Steven Spielberg Reflects on JAWS at Academy Museum Exhibit: “It Cost Me a Pound of Flesh, but Gave Me a Ton of Career”
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles has officially opened its doors to Jaws: The Exhibition, the largest showcase ever dedicated to Steven Spielberg’s groundbreaking 1975 thriller.
On Wednesday night, Spielberg showed up to introduce the exhibit, sharing candid stories, memories, and a whole lot of gratitude for the movie that changed his life.
The evening began with museum president Amy Homma welcoming guests, followed by a live performance of John Williams’ legendary theme by the Hollywood Scoring Orchestra. Spielberg then took the podium and admitted he came just as unprepared as he did when making Jaws.
“Because I didn’t come prepared in 1974 to make ‘Jaws’ — or not prepared well enough — I decided to risk it again and not come prepared with any remarks today to talk to you about, so I’m empty-handed except with a collection of memories stimulated just in the last hour and a half by walking through the exhibition that they have so ingeniously assembled.”
The new exhibition features more than 200 artifacts from the film, many never seen before by the public. Spielberg was especially amused by the fact that even seemingly small props have survived.
“I mean, why would anybody, when we shot the opening scene of Chrissy Watkins being taken by the shark and we had a buoy floating in the water, know to take the buoy it home and sit on it for 50 years and then loan it to the Academy? How did they know?
“I didn’t know. I thought my career was virtually over halfway through production on ‘Jaws’ because everybody was saying to me, ‘You are never going to get hired again.’”
Spielberg, just 26 years old when filming began on Martha’s Vineyard, remembered the challenges of working at sea. “I thought that was going to go swimmingly, and I had really no idea that the second you tempt Mother Nature and tempt fate, everything starts to conspire against you.”
Production ran 100 days over schedule with constant rewrites from Carl Gottlieb, seasick crew members, and the infamous mechanical shark, nicknamed Bruce, that barely worked in saltwater. But Spielberg recalled how determination kept everyone going. “The film was 100 days over schedule. We shot 158 days, but nobody wanted to quit.”
Despite the chaos, Jaws went on to become a phenomenon, winning three Academy Awards, scoring a Best Picture nomination, and launching the modern blockbuster era. Spielberg reflected:
“The camaraderie that happens when you’re just trying to survive something, it brought all of us closer together. I’ve never been closer to a crew or a cast until many years later, but this was the ultimate example that when you work as a team, you can actually get the ball across the finish line. I’m very proud of the movie. The film certainly cost me a pound of flesh, but gave me a ton of career.”
Hosted in the museum’s Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg Gallery, Jaws: The Exhibition takes visitors through six sections inspired by the film’s three-act structure.
Over 200 items are on display, including the iconic shark fin, the severed head prop, and the “Amity Island Welcomes You” sign. Fans can explore interactive elements like a camera setup to recreate the famous dolly zoom, a hands-on animatronic version of Bruce, and a music station where you can play Williams’ two haunting notes.
Academy Museum senior curator Jenny He explained, “The six sections take you through from act one to the final act of the film. It’s really interesting to take a film that has been so well known and give our museum visitors a new way to experience it. Instead of just telling you the stories behind ‘Jaws,’ we’re inviting you to experience it in an exhibition format.”
The exhibit also includes a recreation of the Orca vessel and ties in the larger Jaws legacy that continues to influence filmmaking today. Of course, one of the last surviving Bruce models already hangs permanently from the museum’s ceiling, making this exhibit feel like a natural extension.
50 years later, Jaws remains a cultural force. Its 50th anniversary rerelease just pulled in $8.1 million at the box office last weekend, proving that the film’s bite is as strong as ever.
Spielberg’s reflections at the Academy Museum remind us how the film that nearly sank his career ended up redefining Hollywood forever. Jaws: The Exhibition officially opens to the public this Sunday and runs through July 26.
Source: Variety