Steven Spielberg: I Was Turned Down for Bond

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Rest Is Entertainment

Episode: Steven Spielberg on Aliens, Young Directors and Being Turned Down for Bond

Hosts: Richard Osman & Marina Hyde
Date: June 10, 2026

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Brief Overview

In this standout listener Q&A episode, Richard Osman and Marina Hyde are joined by legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg. The discussion spans Spielberg’s latest film "Disclosure Day," his career milestones, creative philosophies, and personal anecdotes about aliens, young directors, lifelong friendships, career regrets, and why he never directed a Bond movie. Listener questions prompt candid reflections and some remarkable stories, painting an intimate and engaged portrait of the world’s most successful director.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Spielberg’s Belief in Aliens & Inspiration for “Disclosure Day”

• Belief in Aliens: Spielberg affirms his belief in extraterrestrial life, influenced by increasing credible whistleblowers and stories like the Zimbabwe aerial school encounter.
  • “I do believe that we are not alone in the cosmos, in the universe… I believe the believers.” (03:31 - Spielberg)
• Prompt for New Film: Recent whistleblowers from military and intelligence agencies inspired "Disclosure Day." Spielberg feels this is the time to tell a credible alien narrative grounded in real testimonies. (04:14)
• Grounding Fantasy in Reality: He credits both Stephen King and Michael Crichton for the approach that fantasy and science fiction are only effective when rooted deeply in credible, real-world science or psychology.
  • “If I'm gonna make a movie that is stranger than fiction, then there has to be some basic bedrock science to let audiences believe it's credible.” (07:32 - Spielberg)

Spielberg’s Childhood and the Impact of Favorite Films

• Favorite Film at Age 11: "Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier" (05:18)
• Impact on His Filmmaking: Spielberg shares that childhood obsessions continue to shape his approach—he strives to recapture the magic those films had for him. (06:14)
• Musicals and Parental Influence: His parents loved musicals; watching them in cinemas as a family influenced his eventual drive to direct “West Side Story.” (24:50)

Working with Children and Parenting

• Directing & Parenthood Interplay: Parenting keeps Spielberg current—his children challenge him and introduce him to new things.
  • “Parenthood actually keeps me young and relevant because my kids are on the first line of saying, dad, you don't know what you're talking about.” (09:12 - Spielberg)
• On-Set Philosophy: Spielberg avoids letting his reputation influence his cast and crew, seeking instead to foster a family atmosphere where everyone feels equal.
  • “Let's just get down to the business at hand, and let's make a great movie together.” (09:53 - Spielberg)

Advice for Young Directors & Remaining Grounded

• Staying Humble: Spielberg warns new directors of the danger of letting success go to their heads.
  • “Don't let success go to your heads. Because when you make your next movie, you're starting from scratch... you're beginning your career all over again at the outset of every single project.” (11:21 - Spielberg)

Friendships, Competition, and Influences in the New Hollywood Era

• On Coppola & Lucas: Spielberg never envied George Lucas or Francis Ford Coppola; instead, their mutual competitiveness fueled their creativity.
  • “George gave me inspiration and I gave him inspiration, and we have all has been feeding off each other.” (12:57 - Spielberg)
• On “The Godfather”: Still ranks it as the greatest American film; remains humble about whether he’s matched it. (13:06)

Bond Movie Rejection & Birth of Indiana Jones

• Spielberg recounts personally lobbying for a Bond film after “Jaws” but being turned down both times by producer Cubby Broccoli.
  • “I approached Cubby Broccoli after Jaws...and he said no, and he moved on. ...And that's when George said, ‘I have something better than Bond. It's called Indiana Smith’... that’s how I got that job.” (13:31 - Spielberg)
• Would now turn down Bond: “If they ever asked me now, my answer would be, you can’t afford me.” (14:11 - Spielberg)

Career Regrets and “The One That Got Away”

• Rain Man: Spielberg almost directed "Rain Man" but had to bow out in favor of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade."
  • “That was the only fish that I felt got away.” (17:51 - Spielberg)

