jaw Director Steven Spielberg infamously fought a drifting mechanical shark during the film, but a behind-the-scenes book revealed that the failing shark wasn’t his biggest trouble.
The film was full of extras. Primarily people who lived on Tony Island in Martha’s Vineyard where the film was shot. Several additional actors were thrilled to participate in what would become a historical, groundbreaking horror film. But, for just $2.50 an hour, some weren’t quite as excited about the day-to-day look.
Steven Spielberg has to reshoot ‘Jaws’ due to missing additional cast
In fact, one day quite a few people will show up for a scene. But then he didn’t return for the extra shots. “Except for the thrill of perhaps catching a glimpse of themselves on the big screen, there wasn’t much incentive for people over the age of eighteen to hang out in the cold all day, even at $2.50 an hour. ,” additional Andy Flieger shared in the book, “Jaws: Memories from Martha’s Vineyard,” Martha’s Vineyard Magazine shared.
“One day, a naive couple was kept about thirty feet from where [Steven] Spielberg was directing, close to the water,” Flieger continued. “When we came back the next day, the assistant directors announced, ‘Okay, everyone remembers your places.’ When all the extras had placed themselves, Spielberg looked around, then pointed to a spot on the sand and said, ‘Where are the couple sitting here?’ It happened a lot and was a real problem for continuity. It forced him to roll further in the scene as he would have to redo shots.”
The ‘Jaws’ Shark Wasn’t the Biggest Problem
Production designer Joe Alves recalled how at least the crew had some control over how they manipulated the sharks. “At least when mechanical shards had problems, we could troubleshoot and know that with just a little more work, [Special Effects Supervisor] BOB [Mattey] That could probably fix whatever the problem was,” he recalled.
“But when that bad weather started rolling in on the beach, there was nothing one could do other than play around with different types of filters and lights to brighten up the shots,” Alves said. “Often, though, the weather was too gloomy to do so.”
Some ‘Jaws’ wanted to be extras
Spielberg was not the only problem facing him. Some overzealous wanted to be extra stars. Vineyard resident Will Pfluger said, “During one panic shot, everyone jumped out of the water as if they were about to leave a woman.” “She was just an extra, but stayed inside and started waving her arms, screaming, and flailing around in all kinds of dramatic situations. It was overly dramatic, to say the least. In the end, one of the directors spoke into megaphone and said, ‘Ma’am, it won’t be necessary. Please get out of the water.’ The whole beach was in a frenzy.”
Was ‘Jaws’ filmed on July 4th?
Another issue was cold water. jaw Happened during the summer. But it was filmed in the early spring, long before it was hot enough to put a toe in the surf. Julie Flanders shared, “It was so cold on that beach that the cast and crew were passing in small paper cups to warm up shots of brandy.” “Extras also joined in. Everyone’s lips were blue and chattering.”
