Director Steven Spielberg appeared on the “The Rest is Entertainment” podcast during the “Disclosure Day” press tour and opened up about his many failed attempts to direct a James Bond movie. The Oscar winner made a personal plea to franchise producer Cubby Broccoli after Jaws became a huge hit, but Spielberg was turned down.
“I approached Cubby after ‘Jaws’ was a big hit,” Spielberg said. “I’ve always wanted to make a James Bond movie ever since I saw ‘Dr. And he said no. ”
Broccoli called Spielberg a few years after Close Encounters of the Third Kind was released. Spielberg wanted to use the film’s famous five-note musical melody in a scene from Moonraker.
“I said, ‘Here’s a deal: If you let me direct a Bond movie, I’ll give you five banknotes.'” And he said no. But I gave him five notes anyway,” Spielberg recalled. “So they consistently turned me down, at least Broccoli did. He never explained why he wouldn’t let me into the Bond family.”
“In 1977, when we were together in Hawaii preparing for the release of Star Wars: A New Hope, I told George Lucas about it, and he said, ‘I have something better than Bond, and it’s called Indiana Smith, and that’s what they called it at the time,'” the director continued. “He gave me the premise of the Indiana Jones series, and that’s how I got the job. So if they asked me to make a Bond movie now, my answer would be: ‘We can’t afford that.'”
Bond isn’t the only blockbuster franchise that Spielberg has been involved with over the years. The director was also interested in directing “Harry Potter,” but had to decline the film offer in order to support his family.
“There were some movies that I decided not to make,” Spielberg said in a 2023 interview. “I basically decided to turn down the first Harry Potter role to spend the next year and a half with my family and my growing young children. So I sacrificed a great series to be with my family. Looking back, I’m so glad I did.”
“Disclosure Day” will be released in theaters on June 12th. Listen to Spielberg’s full interview on the podcast “The Rest Is Entertainment” here.
