The shark’s not working’

How ‘Jaws’ shaped Hollywood blockbusters

In the summer of 1975, a film about a killer shark hit theatres and changed Hollywood forever. But behind the scenes, Jaws nearly capsized under the weight of its own ambition — with mechanical failures, sea-sick actors, and a young director teetering on the edge of collapse, narrates Variety in an ode to the film’s 50-year anniversary.

“The shark’s not working” became a dreaded refrain on set, heard so often over walkie-talkies that it became a kind of dark inside joke. For Steven Spielberg, then just 27, those words were a nightmare. With three mechanical great whites – all named “Bruce” — frequently out of commission, production stalled again and again. Shooting on open water near Martha’s Vineyard only made things worse. Waves, weather, and wayward boats disrupted filming, and each delay sent costs spiraling.

The film’s original budget of $4 million eventually doubled, and the schedule stretched more than three months past deadline. Universal Pictures executives were reportedly close to pulling the plug.

“We didn’t know how they were ever going to finish this movie,” remembered Jeffrey Kramer, who played a sheriff’s deputy in the film. “There were rumours all around the set that the studio was going to shut us down.”

But Spielberg refused to crack under pressure. Co-writer Carl Gottlieb recalled that the director’s nerves only showed through the state of his hands. “His nails were bitten to the stubs,” Gottlieb said, “but that was the only manifestation of his nerves. Steven knew he needed to lead by example. That meant concentrating on his job and keeping his cool even when everything around him was going to hell.”

That “hell” included not just the malfunctioning sharks, but the cast’s off-screen tensions. Robert Shaw, cast as grizzled fisherman Quint, frequently clashed with Richard Dreyfuss, who played oceanographer Matt Hooper. Their rivalry, sometimes fuelled by alcohol, added a layer of real animosity to their performances — though at the time, it was yet another stressor on a fraught set.

Shooting at sea was Spielberg’s idea. He believed it would lend authenticity, but quickly discovered it made everything harder: lighting was a nightmare, camera equipment malfunctioned, and even simple continuity became a daily challenge thanks to the shifting tides.

The director later admitted that the production seemed doomed from the outset. “Jaws should never have been made,” he told Time shortly after the film’s release in 1975. “It was an impossible effort.”

Achieving the impossible

Yet somehow, this effort yielded one of the most influential films of the 20th century. Upon release, Jaws shattered box office records, earning USD260.7 million domestically and becoming the highest-grossing film in history at the time.

More importantly, it changed the way Hollywood thought about films. Until Jaws, summer was considered a dumping ground for lower-tier films. Big prestige pictures typically premiered in the fall or winter. But Universal, sensing something special, took a gamble. They released Jaws on June 20, 1975, at the start of summer vacation, and backed it with a then-massive $1.8 million marketing campaign. It paid off — teenagers and families flocked to theatres, and a new formula was born.

“This movie changed cinema, and you still can’t go to a summer blockbuster or to the beach without thinking about it,” said horror filmmaker Eli Roth. “So much of the language of cinema comes from this film. [Spielberg] created all of it.”

What began as a troubled thriller became the blueprint for modern blockbusters. Without Jaws, there may be no Star Wars, no Jurassic Park, no Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Key to success

“It’s a great story of what Steven Spielberg accomplished by surviving what was a nightmare,” said filmmaker Steven Soderbergh. “If that person hadn’t made it, it probably wouldn’t have been made at all. It certainly wouldn’t be a classic.”