Spielberg and Pop Culture: Alien Viewership

• Would Aliens Know His Work? Playfully wonders if ETs might have watched his films.
  • “If they've seen ET... my conceded hope: they would have somehow made themselves known to me, and they didn't. I've been waiting to see a UFO my entire life.” (19:04 - Spielberg)
• Reflects on the universality of storytelling—even curious about how aliens would express art. (20:33)

New Storytelling Platforms and Cinema’s Future

• Accessibility of Filmmaking: Encourages youth to start with their smartphones.
  • “Do you have a smartphone?... You just found your way of getting started.” (22:40 - Spielberg)
• Importance of Theatrical Experience: Concerned about cinema’s future, deeply values communal movie-watching over solitary at-home viewing.
  • “For the longevity of motion picture exhibition...I prefer movie theaters. I prefer the movie going experience.” (22:55 - Spielberg)
• Notes the post-COVID return to theaters as a sign of people's longing for community.
  • “People getting back together again is the greatest way to bridge our differences.” (23:38 - Spielberg)

Family Favorites and Personal Pride

• Parents’ Favorite of His Films: “Schindler’s List”—for his mom, and for his dad, “Saving Private Ryan.”
• Spielberg expresses pride that these films resonated so deeply with his parents. (25:52)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Discovery and Whistleblowers:
  “The government has been hiding for decades the truth that we are not alone.” (04:14 - Spielberg)

• On Humility and Ongoing Learning:
  “Every movie I've made, I feel like I'm going back to the beginning.” (11:59 - Spielberg)

• On Bond and Indiana Jones’ Origin:
  “That’s when George said, ‘I have something better than Bond. It's called Indiana Smith.’” (14:11 - Spielberg)

• On Community and Cinema:
  “People getting back together again is the greatest way to bridge our differences.” (23:38 - Spielberg)

• On Being Approachable and Unpretentious:
  “I don’t even have my name on my directing chair on sets.” (09:36 - Spielberg)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:31 – Spielberg’s belief in aliens and inspiration for “Disclosure Day”
• 05:18 – Spielberg’s favorite childhood film and its influence
• 09:12 – Parenthood’s influence on directing & staying relevant
• 11:21 – Advice to new, young directors; the dangers of early success
• 12:19 – On friendships and competition with Lucas and Coppola
• 13:27 – Recounting Bond film rejection; the genesis of Indiana Jones
• 17:51 – The “Rain Man” regret: The film Spielberg lost
• 19:04 – Would aliens watch Spielberg movies and recognize him?
• 22:40 – On YouTube, young creators, and the democratization of film
• 23:38 – The essential role of communal cinema post-pandemic
• 25:52 – His parents’ favorite films directed by Spielberg

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Final Thoughts

This episode offers a revealing and frequently funny insight into Spielberg’s creative mind, his humility, and his continued curiosity about the world (and universe). Both Richard and Marina’s listener-driven questions lead to stories that illuminate not just Spielberg’s astonishing career but the evolving landscape of cinema—where inspiration can come from classic Westerns, the latest YouTube creator, or even the possibility of interstellar visitors requesting a meeting with the master himself.

“Take me to Spielberg!” (27:32 - Richard Osman) — and indeed, for one brilliant episode, The Rest Is Entertainment does just that.

Transcript

[Marina Hine]

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[Richard Osmond]

Certainly in our day, you would write to a film star or a singer. I wrote to Howard Jones. And maybe three months later, a sort of signed photo comes back that's clearly pro forma. You know, that, you know, Howard's never really looked at.

[Marina Hine]

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[Richard Osmond]

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[Marina Hine]

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[Richard Osmond]

You are contemptible.

[Marina Hine]

Yeah.

[Richard Osmond]

In some way.

[Marina Hine]

Hello and welcome to this episode of the Rest Is Entertainment Questions and Answers edition. I'm Marina Hine.

[Richard Osmond]

And I'm Richard Osmond. Now, bad news. We are not answering your questions this week.

