at least 20 boats of tourists who had gathered around an area to watch the shark work.
And we had the shark on a huge 90 foot platform 30 ft underwater and at the press of a hydraulic button and pulling a lever back supposedly the shark come shooting out of the water head first.
And this is absolutely happened because David Brown, Dixanic were there watching with me.
The shark came up tail first.
Just tail first and it was like it was like a 25- ft moon.
50 years later, shocking behindthecenes photos reveal what really happened during filming and why this scene was too extreme, even for Hollywood’s most famous monster movie.
Producers Richard D.Xanic and David Brown both came across Peter Benshley’s unpublished book.
Brown’s wife, Helen, edited Cosmopolitan magazine, and he found the story mentioned in its book section.
The two producers read the book in a single night.
They couldn’t put it down.
The next day, they agreed it was the most thrilling story they had ever read.
Without thinking twice, they bought the film rights.
Later, Brown admitted that if they’d read the book more carefully, they might have seen how hard it would be to film.
But their excitement won, and they jumped in head first.
Universal Studios backed them up.
They bought the rights to Jaws for $175,000 before the book was even published.
It was a gamble, but it paid off.
When the book came out in 1974, it became a massive bestseller, staying on the charts for nearly a year.
Finding a director wasn’t as easy.
Steven Spielberg, just 26 years old, had worked with the producers on a small movie called The Sugarland Express.
They thought he’d be perfect.
Spielberg wasn’t so sure.
His earlier TV movie, Duel, was about a truck chasing a man, and Jaws felt similar to him.
He worried about being labeled as someone who only made monster movies.
He even tried to quit, but Universal wouldn’t let him.
They made him stay, and it turned out to be the best decision for his career.
When Jaws was approved for production, it had a modest $3.
5 million budget and a planned shooting schedule of 55 days.
These numbers seemed reasonable at the time, but they quickly proved to be far too optimistic.
The making of Jaws was full of problems that almost ruined the movie.
Casting the actors was one of the first big challenges.
Steven Spielberg wanted John Voit to play Hooper, but things changed when Richard Drifus got involved.
At first, Drifus didn’t want the role.
Then, on January 3rd, 1974, he changed his mind.
He had just finished filming The Apprenticeship of Duty Kravitz and wasn’t happy with his performance.
Feeling unsure about his career, he called Spielberg and said yes.
This happened only a few months before filming started, showing how rushed everything was for the character of Quint.
Spielberg had other actors in mind like Lee Marvin and Sterling Hayden, but both said no.
That’s how Robert Shaw got the part.
Moreover, Spielberg didn’t want Jaws to be just a scary shark movie.
That’s where Carl got came in.
He was a comedy writer Spielberg knew from The Odd Couple.
Just weeks before filming began, Spielberg asked him to help with the script.
Got quickly shared ideas that impressed Spielberg so much he brought him to Boston.
What was supposed to be a small job turned into a full-time role.
Got rewrote scenes almost every night, sitting with Spielberg and the cast during dinner.
They’d talk about what worked, what didn’t, and sometimes even come up with new dialogue on the spot.
Then Spielberg made another decision that would increase his troubles.
Instead of filming in a studio tank like most directors would, he decided to shoot in the real Atlantic Ocean.
People warned him it would be a huge mistake.
But Spielberg wanted the movie to feel real.
He set up his crew on Martha’s Vineyard, a pretty island in Massachusetts.
At first, it seemed like the perfect place, but things quickly went wrong.
To film the shark, they needed a spot that looked far from land, but was still shallow, about 30 ft deep.
They found a location, but it turned out to be a terrible choice.
The ocean never cooperated.
Calm water would suddenly turn rough, pushing the boats out of position.
The crew had to keep re-anchoring the 16 boats, which wasted hours.
By the time they were ready, the sun would move and they couldn’t shoot.
Some days, Spielberg only got two good shots.
It was exhausting for everyone.
Cast and crew battled seasickness, sunburn, and long hours under the hot sun.
Even the locals, who were excited at first, started to hate the film crew.
One day, angry residents even threw fish guts at Spielberg’s rented house.
Then there was the shark.
The mechanical shark, nicknamed Bruce, after Spielberg’s lawyer, was supposed to be the star of the movie.
But it was a disaster.
The first time they tested it in the ocean, it sank straight to the bottom.
The salt water messed up the shark’s hydraulics and caused it to break down constantly.
Its rubber skin soaked up water, making it look warped and fake.
Spielberg was so frustrated he once shouted, “I want to kill this shark.
” Divers spent hours fishing pieces of it out of the ocean.
Filming slowed to a crawl, and everyone’s patience ran thin.
Very quickly, things got out of control and they were already 49 days behind schedule.
