“We could finish it if I get fired”: Steven Spielberg’s Jaws Was “Physically Impossible” To Make, Claimed the Film Was a “Living Nightmare”
Steven Spielberg is one of the most talented filmmakers, Hollywood has ever produced. He is known to have transformed the entire sci-fi genre in the world of entertainment with spectacular masterpieces like Jurassic Park, E.t., and Jaws. With a career that spans over fifty years, the Academy Award recipient can boast about making almost every genre of movie.
Steven Spielberg’s Jaws was released on June 20, 1975. The American thriller was one of the highly esteemed projects of the celebrated director. However, not many people know that the 12-time Emmy Award winner really had a tough time directing the genre-defining movie Jaws.
Steven Spielberg Felt Making Jaws Was Physically Impossible
Steven Spielberg’s Jaws is one of the most important projects of his career. Based on Peter Benchley’s novel of the same name, the reputed filmmaker took the onus of giving vision to one of his magnum opus projects that went on to redefine the sci-fi genre in Hollywood.
During an interview with the media outlet Vanity Fair, the director spoke about Jaws and how the issue of seasickness and lethargy went on to increase the time allotted for the completion of the movie. He said-
“Being on Jaws became a living nightmare, and not because I didn’t know what I was doing or because I was struggling to find the movie in my head. I knew the film I wanted to make. I just couldn’t get the movie I had in mind on film as quickly as I wanted,”
He further added-
“When we got out to the ocean, a lot of the crew got seasick, and once that passed, a kind of lethargy set in because we weren’t seemingly getting anything done. The end never seemed to be in sight, and yet I was the only person who could reassure the crew that there would be an end to this someday.”
Steven Spielberg felt it was impossible to complete the movie because of the sea sickness. Her mentioned-
“Whenever I talked about the possibility of me being fired or the show being shut down, most of the crew was happy about it—this wasn’t a labor of love for anybody. This was a physically impossible chore and people wanted to go home.”
The duration of filming was extended from 55 days to 159 days. Steven Spielberg’s hard work and determination paid off as the movie went on to make a staggering box office collection, making it one of the highest-grossing films of all time.
Steven Spielberg On The Unique Star Cast Of Jaws
During an interview with Vanity Fair, Steven Spielberg was asked about the unique casting of the three protagonists in Jaws. As Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider, and Richard Dreyfuss were not big stars back then, but the adventure-thriller brought them into the media spotlight. Steven Spielberg said-
“I did go for a big star initially because my first choice for Quint was Lee Marvin, but he wasn’t interested. What I heard was that he wanted to go fishing for real! He took his fishing very seriously and didn’t want to do it from a “movie” boat. My second choice was Sterling Hayden, whom I thought would make an amazing Quint. He had an Ahab quality about him—he had done a film entitled Terror in a Texas Town in 1958, where he played an imposing whaler who walked around with a harpoon. “
He further explained-
“I was a big fan of his, especially from the two films he had done with Stanley Kubrick, The Killing [1956] and Dr. Strangelove [1964]. I don’t remember why, but he wasn’t able to do the role. There were other actors who wanted to play Quint, and then Dick Zanuck and David Brown suggested Robert Shaw—they had just worked with him in The Sting [1973], which they produced, and loved him.”
Jaws is still considered as the turning point in Steven Spielberg’s Hollywood career. Jaws is available for streaming on Amazon Prime.
Source: Vanity Fair
