Steven Spielberg looks back at ‘Jaws’ and the struggles that nearly ended his career

When people think of Steven Spielberg today, they think of a master filmmaker who gave the world unforgettable movies like ‘Jurassic Park’, ‘E.T.’, ‘Indiana Jones’, and ‘Schindler’s List’. But back in 1974, things were very different. Spielberg was only 26 years old and was struggling to finish a film that almost no one believed in: ‘Jaws’.

This week, the director spoke at a preview of ‘Jaws: The Exhibition’ at The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.

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There, he shared emotional memories about making the 1975 shark thriller and how it almost cost him his career before it even began.

Steven Spielberg admitted that during filming, he truly thought he would never work in Hollywood again. “I thought my career was virtually over halfway through production on ‘Jaws’,” he said. “Everyone was saying, ‘You’re never going to be hired again. This movie is too expensive, it’s too late, and you are a liability.’”

At such a young age, the criticism hit hard. He believed the only thing he could do was give everything he had to the movie. If this was going to be his last film, he wanted it to be the best possible.

As history shows, that gamble paid off. ‘Jaws’ went on to make nearly 500 million dollars worldwide and became one of the most iconic films of all time. But at the time, Spielberg had no way of knowing that.