Here’s Why The Creator Of Jaws Spent His Life Trying To Make Amends
Does thinking about the ocean paralyze you with fear? Are you afraid of a sharp-toothed man-eater lurking below the waves? Don’t worry: you’re not alone. In fact, people all over the world developed a phobia of sharks and the ocean itself after seeing the iconic movie Jaws. Despite the enormous success of the blockbuster franchise, though, its creator deeply regretted his most famous work. And he spent years trying to make up for what he had done.
A drop in the Hollywood ocean
Hollywood moviemaking changed forever after Jaws was released in 1975. In subsequent years studios followed the blueprint that Universal Pictures had established with the smash hit. The thriller was released on as many screens as possible in the height of summertime. It was also marketed aggressively on TV and spawned tons of merchandise. In fact, history has come to view Jaws as the first summer blockbuster.
Steven, who?
But what was Jaws about? And who made it? Well, the film centers around a small-town sheriff, a marine biologist and a shark hunter who are trying to take down a ferocious shark terrorizing a resort town. Oh, and it was directed by a then-unknown director called Steven Spielberg – this being only his second theatrically released film.
Production problems
The production was notoriously difficult, though. According to CNN, the mechanical shark kept breaking down and staffers were writing the script as scenes were being shot. But despite that, Jaws was an unprecedented hit. The movie is still widely regarded as one of the greatest movies of all time and it won three Academy Awards. At the box-office, Jaws became the biggest film ever and held that title for two years until Star Wars came along.
An unprecedented success
It was an unparalleled level of success for a project that began life only a few years earlier as an option bought by producers on a novel that hadn’t even been published yet. Universal’s David Brown and Richard D. Zanuck had learned of the book and snagged a pre-release copy. The two men loved the story and knew it would make a great film, so they snapped up the movie rights from author Peter Benchley in 1973.
