What made Steven Spielberg reject JAWS 2
Hello, Islanders!
You’ve just directed the most successful motion picture of all time and are currently working on a project near and dear to your heart. One day, you are asked to helm the sequel to your big blockbuster. Do you say no? If you’re Steven Spielberg, you do.
It was while Spielberg was in production on Close Encounters of the Third Kind that he was first approached by Universal Pictures head Sid Sheinberg about directing a sequel to JAWS. As Sheinberg was not only his mentor, but someone that had supported him during the tenuous filming of JAWS, Spielberg gave the suggestion serious thought. However, the thought of returning to the water was not a pleasant one to the director. When asked by “The Express” in 2022 why he didn’t return he replied, “because making the first movie was a nightmare. There were endless problems with the shark, and it was an impossible shoot. I thought my career was over because no one had ever taken a movie 100 days over schedule”.
Once director John D. Hancock was hired, all thoughts of Spielberg vanished. Until the day Hancock was let go from the production. Once again Sheinberg reached out to Spielberg, who once again considered the idea. He took a weekend and came up with some ideas that he would like to see on screen and things seemed possible. However, he was in post-production on Close Encounters and had requested an additional six months before he could start filming.
This was not doable for many reasons. First, cast and crew were currently sitting in Florida, where the production moved after shooting on Martha’s Vineyard, and the studio would have to continue to pay them until Spielberg showed up on set or risk losing them to other projects. Secondly, JAWS 2 was Universal’s big summer film for 1978. Posters, heralding the release date of June 16, 1978, were already in theatres. To delay the production would mean a long, sad summer for the studio. I should also note that, according to Joe Alves, and as reported in my book “Jaws 2: the Making of the Hollywood Sequel,” Spielberg asked for a then unheard of $1 million salary as well as a percentage of the grosses. Of course, Universal kept their money and director Jeannot Szwarc was brought on board.
One thing that really bothered me when I researched my book was learning that, once he knew he wasn’t going to do the film, Spielberg referred to sequels as “cheap carny tricks,” which is surprising coming from the man who directed three sequels to Raiders of the Lost Ark as well as one to Jurassic Park.
Words by Michael A Smith. Michael is co-author of Jaws 2: The Making Of The Hollywood Sequel. You can order the book by contacting Michael at OsFanMike@aol.com.
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