Showbiz411

Steven Spielberg was turned down twice by Albert “Cubby” Broccoli as a director for the James Bond series. The first was right after “Jaws,” and the second time was after “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”  Basically, Spielberg recounts in the video below, Broccoli told him he wasn’t good enough. “No matter how successful I was, he wouldn’t let me in the front door,” Spielberg tells famed Indian interview Amitabh Bachchan,

Spielberg is in India promoting “Lincoln.” He sat for an interview with Amitabh Bachchan in which he discussed future plans including a movie to be shot on the Pakistan border, plus news about the next “Tintin” movie. He also talks about the making of his first film, “Duel.” Spielberg still has to make “Robopocalypse” when the script is ready. A fascinating interview with one of our best directors. It’s a funny coincidence that Spielberg lost Best Director this year to Ang Lee, who directed the Indian “Life of Pi.” And now he’s the talk of India. Small world!

Roger Friedman

Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News. Friedman previously wrote the Intelligencer column at New York Magazine, He writes for Parade magazine and has written for Details, Vogue, the New York Times, Post, and Daily News and many other publications. He is the writer and co-producer of a film about R&B Music called “Only the Strong Survive,” which was released by Miramax in 2003 and was a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals.