Steven Spielberg has, over his career, been linked with a couple of big franchises that, for one reason or another, he never took on. He was, of course, in negotiations at one stage to direct Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, with the report being that he eventually turned the project down as the studio needed someone who would toe the line a little more with J K Rowling's potential veto over elements of the movie. Chris Columbus took the job in the end.
In his earlier years, though, Spielberg was keen to direct a James Bond movie, to the point where he approached legendary producer Albert R Broccoli. "I went to Cubby Broccoli and asked if I could do one and he said no", Spielberg revealed in a brief new interview. "I've never asked again".
This was the late 1970s, and Spielberg said that "instead, I made the Indiana Jones series". That doesn't mean he's not a fan of the ongoing James Bond saga. Of the latest movie, Skyfall, he said "I've seen it once and I'll see it a second time".
Spielberg's latest film, Lincoln, arrives in the UK in January.
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