[Marina Hine]

Good news, Mr. Steven Spielberg is answering them. This is a big honor.

[Richard Osmond]

Isn't it just. We are waiting for him to come in, quite excited. Apparently he's gonna be on time, which is almost unheard of. We got loads of questions. Thank you so much for all of those. Some brilliant ones. Apologies, we can't use all of them, but I think we've got stuff that will go across his career. But also we're talking about Disclosure Day, which is his new movie, which I think is absolutely terrific. Can I also tell you a little secret?

[Marina Hine]

Yeah.

[Richard Osmond]

I have an absolutely mental question I want to ask him.

[Marina Hine]

Oh, that's good.

[Richard Osmond]

Which I will. I hopefully will drop in about halfway through.

[Marina Hine]

I'm sure it'll just be very cool and we won't even notice.

[Richard Osmond]

Yeah, you might do. Yeah, you might do. Listen, shall we do it?

[Marina Hine]

Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Stevens Spielberg.

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[Steven Spielberg]

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[Richard Osmond]

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[Richard Osmond]

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[Steven Spielberg]

Please stay.

[Richard Osmond]

Sometimes life rigs things in our favor, like learning about your new favorite rom com voicemails. For Isabel Only on Netflix June 19th.

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[Richard Osmond]

Steven Spielberg, how lovely to see you.

[Steven Spielberg]

Hi, Richard. Good to see you again.

[Richard Osmond]

Thank you. Last time I saw Steven, he was taking off in a helicopter.

[Steven Spielberg]

I was on a set with Richard.

[Richard Osmond]

Exactly. Thursday, Murder Club now. But we are here to talk about all sorts of things. But first I want to talk about disclosure day because as I've just told you, I thought it was magnificent. I was trying to work out which of our listener questions would lead us into it best. Lots to talk about. So we're going to go very, very root. One from Dan Young and Dan says, do you believe in aliens?

[Steven Spielberg]

I do believe that we are not alone in the cosmos, in the universe. As far as do I believe that aliens are here and have been here 50 years ago to make Close Encounters, I would have said seeing is believing. And I haven't seen one. I've not even seen a ufo. But today I'm more inclined to say with all the smartphones that are out there and all the things that I've seen and all the people who I believe, I believe the believers, I am absolutely ready to say that I do believe that we are not alone here on this planet.

[Richard Osmond]

Was that one of the things that prompted you? I don't know how much you want to give away about the plot to Disclosure, Dave. Is that one of the things that prompted you to make it?

[Steven Spielberg]

Well, one thing that prompted me to make it was just that whistleblowers were now coming from higher levels of authority. They were coming from the United States Air Force. They were coming from Navy, Navy pilots. They were coming from our intelligence community in Washington. People were blowing the whistle and saying that the government has been hiding for decades the truth that we are not alone. And, and I started believing those believers, not just the people, the rank and file people who have had close encounters of all kinds throughout all of these years that we've all been reading about. Documentaries have been made about them. The aerial school in Zimbabwe where those 60 kids had that phenomenal encounter with beings from off world. So many things have happened that I am now really In a position to, I think, tell a story about it.

[Marina Hine]

Well, our next question is from a boy called Luke Esterheise. He says, I'm 11 years old. My favorite film of all time is Jurassic Park. I was wondering what your favorite film was when you were 11 and why.

[Steven Spielberg]

Oh, that's a great question. When I was 11 years old, what was my favorite film? My goodness. Probably when I was 11, I would have to say my favorite film was something that you've never seen. It was called Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier with Fess Parker and Buddy Epson. And it was the first cultural phenomenon of a motion picture that appealed to kids. There have been a lot of cultural phenomenons that appeal to adults. Like Gone with the Wind prior to that. But when I was 11 years old, that was the bomb. That was the movie that we were reenacting in our backyards. That was a film that they started selling merchandise. Coonskin caps and powder hones and plastic models of his rifle, Old Betsy. That was for me, the first Star wars of films that really reached my 11 year old neighborhood.

