SNUB FOR SPIELBERG

DURING the filming of Moonraker in Paris I stayed at the Plaza Athénée, where I bumped into a young director named Steven Spielberg.

He’d had great success with Jaws and Close Encounters and told me he would love to direct a Bond film, which I thought was extremely exciting news.

Cubby Broccoli was less enthusiastic. ‘Do you realise how much of a percentage of the profits he would want?’ he said, shaking his head.

No Bond director had ever been offered a slice of the turnover. So Spielberg was turned away.

He went on to film Indiana Jones instead, which I’ve always regarded as Bond in period costume.