Jaws director was told he'd 'never work again' by 'mean' Hollywood star

Wales Online

10-07-2025

Jaws director was told he'd 'never work again' by 'mean' Hollywood star
Steven Spielberg has opened up about the troubled production of his 1975 hit thriller, Jaws.
Steven Spielberg has revealed a tough encounter with a Hollywood star prior to the release of Jaws.
The acclaimed director became a household name following the success of his 1975 blockbuster thriller, Jaws, which was notorious for its challenging production.
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Adapted from Peter Benchley's 1974 novel, the movie chronicles the ordeal of a small coastal town terrorised by a Great White shark and the local officials' efforts to capture the menacing creature.
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Spielberg filmed the horror flick in open waters and relied on a mechanical shark for the scarier sequences. Regrettably, the shark suffered from persistent technical issues, causing significant delays in production.
Additionally, the weather posed problems for the filmmaker, who at that point had directed only one full-length film, reports the Mirror US.
Steven Spielberg suffered major production delays while filming Jaws
(Image: Archive Photos, Getty Images )
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"We're not sailors. We were filmmakers and we were a film company. And we were way out of our element," Spielberg concedes.
"There were times, making that movie, where I thought Jaws would probably be the last thing I ever made before people would stop hiring me."
The Oscar-winning director shares his experiences in Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story, an introspective documentary set to air on National Geographic this Friday, July 11th.
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The National Geographic documentary not only offers behind-the-scenes tales but also includes archival footage from the making of Jaws and interviews with the original cast members.
As Spielberg was attempting to manage his on-set difficulties, word of the problematic production began to circulate around Hollywood.
"I mean it was reported everywhere," states Star Wars director George Lucas in the documentary.
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The director recalls a 'mean' encounter with a Hollywood star
(Image: National Geographic )
However, it wasn't just the media who were engrossed in the seemingly doomed film. Spielberg also remembers an actor warning him that he would never secure another role after Jaws, due to the notorious delays and budget overruns.
"About sixty days into the schedule, and we were already like twenty days behind schedule. Somebody from Hollywood, an actor, approached me and said 'Everybody's talking about you, you're never gonna get a job after this movie because you're irresponsible with the budget," discloses the 78-year-old director.
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He continues: "This actor was so convinced I would never work again, they didn't mind telling me that. It was a very cruel thing, by the way, to do."
Fellow director Martin Scorsese (right) offered Spielberg moral support during the rough period
(Image: Getty Images )
Although he shrugged off the encounter, Spielberg concedes that the remark was "demoralising".
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Despite the setbacks, the Saving Private Ryan director received backing from other big names.
"Martin Scorsese used to come over to the set, from New York," he reveals.
"He'd fly down to Martha's Vineyard and he would just sit there feeling sorry for me and we would commiserate."
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Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story premieres Friday 11th July at 8pm on National Geographic and streams the same day on Disney+