[Richard Osmond]

And is there still a bit of you that puts all of that in your films, if you know what I mean? The film we like most at 11 kind of stays with us. Is that something you try and recreate for people watching your movies?

[Steven Spielberg]

I just try to tell a story as effectively as I know how to do. I've not really settled on one genre in my career. Science fiction perhaps is the most consistent genre of all the films I've directed.

[Richard Osmond]

I was funny for watching Disclosure Day. I was thinking about Stephen King. And I think one thing both of you have in common is you can go anywhere because you're so rooted in reality. When you're doing reality, when you're doing a street, I believe I am in a street. And therefore, you know, there can be a time portal, there can be aliens, there can be whatever you want. And that's the thing is starting with the real and then going outwards.

[Steven Spielberg]

Well, I'm devoted to Stephen King's work. I know Stephen. Stephen knows me. We've done some things together throughout our careers. I'm a eternal admirer of his and like Michael Crichton as well. They both operate under the theory that they must make the incredible credible in order to get us to believe the characters in their stories so they don't allow themselves to untether weightlessly and spinning yarns that have no relationship with our reality. And because their reality is my reality and their reality is our reality. Which is they tell terrestrial stories and they put a spin of fantasy, science fiction, science. Jurassic park wouldn't have worked unless Michael Crichton could make all of us in his novel believe the dinosaurs could come back from amber, from biting insects that bit dinosaurs 65 million years ago and can be cloned. And it's good science. And that's the important thing about the kind of movies that I make. If I'm gonna make a movie that is stranger than fiction, then there has to be some basic bedrock science to let audiences believe it's credible.

[Richard Osmond]

Well, I think you nailed that with Disclosure Day. I'll say this. Here's one of our listeners. This is not a question, but Declan Costello says, many years ago, I auditioned for the role of Jim in Empire of the Sun. I got down to the last five boys considered for the part, but it obviously went to Christian Bale. Said, you wrote me a beautiful letter, which I treasure. But then he says, here's the kicker. You definitely made the right decision. By the way, I am a much better doctor than I would have been an actor.

[Steven Spielberg]

Oh, that's wonderful. Well, listen, Declan, you have saved lives. You found a career where you are able to bring peace and health to people who are ill. What a wonderful thing to devote your entire life toward.

[Marina Hine]

He's got still a letter which he sent to us, and it's absolutely lovely.

[Steven Spielberg]

I love that.

[Marina Hine]

I have to say that you've managed to get so many great performances out of children and young people, and you have a lot of children. Did directing teach you anything about parenthood, or did parenthood teach you anything about directing?

[Steven Spielberg]

Parenthood actually keeps me young and relevant because my kids are on the first line of saying, dad, you don't know what you're talking about. Oh, my goodness, dad, you don't know what that phrase means. You've never heard that before. Dad, have you listened to this piece of music? What do you mean you haven't listened to this piece of music? I mean, my kids have at least kept me current.

[Richard Osmond]

Do you ever able to say, guys, I'm Steven Spielberg.

[Steven Spielberg]

I don't have a reality about that?

[Richard Osmond]

Yes, for sure.

[Steven Spielberg]

I don't even have my name on my directing chair on sets. I don't put my name on directing chairs on sets. The thing that my biggest challenge when I'm working with actors who I haven't worked with before is to get them to forget every movie I ever made.

[Marina Hine]

So many people asked us about this

[Steven Spielberg]

and just completely divest yourselves of everything you think I am. And let's Just get down to the business at hand, and let's make a great movie together. Let's tell a great story together. Because whenever I make a movie, I have a family. It's a film family. It's an ensemble. It's a company of actors and crew as well. And we need to be a family for a long time, sometimes months on end. We're working together, and I can't let anything distract them. And look, it's fine if they want to talk about what ET meant to them when they were 8 years old. I'm happy about having that conversation, but just not to forget that we're all the same telling the this story. We're all on the same page. Yeah.

