SPIELBERG ON JAWS
Total Film|June 2020
Step back in time to 1975 with this candid and raw interview from our exclusive Hollywood archives as a 30-year-old Steven Spielberg discusses his iconic shark pic – without the benefit of hindsight.
ADAM TANSWELL
SPIELBERG ON JAWS

on 18 November 1975, Steven Spielberg – single, beardless, unafraid to speak his mind – sat down in Los Angeles to discuss his latest movie project, Jaws. The groundbreaking thriller adapted from Peter Benchley’s novel had already shocked audiences in the USA with a box-office take of $131 million and birthed the descriptive, ‘blockbuster’; but the global phenomenon was still in its infancy, with many international cinema fans still waiting for the opportunity to be scared in their seats.

Though the film’s troubled production has been well documented through the ensuing 40-plus years, this was all news when one of Hollywood’s hottest young directors met with the press to discuss working with real Great Whites, wanting to quit, the inevitability of sequels, and tick bites...

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