As the hunt for the next James Bond continues, Steven Spielberg has long moved on from the idea of directing a 007 movie.
The 3x Oscar winner revealed that he put himself up to helm an entry in the British spy franchise after seeing Dr. No (1962) but was continuously rejected by producer Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli.
“I’d always wanted to make a James Bond film from the day I saw Dr No,” he said on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast. “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. And he moved on.
Spielberg added, “Cubby called me again after Close Encounters came out and that was a big hit … and said, we’d like to use the five notes in Moonraker. And 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, nope. But I gave him the five notes anyway.”
Featuring Roger Moore as the MI6 agent from Ian Fleming’s books, Moonraker (1979) was ultimately directed by Lewis Gilbert, who also directed the preceding movie, The Spy Who Loved Me (1977).
Roger Moore as James Bond in ‘Moonraker’ (1979) (United Artists/Courtesy Everett Collection)
Despite the rejection, Spielberg ended up launching another major movie franchise, helming Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), followed by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).
“That’s when George [Lucas] said, I have something better than Bond. It’s called Indiana Smith, which is what it was called at the time. And he told me the premise of the Indiana Jones series. And that’s how I got that job,” he recalled.
“[Broccoli] never explained why he wasn’t letting me in the Bond family,” added Spielberg, noting “if they ever asked me to make a Bond film now, my answer would be: you can’t afford me.”
Last June, Amazon MGM Studios officially tapped Denis Villeneuve to direct the next installment, with Steven Knight announced to write the film amid the studio’s new 007 partnership with returning producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. Tanya Lapointe will executive produce.