[Marina Hine]

Even when he was doing the Wolf of Wall Street, Leonardo DiCaprio said he came on set one day and he was so nervous that whole day. You were doing something. Something to do with Scorsese that day. And he just. He tells the anecdote in interview saying, oh, my God, I was so nervous.

[Richard Osmond]

I even saw it on Thursday. Murder Club. Even. Even Helen Mirren's like, oh, man, Steven Spielberg. The only guy who kept his cool is Pierce Brosnan, because he always kicks his cool.

[Steven Spielberg]

Well, Pierce Brosnan was my neighbor on the beach for 20 years.

[Richard Osmond]

There you go.

[Steven Spielberg]

So Pierce, when he saw me coming along, it was kind of like, why'd your beach house. You stopped being my neighbor 10 years ago.

[Richard Osmond]

Why'd you put your bins out on the wrong day? Stephen, Betsy Rourke has a question. She said you were almost as young as Kane Parsons, the director of Backrooms, and Curry Barker, the director of Obsession. When you made Jaws, what advice would you give to up and coming young directors?

[Steven Spielberg]

Don't let success go to your heads. Do not let wild success go to your heads. Because when you make your next movie, you're starting from scratch. It's always good to have a big hit to shore up your reputation. And you're gonna get a lot of respect from the executives, from the film world, from the studios, giving them the advice that I have had to learn the hard way, that we all start over again. And if you make. Get a chance to make 20, 30 films in your career, you will discover maybe on your second or third film that you're beginning your career all over again at the outset of every single project.

[Richard Osmond]

Did you feel that with disclosure?

[Steven Spielberg]

I did absolutely every movie I've made. I feel like I'm going back to the beginning.

[Richard Osmond]

Yeah. While you passed.

[Steven Spielberg]

Oh, thank you. Thank you.

[Marina Hine]

Here's one from Anil Patel who says Gore Vidal once said, every time a friend succeeds, I die a little. Did you experience any pangs of jealousy for George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola in The pre Jaws 1970s?

[Steven Spielberg]

No, never. Francis was our godfather. Francis, we looked up to Francis.

[Richard Osmond]

He.

[Steven Spielberg]

He was our leader throughout the 70s. And the Godfather and I have said this before, for me, it's the greatest American film ever made. The first Godfather film. It was the greatest film I was

[Marina Hine]

gonna ask you about ever made.

[Steven Spielberg]

And I've always believed that. And George and I were best friends from the day we met. And yes, we were competitive with each other, but it made us better at what we do because I was always trying to top George and George was always trying to top me. And then we would be together and joke about that and be honest with each other. And so George gave me inspiration and I gave him inspiration, and we have all has been feeding off each other.

[Marina Hine]

And do you still think that the Godfather is the greatest film of all time? And you've never. There's a quote from the 90s where you said, I've never made a movie anywhere near as good as the Godfather. Do you still think that?

[Steven Spielberg]

For me, Godfather, the first Godfather, is the greatest American film of all time. I'm not saying it's the greatest film of all time.

[Marina Hine]

And you feel that you have made nothing close to it.

[Steven Spielberg]

It's very, very hard for me to be objective about my own work. Very hard.

[Richard Osmond]

Julian asks, were you ever approached to make a Bond film? Do you have any regrets about not doing that?

[Steven Spielberg]

I have regrets. They didn't approach me to direct a Bond film.

[Richard Osmond]

They never approached you?

[Steven Spielberg]

I approached Cubby Broccoli after Jaws was a big hit. I've always. I'd always wanted to make a James Bond film from the day I saw Dr. No. So I called Cubby Broccoli after Jaws, and I volunteered. I said, if you need a director, I would love to direct one. And he said no, and he moved on. And then Cubby called me again after Close Encounters came out, and that was a big hit. And Cubby called me a few years after Close Encounters and said, we'd like to use the five notes in Moonraker. Dun dun dun dun dun. And I said, I'll make you a deal. I'll give you permission to use the five notes if you let me direct a Bond film. And he said, nope, but I gave him the five notes anyway. Yeah, you. So they consistently turned me down.

