5 things you didn’t know about the making of Jaws

While diehard horror fanatics know the classics, very few films from the ‘70s are still prevalent today. With Jaws movie collectibles still being made 48 years post-production, you could say the franchise is still making waves as both a horror movie and a complete comedy of errors. Even to this day, the various filmmaking techniques used are prominent across all films and we’re proud that this masterpiece belongs among our genre. Moreover, let's delve deep into the abyss for some things you didn’t know about the making of the movie. 

Stephen Spielberg was only 27

While this accomplished director has gone on to make many blockbuster films, Jaws was one that started his career. At only 27 years old and about five months of filming, his film and his career would go down in history. 

He was not the first director

John Sturges was sought out originally to direct the film, Having previously directed a movie called, The Old Man and The Sea (1958) it was believed that he would be key to bringing some added realism to the horror that was Jaws. However, adapting a Hemingway book was very different than filming a movie, so he was then reconsidered for Dick Richards. Richards kept referring to Jaws as a whale, annoying producers so much that he eventually got fired over it. Then, the inexperienced Spielberg was given the role.  

The shark has a name

While never stated in the movie, the animatronic shark was such a pain for Spielberg and the crew that they nicknamed it, Bruce. The name was inspired by Spielberg’s lawyer named Bruce Ramer. Each film continued the pattern with Brucette in Jaws 2 and Bruschetta in Jaws 3D.

One of the scariest (and best) scenes was filmed in a pool

Often depicted in Jaws movie collectibles, the scene when Hooper found the corpse just wasn’t scary enough originally, so Spielberg reshot the scene with a small crew in a swimming pool. The result was a jumpscare sequence that terrified audiences. To think that the black void of an ocean was actually a six-foot-deep pool is maddening. 

They tried training a great white shark

Jaws is about shark attacks, so logistically, a shark would be needed to make the movie realistic. Now, having a real shark for some of the b-roll makes sense, but the team even went as far as to attempt to train a great white shark to attack humans without harming them. Quickly realizing that it would not be possible, an expensive mechanical shark was made instead. 

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