Steven Spielberg has made dinosaurs, sharks, aliens, historical epics, war films, and arguably the greatest adventure franchise of all time. But the one gig he never landed? James Bond.
Appearing on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast to promote his latest film, the existential threat UFO thriller, “Disclosure Day” (read our review), Spielberg was asked whether he had ever been approached to direct a Bond film and whether he had any regrets about never entering the 007 world. His answer was revealing: the Bond producers never approached him. He approached them — twice — and was turned down both times.
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“I have regrets that they didn’t approach me to direct a Bond film,” Spielberg said, explaining that he first reached out to longtime Bond producer Cubby Broccoli after the massive success of “Jaws.” “I’d always wanted to make a James Bond film from the day I saw ‘Dr. No,’” he recalled. “So I called Cubby Broccoli after ‘Jaws,’ and I volunteered. I said, ‘If you need a director, I would love to direct one.’ And he said no.”
Most filmmakers would probably take that as the end of the conversation. Spielberg, apparently, did not.
The director said Broccoli returned to his orbit after “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind” became another major hit, this time with a request tied to “Moonraker.” According to Spielberg, Broccoli wanted permission to use the famous five-note musical motif from ‘Close Encounters’ in the Bond film.
Spielberg saw an opening. “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,’” Spielberg said. “And he said, ‘No.’” Still, Spielberg gave them the notes anyway.
So why didn’t the Bond producers want Steven Spielberg, even after ‘Jaws’ and ‘Close Encounters’? Spielberg said he never got a real answer. “They consistently turned me down,” he said. “He never explained why he wasn’t letting me in the Bond family.”
Of course, one door closing led to another enormous one opening. Spielberg said he later told the story to George Lucas in 1977 while the two were in Hawaii around the release of “Star Wars: A New Hope.” After Spielberg shared his “sad Cubby Broccoli story” about being denied the chance to make Bond, Lucas told him he had “something better than Bond.”
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At the time, Lucas’ idea was called “Indiana Smith.” It would, of course, eventually become Indiana Jones, and Spielberg would go on to direct “Raiders Of The Lost Ark,” “Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom,” “Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade,” and “Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull.”
It’s one of those sliding-doors Hollywood stories that sounds almost too clean in hindsight: Spielberg wanted Bond, Bond said no, and Lucas handed him a different globetrotting hero instead. The irony, naturally, is that the Indiana Jones franchise became, in its own way, Spielberg’s answer to 007: pulp adventure, exotic locales, death-defying set pieces, and a hero who could throw a punch, take a punch, and still crack a grin.
As for whether Spielberg would still say yes if Bond producers came calling today, he had a punchline ready.
“If they ever asked me to make a Bond film now,” Spielberg joked, “my answer would be, ‘You can’t afford me.’”
Watch the full interview below.
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
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