[Marina Hine]

Why?

[Steven Spielberg]

He never explained why he wasn't letting me in the Bond family. But when I told that story to George Lucas in 1976, seven, when we were in Hawaii together getting ready for the release of Star Wars A New Hope, we all went to Hawaii together to just relax and get on the phone and figure out how much money it made at the 10 o' clock shows all over America. And when we found out that every single 10 o' clock AM show had been sold out, George was just a bullion. Marsha's wife was a bullion. We went back down to the beach and I told my sad comey broccoli story. They wouldn't let me direct Bond. And that's when George said, I have something better than Bond. It's called Indiana Smith, which is what it was called at the time. And he told me the premise of the Indiana Jones series and that's how I got that job. So if they ever asked me to make a Bond film now, my answer would be, you can't afford me.

[Marina Hine]

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[Richard Osmond]

The Thursday Motor Club in some ways reminds me of the A Team.

[Marina Hine]

I would now like to map each of those characters onto the A team and feel I probably could. I mean, Elizabeth is Hannibal and it's not even close.

[Richard Osmond]

That's exactly right. And Ron is howling Mad Murdoch.

[Marina Hine]

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[Richard Osmond]

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[Marina Hine]

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[Richard Osmond]

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[Marina Hine]

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[Steven Spielberg]

The rest is football will be on

[Marina Hine]

Netflix every day for the world's biggest tournament.

[Steven Spielberg]

Join myself, Alan and Micah for daily

[Marina Hine]

debates, unfiltered takes and the most special of guests, all from the heart of New York City.

[Steven Spielberg]

Yeah, that's right.

[Marina Hine]

We're excited too.

[Steven Spielberg]

See you soon.

[Richard Osmond]

So good. So good.

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[Marina Hine]

I think we'll have Shane Murray's version of this Question. You've shaped modern cinema like nobody else, but whose film do you secretly wish you had your name on? Is there a story that someone beat you to that still haunts you apart from Bond stories?

[Steven Spielberg]

Oh no, this is the only film that it's not even a regret. But I did my friend George Lucas a favor and I actually we needed to move up the start date of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. I was all about to direct Rain Man. Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise had already committed when they sent me the script. I worked on the script with the writer Ron Bass for a while and I was getting ready to make the movie in about five or six months and I had to drop out to do Last Crusade instead, which I was previously obligated to do. And that was the only fish that I felt got away. And I love what Barry Levinson did with it. I thought it was a great movie. It stands the test of time. It's still one of my favorite films.

[Richard Osmond]

Can I ask you going back to disclosure day for a minute, can I present a thought experiment to you?

[Steven Spielberg]

Okay.

[Richard Osmond]

Which is there is biological life out there somewhere in the universe and amongst the trillions of stars and the trillions of universes, somewhere there will be a life force that is something like us and is more advanced than us, so can study us and may at some point come to visit. May have already visited. If they are to do that, they will do their research into Earth. And do you think there are aliens out there that have seen Spielberg movies?

[Steven Spielberg]

I would certainly think that by whatever form, they could, let's say, commune with our art or with that medium, whatever form they get. I'm sure it's not going to be a Blu Ray. I'm not sure exactly. I'm not sure the 1990s are going to go into a blockbuster and get a Blu Ray, although that would be a great fodder for a good comedy that maybe Seth Rogen should make. But I would think that had they seen ET this is only my. My conceded hope, they would have somehow made themselves known to me, and they didn't. I've been waiting to see a UFO my entire life.

[Richard Osmond]

Do you know what disclosure day is? Another letter to the aliens. Right. It's another one that's saying, look, I get it, because I do think if they. If they do come down, who are they going to talk to? I think if you look around the world, if I'm an alien, the first person I say, could you get me Spielberg?

[Steven Spielberg]

Well, gee, wouldn't that be neat?

[Richard Osmond]

That would be lovely.

