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The press effort for Steven Spielberg’s upcoming Disclosure Day is in full swing. He’s been in the UK these past few days. First of all, he surprised contestants at a pub quiz at The Devonshire in London’s Soho when he turned up in time for the movie round, which was all about him and his movies, to ask the questions. He was accompanied by Colman Domingo.
Then he appeared on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast to talk about the upcoming movie, and his life as a director in general. He was asked about his attempts to direct a James Bond movie when he was younger, and gave more details about his rejections:
“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.”
Four years later, Broccoli called Spielberg to ask permission to use the notes from the famous Close Encounters of a Third Kind theme as the key-pad notes for a scene in Moonraker.
Spielberg pitched to him:
“’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 said that sharing this story with George Lucas when the pair were in Hawaii together, getting ready for the release of the original Star Wars, instead set up something else entirely:
“[He 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.
What if Bond came calling now, with a new iteration starting up over at Amazon?
“If they ever asked me to make a Bond film now, my answer would be: ‘You can’t afford me.’”
That swooshing noise you might be able to hear right now is Jeff Bezos’ staff hauling open his chequebook. As part of the interview, Spielberg also claimed he turned down Harry Potter so he could spend time with his kids. The alternative version to that story is that Rowling refused to let him transpalnt Hogwarts to America.
The post Spielberg Pub Quizzes, Talks BOND appeared first on Last Movie Outpost.
