From pub quizzes to press tours, Steven Spielberg is continuing his “Disclosure Day” press tour with interviews in some unexpected places.
This week he joined The Rest Is Entertainment podcast where talk at one point turned towards the James Bond franchise.
When he was younger, Spielberg made several attempts to direct a James Bond movie – all of which failed. Seems the franchise’s long-running producer, Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli, didn’t want him.
He explains he first approached Broccoli after “Jaws” became a blockbuster sensation:
“I approached Cubby after ‘Jaws’ was a big hit. I’d always wanted to make a James Bond film from the day I saw ‘Dr. No,’ so I called Cubby after ‘Jaws’ and volunteered. I said, ‘If you need a director, I would love to direct one.’ And he said no.”
A few years later, Broccoli called Spielberg after the release of “Close Encounters of a Third Kind”. He wanted to use the movie’s famous five-note musical arrangement for a scene in 1979’s “Moonraker”. Spielberg had a demand:
“I said, ‘I’ll make you a deal. I’ll give you permission to use the five notes if you let me direct a Bond film.’ And he said no. But I gave him the five notes anyway. So they consistently turned me down – at least, Broccoli did. He never explained why he wasn’t letting me into the Bond family.”
Spielberg also says he shared his Bond rejection story with George Lucas in 1977 when the pair were in Hawaii together getting ready for the release of the original “Star Wars”. From that came a fateful pitch:
“[George said] ‘I have something better than Bond. It’s called Indiana Smith,’ which is what it was called at the time. He told me the premise of the Indiana Jones series, and that’s how I got that job. So if they ever asked me to make a Bond film now, my answer would be: ‘You can’t afford me.’”
Spielberg also talked about other films he turned down or chose not to make, most notably the first “Harry Potter” which he turned to help raise his young kids. “Disclosure Day” opens in cinemas on Friday.