[Steven Spielberg]

Wouldn't that be lovely? But I think that a higher intelligence, or let's say more advanced intelligence, where the physics are different, obviously they've learned how to circumvent the cosmos and they've found shortcuts to get here, whether they're interdimensional beings, whether they have found ways through wormholes to. To find shortcuts here. However it is, I think the thinking. Their thinking would also be almost unrelatably more advanced.

[Richard Osmond]

You don't think they would still love stories?

[Steven Spielberg]

Yes. They would probably have their own narrative form of storytelling, and I'd be curious about that. I was always wondering, what would a alien life form coming here, how would they interpret art? What would their art be? How would they express their art?

[Richard Osmond]

Yeah. What would they be pointing to? Go. I love that. What if they come down and just say, should we tell you the movie we love Rain Man? You'd be like, oh, God, there we go.

[Marina Hine]

That's absolutely unbelievable.

[Steven Spielberg]

As long as they don't come down and say, you know, the best movies we've ever seen is everything Roger Corman ever produced. That would be really fun.

[Marina Hine]

Lucas and Coppola, they came out of Roger Corman to some extent, that he. Those cheap ways of doing things. I was thinking about him a lot this week because of the backrooms or obsessions, people coming out of YouTube.

[Steven Spielberg]

Roger Corman was one of the greatest believers in young storytelling and young storytellers. He gave so many breaks to my colleagues that are still working today. Marty Scorsese and George Lucas and others wouldn't. Francis Coppola wouldn't have gotten their early starts without Roger. I keep thinking that Roger Corman and the Sundance Institute have done more to put new blood into this industry than any other individual or Robert Redford, any other that created an institute that believed in new storytellers.

[Richard Osmond]

I have a question from Darren Saker. He says, do you think there's a single moment from one of your films that sums up your view of the world?

[Steven Spielberg]

No, there isn't. Because I'm really an eclectic moviegoer. You know, I find value in everything I see. I've never seen a bad movie. I've seen movies I don't like, but I've never seen a bad movie. I always find something I like about films that maybe are universally not spoken highly of. I always find something good.

[Marina Hine]

And do you think it's exciting that all these people can come up via YouTube now in a way that it was obviously so expensive for you to make something even like Amblin or one of those really early things that you made was obviously still very expensive to produce and that now people can come up through this different medium and that they still, I guess, want to put their stuff in theaters.

[Steven Spielberg]

You can't believe how many young people come up to me and say, how do I get started making movies? I just say, do you have a smartphone? And they say, yeah, right here. I said, you just found your way of getting started.

[Richard Osmond]

But are you encouraged now that people seem to be this new generation going back into actual theaters?

[Steven Spielberg]

It's critical for the longevity of motion picture exhibition without which everything will be a home experience or basically a smartphone experience. And I don't think anybody, you know, should watch a first run movie on a very teeny screen. I mean, it's okay to come home and watch a first run movie on like a screen in your home. But I prefer movie theaters. I prefer the movie going experience. I was interesting that raised that way

[Marina Hine]

that Gen Z, they want to go in and they want to be together. Because I suppose so much of what people experience now is solitary, completely solitary on a phone. And actually to want to go into movie theaters and have the experience together is something quite old fashioned.

[Steven Spielberg]

I don't think people liked being isolated during COVID I don't think people liked the fact that they were denied, you know, social entry into, back into Society, because we were all essentially, we went within, we went underground, we took shelter, we all got in our own bomb shelters during COVID And I think people are now starting to realize the importance of big group communal experiences by getting our communities back together again. Watching concerts, watching plays, watching movies, watching opera, or going to the New York City Ballet Company. I mean, this is. People getting back together again is the greatest way to bridge our differences.

[Richard Osmond]

And I would say in order to do that, you need great art. And having watched Disclosure Day in the cinema, I said to you when you came in, I felt like a child again. It's a proper. You have to watch it in the cinema. I was leaning forward almost the whole way through that film. And it just felt like a communal experience. But that doesn't exist without the thing that you do. So I don't have a question, that's just to say thank you for doing it.

[Steven Spielberg]

Thank you, Richard, so much.