Filming dragged on through the summer and fall, finally wrapping up on October 6th, 1974, more than 150 days after it started.
The costs kept piling up, reaching as high as $12 million, more than triple the original budget.
For Steven Spielberg, a young director at just 27 years old, this was terrifying.
He thought his career might be over before it even began.
The producers, David Brown and Richard Xanuk, joked that they felt their careers were sinking along with the malfunctioning shark.
Universal Studios, the company paying for the film, was furious.
Executives kept visiting the set, desperate to cut costs and finish the movie.
All the delays caused another problem.
The release date had to move.
The film was supposed to come out at Christmas 1974, but they had to push it to the summer of 1975.
On top of all the production problems, there were constant fights between the actors often clashed with Richard.
When Steven Spielberg first heard John Williams play the theme on the piano, he laughed.
He thought it was a joke.
But Williams explained that the music had to feel raw and unstoppable, just like a shark.
Spielberg trusted him and it turned out to be a genius idea.
If the scene stayed in the film, the rating would have been bumped up to R, which could have hurt its chances at the box office.
Steven Spielberg, the director, decided to cut it.
He realized that showing less might actually be scarier.
By focusing on reactions and leaving much of the attack to the audience’s imagination, Spielberg’s decision wasn’t easy for everyone.
The special effects team, led by Bob Matty, had worked hard on the shark for this scene.
They were proud of what they had created and disappointed it was cut.
But Spielberg believed the film would be stronger if the shark stayed hidden for most of the movie.
There was another scene filmed right after this one, but it didn’t make it into the final movie.
It was called the paddleboat attack, and it was much more graphic.
In this scene, a man in a paddleboat tries to help Michael, but the shark attacks him instead.
The shark grabs him out of the boat with his body hanging out of its mouth.
still alive and bleeding.
Blood would have been everywhere, and Michael would have seen the whole thing up close, completely frozen in fear.
The man screams while the shark drags him underwater, leaving behind just a pool of blood because it was too violent.
He thought it didn’t fit with the rest of the movie, which relied on building suspense instead of showing too much gore.
By cutting the paddleboat scene, Spielberg kept the focus on suspense.
And that’s one of the reasons Jaws became such a classic.
When Universal Pictures released Jaws, they didn’t just create a hit movie.
They changed how films were marketed forever.
They spent $1.
8 million on promotion, which was unheard of back then because they believed it could be a huge summer success.
At that time, summer wasn’t even a popular season for big movies or shows just days before the movie came out.
The ads showed the now famous image of a shark heading toward a swimmer with John Williams’ scary theme music.
People were hooked immediately.
This kind of intense advertising had never been done before and it made everyone curious about the movie.
They also tried something bold with how they showed the film.
Usually studios would release movies in a few theaters first and then slowly expand to more, but Universal released Jaws in 464 theaters all at once on June 20th, 1975.
Combined with all the TV ads, it felt like the whole country was waiting to see this movie.
And it worked.
In just its first weekend, Jaws made $7 million, a record at the time.
But they didn’t stop there.
Universal also made Jaws themed merchandise like t-shirts and shark tooth necklaces and partnered with a publisher to re-release the book the movie was based on.
The book sold millions of copies making the movie even more popular.
This kind of crossromotion was a gamecher and became the standard for big movies later on.
The success of Jaws at the box office was shocking.
It earned $260 million in the US alone, which adjusted for today’s money is about $1.
52 billion.
It quickly became the highest grossing movie ever at the time, beating The Godfather in less than 3 months.
It was also the first film to make $100 million just in rentals for the studio, a huge milestone.
And it wasn’t just popular in the US.
It earned over $470 million worldwide.
The success even helped Universal’s parent company, MCA, with its stock going up 22% in one month.
Critics loved the movie, too.
People praised Steven Spielberg’s direction, the actors, and how the movie kept audiences on the edge of their seats.
Famous critic Roger Eert gave it four stars and called it a perfect thriller.
The film won three Oscars for editing, sound, and its incredible music and was even nominated for best picture.
Over the years, Jaws has been consistently ranked as one of the greatest American movies ever made.
But the impact of Jaws wasn’t just about awards or money.
It completely changed how Hollywood worked.
It showed that a simple exciting story could become a massive hit if it was marketed well.
This idea of a blockbuster, a movie with big appeal and even bigger marketing started with Jaws.
It also shifted when big movies came out.
Before winter was the best time for major releases, but Jaws made summer the new go-to season for blockbusters.
Jaws also inspired a wave of similar creature feature movies, showing that genre films could be both massive hits and critically loved.
Movies like Star Wars and Jurassic Park wouldn’t exist as we know them without Jaws.
