James Bond in film of the funding for the Bond films, fell into financial difficulties following the box office failure of "Heaven's Gate" (1980), bringing uncertainty to the future of the funding. The situation was resolved in May 1981, when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquired United Artists. Following "For Your Eyes Only", Roger Moore had expressed a desire to stop playing James Bond. His original contract had been for three films, a requirement fulfilled with "The Spy Who Loved Me". Subsequent films had been negotiated on a film-by-film basis. The producers engaged in a semi-public quest for the next actor to play Bond, which would be for
The Spy Who Loved Me (film) the symptoms of clinical depression in himself. Another troubling aspect of the production was the difficulty in obtaining a director. The producers approached Steven Spielberg, who was in post-production of "Jaws", but ultimately decided against him. The first director attached to the film was Guy Hamilton, who directed the previous three Bond films as well as "Goldfinger", but he left after being offered the opportunity to direct the 1978 film "Superman", although Richard Donner took over the project. Eon Productions later turned to Lewis Gilbert, who had directed the earlier Bond film "You Only Live Twice". With a director finally