven, you've never made a sci-fi film. What attracted you to this material?
When I was almost done with the first draft, I was thinking, why did these weird happenstances occur? Why do I want to write it? I realised that it's about love and death and clearly something is pulling me to that. I didn't realise until way into the process that I was working through what happened with my father who died very suddenly and to whom I was very close. I spoke to him that afternoon before he had the cerebral haemorrhage that killed him, and the good news was there wasn't any unfinished business. I would hope that all the feelings we take with us when somebody is gone, love is the most impervious to rust.

You wrote the film on spec. Why?
Soderbergh:  In case I failed. I wanted to be able to walk away with no questions asked.
Cameron: I was kind of shocked by that, but loved it. Here was a guy who was willing to do a significant amount of work based on a handshake. It put me on my honour in a way that I wish this business worked all the time. When we got his first draft, we were willing to shoot the film. Little did we realise that it was just the first step in his process. Steven said: "No, guys, this is where we start the writing process." We went through this deconstruction process of attacking every single idea and every single concept and making sure it resonated properly.

One of the great opportunities for a director doing a futuristic film is, what does the future look like?
Soderbergh: Didn't care.
Cameron: (Our producers) were so shocked when we saw the first dailies. It was like, where's the future? It's just a guy walking in the rain.
Soderbergh: The film really isn't about the future, so I wasn't interested in what it was going to look like. I was interested in what it was going to feel like. So, purposefully, there are no establishing shots, no product that's recognisable. I'm only interested in the people. There are more close-ups in this film than in any film I've made.

James, you were in the editing room a lot when Steven was cutting the film?
Cameron: He had a cut that he wanted to show after three weeks. Sucker bait. Because he then tore it all apart and anything I liked, I had to fight for. Steven has this architecture - we're going to shoot, then edit, then shoot some more, then edit again. It was built into the budCget process. I'm gonna do that from now on. With me the problem is that I'd go over budget.

There's a line of dialogue in the film that goes: "There are no answers, only choices".
Cameron: I want that T-shirt.
Soderbergh: Actually, it's my political platform.

It summed up what most reviewers liked about Solaris, that it doesn't tell you how to feel. Why has ambiguity become such a dirty word?
Cameron: Hollywood follows you out of the theatre and down the hall and puts a synopsis of the plot in your pocket. It's pathetic. Nothing must be left to chance. You can't get to the closing credits without everything being nicely tied up with a bow around it.
Soderbergh: I don't blame the studios for bad films. I blame the filmmakers. Nobody puts a gun to your head and says, "Make a piece of .."