Steven Spielberg talks about his fate with directing James Bond and his latest homage to 007

According to Yahoo News, Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg was turned down when he tried to make a James Bond film - but that has not stopped him paying homage to the superspy in his latest movie.

His critically acclaimed crime caper "Catch Me If You Can" tells the true story of con artist Frank Abagnale, who before the age of 21 successfully posed as an airline pilot, a lawyer, a college professor and a pediatrician.

Reflecting on the spoof Sixties scenes in his comedy starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, Spielberg told a London news conference on Monday: "This was a homage to James Bond."

"The reason was to show that the world was Frank Abagnale`s oyster and he could be anything he wanted. He could be a doctor, a lawyer and also pretend - in order to get the girls - to be something akin to 007. These scenes are fun to shoot," he said.

Spielberg said he tried to make a Bond movie about 30 years ago, but producer Cubby Broccoli told him he was not ready.

"So 10 years after that I became his chief competitor and began making his arch rival into a hero - Indiana Jones. That was my payback," he said.

Discuss this news here...