Just because you’re one of the world’s most successful directors, the esteemed recipient of countless prestigious awards, and are responsible for some of the best movies to have ever graced theatres the world over, it doesn’t mean you can, like, stroll into that place where they make James Bond movies and ask to direct one.
That’s exactly what Steven Spielberg found out when he made a request to an apparently bastard-version of Cubby Broccoli, who flat-out refused to give Spielberg the reins to the series when he asked in the 70s. Maybe Spielberg made fun of his name, which is absolutely and entirely ridiculous. Broccoli is a vegetable, not a surname!
Here’s what Spielberg had to say on the matter:
“I went to Cubby Broccoli and I asked if I could do one and he said: ‘No’. I’ve never asked again. Instead, I made the Indiana Jones series. When I started out as a TV director, my pie-in-the-sky dream was to make a little movie that would get some notoriety, and then [the late Bond series producer] Cubby Broccoli would call me and ask me to direct the next James Bond picture. But I could never get Cubby Broccoli to hire me – and now, sadly, they can’t afford me.”
Instead of hiring this particular master filmmaker, Broccoli went on to hire other well-regarded and still popular today directors like… um… that guy… and… what’s his name… presumably to show Spielberg the kind of unwavering power he possessed when it came to bringing in the best talent around. As for the Bond franchise of late, Spielberg was highly impressed with Sam Mendes’ entry into the series and wants to see the movie for a second time.
In the meantime, we can all thank Cubby Broccoli, who is now definitely the accidental creator of the Indiana Jones movies. Damn you for that fourth installment, though, Cubby. Damn you good.
Source: Total Film