Although Steven Spielberg's Jaws is an iconic film, believe it or not, at one point in time, the notorious director didn't know if he would get a future shot to create another movie. During the opening of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures' newest exhibit called Jaws: The Exhibition, Steven took the podium to recall his time making the blockbuster film. He admitted that while he was in the middle of directing it at only 26 years old, he had doubts about having a thriving career due to external critiques of his work.
Steven revealed: "I mean, why would anybody — when we shot the opening scene of Chrissy Watkins being taken by the shark and we had a buoy floating in the water — know to take the buoy it home and sit on it for 50 years and then loan it to the Academy? How did they know? I didn't know."
© WireImageThe visionary transparently expressed: "I thought my career was virtually over halfway through production on Jaws because everybody was saying to me, 'You are never going to get hired again,'" per Variety. He also noted the harsh realities of nature that tested him during the movie's shoot in the Atlantic Ocean.
© Getty ImagesThe director shared: "I thought that was going to go swimmingly, and I had really no idea that the second you tempt Mother Nature and tempt fate, everything starts to conspire against you." His hardworking team faced obstacles such as seasickness, rewrites and even an animatronic shark that ended up not working once it hit the water.
To add to that, the movie's shooting schedule was way off track. The director admitted: "The film was 100 days over schedule. We shot 158 days, but nobody wanted to quit." Steven believes that it was during those difficult times that his dream team earned its strips. He shared: "The camaraderie that happens when you're just trying to survive something, it brought all of us closer together."
© Getty ImagesSteven continued: "I've never been closer to a crew or a cast until many years later, but this was the ultimate example that when you work as a team, you can actually get the ball across the finish line." Despite the challenges they faced, Jaws ended up becoming an iconic blockbuster hit with three Academy Awards under its belt.
© Getty ImagesThanks to the film, Steven became a household name. He comically added: "I'm very proud of the movie. The film certainly cost me a pound of flesh, but gave me a ton of career." Jaws recently celebrated its 50th anniversary and it made $8.1 million during its rerelease in 3,200 participating theaters, which made it the second most lucrative film at the movies, per Variety.
Not only is Jaws being celebrated at the current exhibit in Los Angeles, but the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is preparing to showcase a retrospective on Steven, which will go live in 2028.
