It’s long been known that as a young man Steven Spielberg always wanted to make a James Bond movie, but Cubby Broccolli refused to have a helmer who’d want a share in the film’s profits. Instead Spielberg made Indiana Jones, which he saw as his own Bond-style adventure series.
However, it now appears he might be eyeing something a lot closer to 007 by considering whether to direct a film about secret agent Matt Helm. The movie was developed for several years by Dreamworks, but was left behind at Paramount when Spielberg parted ways with the studio and took the Dreamworks name with him, but according to Variety, Spielberg is considering negotatiating over the rights so he can direct the movie.
It could be a canny move, as if Dreamworks can have at least one strong franchise, it’d be in a far stronger financial position than it was during the hit and miss phase that saw it needing to be sold to Paramount a few year’s back. After all, MGM has only survived the last decade because investors know 007 will always be a cash cow, even if most of the rest of the studio’s films flop.
Matt Helm is based on a series of novels by Donald Hamilton, whose books saw the secret agent taking down enemy agents during the Cold War, although the movie version would be updated to the modern day. Helm was previously played by Dean Martin in a series of tongue-in-cheek movies, although this new version is said to be more in the style of The Bourne Identity.
According to Variety, it’s expected to be known by the end of the week whether Spielberg will be able to negotiate a deal to get the film rights back from Paramount, although even then it’ll probably be a while before we know if he’s definitely the one who’ll be behind the camera.