[Richard Osmond]

It was such a treat.

[Steven Spielberg]

Thank you.

[Marina Hine]

What were your parents favorite films?

[Steven Spielberg]

My mom and dad loved musicals. They loved the Hollywood musical, and they would take me with them to see Hollywood musicals in the 1950s and 60s. Got to see some of the great musicals. And in first run in theaters. When you're a kid, the only way you see a movie is your parents have to drive you, unless you've got a movie theater within safe walking distance from home. And that was their favorite films. They just loved that. And Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire and Sid Charisse and Donald o', Connor, Debbie Reynolds. I mean, that was. I never saw us singing in the rain in a movie theater. I saw it on television when it came on television. But I. But I saw Funny Face at a drive in. You know, there's a lot of things that I saw in first run theaters and that's in a way what drove me to make west side Story.

[Richard Osmond]

Eventually my wife cried from second one to the final sector. Literally the whole way through, she was. Every time I looked at her, she was in tears. David adds, what was your parents favorite movie of yours? Did they have one?

[Steven Spielberg]

Schindler's List.

[Richard Osmond]

Amazing.

[Steven Spielberg]

My dad, my dad's favorite movie of mine was Saving Private Ryan because my dad's of the greatest generation.

[Richard Osmond]

He.

[Steven Spielberg]

He fought in World War II and that was his generation. And my mom's and my dad's was also Schindler's List.

[Richard Osmond]

And that must make you feel very proud.

[Steven Spielberg]

It does, it does.

[Richard Osmond]

Stephen, thank you so much. We have so, so many questions we could have asked you. We picked highlights. So thank you to everyone And I answered every question. You did. You didn't.

[Steven Spielberg]

These were all great questions.

[Richard Osmond]

Unlike Tom Hanks. He was past, past, past. He wasn't. He wasn't.

[Steven Spielberg]

Everyone.

[Richard Osmond]

Stephen, thank you. This is absolutely wonderful film. I. I said to someone at Amden, I said it was like watching a great Spielberg movie. And it really, really was. So thank you.

[Steven Spielberg]

Thank you for that.

[Marina Hine]

Thank you so much.

[Steven Spielberg]

So much. Thank you. This was just such a pleasure.

[Marina Hine]

That was extraordinary.

[Richard Osmond]

What a dude. Yeah.

[Marina Hine]

I mean, we have had some pretty amazing moments in the last few weeks, but there's something about people who, I think at that stage in their career that are able to remain childlike and innocent and so kind of incited by

[Richard Osmond]

the world who understand what they've done. And it's just. Yeah, it was. I mean, gosh, what a career. And, you know, I always say beforehand that if there's any questions you want to pass, you've zero passes. Just went straight in on every single question. And I got to ask my one about whether he thought aliens had ever watched a Spielberg song. So I was having. Did you spot that was the mental

[Marina Hine]

one he properly engaged with?

[Richard Osmond]

He did, didn't he?

[Marina Hine]

He felt they didn't watch the first one, but maybe they'll watch the new one.

[Richard Osmond]

Well, that's what I was thinking, I think. But surely they must have done. Surely when they come down, who are they going to ask to speak to? Yes, but you know what I mean.

[Marina Hine]

Take me to Steven Spielberg.

[Richard Osmond]

Take me to Spielberg. Take me to Barry Levinson. That's what I want to know. But that was an absolute treat. Once again, thank you so much for sending in your questions. We love doing these interviews, and people

[Marina Hine]

love the fact that it's listener questions, because, by the way, journalists always ask the same boring ones.

[Richard Osmond]

And we can be really cheeky as well. And it's your fault. That's the. That's the absolute joy of it. We need to go and decompress.

[Marina Hine]

I think we do.

[Richard Osmond]

God, next week it'll just be me and you talking. Oh, God.

[Marina Hine]

We'll make it special.

[Richard Osmond]

Yeah, we'll make it special.

[Marina Hine]

All right, then. See you next Tuesday.

[Richard Osmond]

See you next Tuesday.