{"id":1859,"date":"2026-06-10T23:09:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T23:09:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1859"},"modified":"2026-06-10T23:09:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T23:09:20","slug":"steven-spielberg-says-james-bond-movies-constantly-turned-me-down-and-if-they-asked-me-now-to-direct-the-answer-would-be-you-cant-afford-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1859","title":{"rendered":"Steven Spielberg Says James Bond Movies \u2018Constantly Turned Me Down\u2019 and \u2018If They Asked Me Now\u2019 to Direct the Answer Would Be: \u2018You Can\u2019t Afford Me\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nSteven Spielberg joined \u201cThe Rest Is Entertainment\u201d podcast\u00a0on his \u201cDisclosure Day\u201d press tour and opened up about his repeated failed attempts to direct a James Bond movie. The Oscar winner made a personal plea to franchise producer Cubby Broccoli after \u201cJaws\u201d became a blockbuster sensation, but Spielberg was turned down.<\/p>\n

Read more Cush Jumbo Talks \u2018Criminal Record\u2019 Season 2, June and Hegarty\u2019s Odd Bond and [SPOILER\u2019S] Shocking Death<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI approached Cubby after \u2018Jaws\u2019 was a big hit,\u201d Spielberg said. \u201cI\u2019d always wanted to make a James Bond film from the day I saw \u2018Dr. No,\u2019 so I called Cubby after \u2018Jaws\u2019 and volunteered. I said, \u2018If you need a director, I would love to direct one.\u2019 And he said no.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBroccoli called Spielberg a few years later after the release of \u201cClose Encounters of a Third Kind\u201d because he wanted to use the movie\u2019s famous five-note musical melody in a scene in \u201cMoonraker.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI said, \u2018I\u2019ll make you a deal. I\u2019ll give you permission to use the five notes if you let me direct a Bond film.\u2019 And he said no. But I gave him the five notes anyway,\u201d Spielberg remembered. \u201cSo they consistently turned me down \u2013 at least, Broccoli did. He never explained why he wasn\u2019t letting me into the Bond family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhen I told that story to George Lucas in 1977, when we were in Hawaii together getting ready for the release of \u2018Star Wars: A New Hope,\u2019 he said, \u2018I have something better than Bond. It\u2019s called Indiana Smith,\u2019 which is what it was called at the time,\u201d the director continued. \u201cHe told me the premise of the Indiana Jones series, and that\u2019s how I got that job. So if they ever asked me to make a Bond film now, my answer would be: \u2018You can\u2019t afford me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more \u201924 Jump Street\u2019 in the Works With Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum and Ice Cube in Talks to Return (EXCLUSIVE)<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tBond is far from the only mega-franchise Spielberg flirted with over the years. The director was also interested in helming \u201cHarry Potter\u201d but had to turn down an offer for the movie for the sake of raising his family. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThere were several films I chose not to make,\u201d Spielberg said in a 2023 interview. \u201cI chose to turn down the first \u2018Harry Potter\u2019 to basically spend that next year and a half with my family, my young kids growing up. So I\u2019d sacrificed a great franchise, which today looking back I\u2019m very happy to have done, to be with my family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cDisclosure Day\u201d opens in theaters June 12. Listen to Spielberg\u2019s full interview on \u201cThe Rest Is Entertainment\u201d podcast here.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Layoffs Coming at Xbox? New CEO Outlines Upcoming \u2018Reset\u2019 in Memo to Staff: \u2018Surprising and Even Frustrating\u2019 Realities Facing Business<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Steven Spielberg asked many times to direct a James Bond movie but his offers were constantly rejected by producers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1858,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[871,1590,867],"class_list":["post-1859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film","tag-disclosure-day","tag-james-bond-2","tag-steven-spielberg"],"yoast_head":"\nSteven Spielberg Says James Bond Movies \u2018Constantly Turned Me Down\u2019 and \u2018If They Asked Me Now\u2019 to Direct the Answer Would Be: \u2018You Can\u2019t Afford Me\u2019 - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1859\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Steven Spielberg Says James Bond Movies \u2018Constantly Turned Me Down\u2019 and \u2018If They Asked Me Now\u2019 to Direct the Answer Would Be: \u2018You Can\u2019t Afford Me\u2019 - 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