“I thought my career was virtually over”: Steven Spielberg recalls making of ‘Jaws’ as film celebrates 50th anniversary
(source : ANI) ( Photo Credit : ani)
Steven Spielberg recently opened up about the wild challenges he faced while making his blockbuster hit Jaws back in 1975. At just 26 years old, the young director thought his Hollywood career was done for after budget overruns and endless delays. Sharing these stories at a preview for the new Jaws: The Exhibition at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, Spielberg got real about the film’s rocky start and why it became a timeless thriller.
Picture this: Spielberg and his team head out to the Atlantic Ocean with a massive Hollywood crew, ready to film a mechanical shark tearing through the waves. But Mother Nature had other plans. "I thought we could just shoot an entire movie 12 miles out at sea, and it would go swimmingly," Spielberg recalled with a laugh. Instead, brutal weather, unpredictable currents, and a finicky shark prop turned the production into a nightmare. They ended up 100 days over schedule, way over budget, and everyone was whispering that Spielberg was a "liability" who’d never direct again.
"I really thought my career was virtually over halfway through," he admitted. Crew members kept asking when they’d wrap, and Spielberg was offered chances to quit multiple times—meaning Jaws might never have seen the light of day. But the team refused to give up. "All of us never wanted to quit, and that was the whole reason we finished the movie," he said. Out on the water for six months, seasickness hit hard—everyone got ill except Spielberg, who was too stressed to notice. What kept them going? The unbreakable camaraderie. "Being in the company of each other… that brought us all closer together," he shared.
Based on Peter Benchley’s 1974 novel, Jaws wasn’t even meant to be a full-on shark movie at first. But Spielberg’s vision turned it into a gripping thriller about a man-eating great white terrorizing a beach town. Released in 1975, the film smashed box office records, raking in nearly $500 million worldwide and cementing its status as a Hollywood classic. John Williams’ iconic score still gives us chills, and the suspenseful scenes redefined summer blockbusters.
At the 1976 Oscars, Jaws shone bright, snagging three wins for Best Original Score, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound—though it missed out on Best Picture. Spielberg, however, didn’t get a Best Director nod, which surprised him. In an upcoming National Geographic documentary, Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story, he reflected on the buzz leading up to awards season. "I was believing the noise," he said, admitting the disappointment stung. But looking back, Spielberg sees it as a lesson: don’t get swept up in the hype.
Today, as Jaws celebrates its 50th anniversary, Spielberg’s tale reminds us how perseverance turned potential disaster into one of cinema’s greatest triumphs. If you’re a fan of Spielberg movies or shark thrillers, this behind-the-scenes scoop shows the grit behind the legend.
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