After Jaws, Spielberg took a risk with close encounters of the third kind in 1977.
It was very different from Jaws, exploring themes of curiosity and human connection with the unknown.
The budget soared to $19.
4 million, making studio executives nervous.
But the gamble paid off when the film earned over $288 million globally.
Its special effects were groundbreaking for the time, especially the climactic scene with the alien mother ship, which cost $3.
3 million to create.
The film’s famous five-note musical theme used to communicate with aliens became a pop culture phenomenon.
Interestingly, Spielberg originally imagined it as a small documentary style film about UFO believers, but it grew into something much grander.
The success earned him his first Oscar nomination for best director, proving he was more than a commercial filmmaker.
Spielberg’s versatility as a director became evident in the years that followed.
In 1982, he released ET, the extraterrestrial, which became the highest grossing movie ever at the time, a record it held until Jurassic Park surpassed it in 1993.
ET showed Spielberg’s ability to create heartfelt stories filled with wonder and emotion.
Then in 1993, Spielberg made two very different films.
Jurassic Park revolutionized the use of CGI and became a massive box office success, earning over $900 million.
Later that year, he directed Schindler’s List, a powerful black and white Holocaust drama.
This deeply personal film earned him his first Academy Award for best director.
Spielberg donated his profits from the movie to establish the Showoff Foundation dedicated to preserving Holocaust survivor testimonies.
The contrast between the two films showcased his incredible range moving effortlessly between blockbuster entertainment and meaningful historical storytelling.
Beyond directing, Spielberg made a huge impact as a producer and studio founder.
In 1981, he started Amlin Entertainment, which produced hits like the Back to the Future trilogy.
The first Back to the Future film released in 1985 was the highest grossing movie of the year and became a beloved franchise.
Amble also produced popular TV shows including er and animated hits like Tiny Tune Adventures.
In 1994, Spielberg co-founded DreamWorks SKG with Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen, creating Hollywood’s first new major studio in 60 years.
DreamWorks quickly became known for both liveaction and animated films.
Early hits included Saving Private Ryan, which won Spielberg his second Oscar for best director, and animated blockbusters like Shrek and Madagascar.
Despite challenges, DreamWorks cemented Spielberg’s legacy as a visionary who shaped modern cinema, both behind the camera and as a producer.
After starring as Chief Brody and Jaws, success made him one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood.
He quickly got roles in other major films.
In 1976, he acted alongside Dustin Hoffman and Lawrence Olivier in the thriller Marathon Man, which solidified his status as a leading man.
Then in 1979, he gave one of his best performances as Joe Gideon in All That Jazz.
The film based on director Bob FSY’s life earned him an Oscar nomination for best actor.
It was a huge hit and is now considered a classic.
Despite not wanting to return, Shider played Chief Brody again in Jaws 2, 1978.
While the sequel didn’t match the first movie’s critical success, it still made a lot of money, over $200 million worldwide.
After that, he left the franchise for good.
In the 1980s, Shider kept choosing interesting roles.
He starred in 2010, The Year We Make Contact, the sequel to 2001, A Space Odyssey, and in 52 Pickup, a gritty crime thriller.
In the 1990s, he took on a new challenge by starring in the sci-fi TV series Sequest DSV, playing Captain Nathan Bridger on a futuristic submarine.
He returned to the watered three seasons and gained a loyal fan base.
Throughout his career, Shider proved he wasn’t just the guy from Jaws.
He could do it all.
Richard Drifus also found major success after Jaws.
In 1978, just two years later, he won an Oscar for the Goodbye Girl.
At the time, he was the youngest person to win best actor.
This role established him as one of a Golden Globe nomination.
Drifus also took on smaller but memorable roles.
In Stand by Me, 1986, he played the narrator whose voice brought the film’s emotional story to life.
Then in 1989, while the movie got mixed reviews, it showed Drifus’ ability to handle a wide range of roles.
In 1995, he earned another Oscar nomination for Mr.
Holland’s Opus, playing a passionate music teacher.
The film was a hit and proved Drifus’s lasting appeal as an actor.
Robert Shaw’s story after Jaws is more bittersweet, showed his incredible talent.
In 1976, he played the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin and Marian alongside Sha Connory and Audrey Hepburn.
The movie reimagined the later years of Robin Hood and received praise for its mature take on the classic story.
In 1977, Shaw starred in two more major films.
In Black Sunday, he played a Mossad agent trying to stop a terrorist attack at the Super Bowl.
He also appeared in The Deep, another underwater thriller based on a novel by Jaws author Peter Benshley.
The film was a hit, making $47 million and reinforcing Shaw’s talent for intense roles.
His final film, Force 10 from Navaron, was released after his death.
Although he
