Steven Spielberg Jaws

In 1975, Steven Spielberg's Jaws became a massive movie sensation. Unfortunately, its portrayal of a great white shark as a killing machine with an ...

[similar to other published studies]— that the shark population was notably impacted by the release of the movie. And that is a consequence about which Spielberg has had decades of guilt. Unfortunately, its portrayal of a great white shark as a killing machine with an insatiable taste for humans led to run on fishers hunting sharks as trophies.

The director has shown remorse for the negative impact his 1975 thriller has had on people's perceptions of the animals. jaws-roy-scheider Image Via Universal.

[Roy Scheider](https://collider.com/roy-scheider-beautiful-blue-eyes-theatrical-release-jaws-regal-theaters/)) attempts to catch the great white shark that is attacking beachgoers at a summer resort town. Until his death at the age of 65 in 2006, Bentley dedicated his life post-book and film to campaigning for the protection of sharks. “I actually saw a big change happen in the public and scientific perception of sharks with [Peter Benchley’s book](https://collider.com/jaws-differences-between-book-and-film/) Jaws was published and then subsequently made into a film.” He explained that this was due to the book and film’s portrayal of sharks being vengeful with an intention to kill particular individuals. This comes after the late Jaws author, [Peter Benchley](https://collider.com/best-movies-based-on-true-stories/), on whose novel the film was based, expressed his regret in writing the novel. “Jaws was a turning point for great white sharks,” fish curator at the Natural History Museum in London, Oliver Crimmen, said in a “I really, truly regret that.” When asked how he would react if he was in a situation where sharks circled him, he explained that he does not fear sharks for the perceived threat they pose, but that they would seek retribution for the damage he caused them.

That's one of the things I still fear—not to get eaten by a shark, but that sharks are somehow mad at me,” the director said in a recent interview.

(Since the early 1970s the global population of sharks and rays has dropped by 71% due to fishing, [Best Books](https://www.vanityfair.com/style/photos/2022/12/best-books-of-2022?itm_content=footer-recirc&itm_campaign=more-great-stories-122022)of 2022 [VF’s Most-Read Stories](https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2022/12/most-read-vanity-fair-stories-2022?itm_content=footer-recirc&itm_campaign=more-great-stories-122022)This Year “[Alfred] Hitchcock did that and I think Hitchcock was a tremendous guide for me in the way he was able to scare you without really seeing anything.” Spielberg then called it “good fortune” that the film’s mechanical shark “kept breaking,” adding, “It was my good luck, and I think it’s the audience’s good luck too, because it’s a scarier movie without seeing so much of the shark.” [Poisoned the Titanic Cast and Crew’s Lunch](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/12/titanic-pcp-chowder?itm_content=footer-recirc&itm_campaign=more-great-stories-122022)With PCP? “We believed that sharks actually attacked boats; we believed that they actively sought out human prey. [Prince William Won’t Speak to](https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2022/12/why-prince-william-wont-speak-to-prince-harry?itm_content=footer-recirc&itm_campaign=more-great-stories-122022)Prince Harry [Kamala Harris](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/12/kamala-harris-molly-jong-fast-interview-roe-immmigration?itm_content=footer-recirc&itm_campaign=more-great-stories-122022)on a Very Turbulent Year in America I really, truly regret that.” [The White Lotus Season 3](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/12/the-white-lotus-season-3-everything-we-know-so-far?itm_content=footer-recirc&itm_campaign=more-great-stories-122022)—So Far “I had to be resourceful in figuring out how to create suspense and terror without seeing the shark itself,” he explained. We believed that their numbers were infinite and the threat they posed incalculable. When asked about Jaws, Spielberg recalled the ways in which he was able to incite fear while rarely showing any sharks.

But, there's one famous movie from his filmography about which he has a very particular regret. In 1975, Spielberg's film Jaws, a thriller about the hunt for a ...

](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-makes-people-so-afraid-of-sharks-jaws-scientists/) Some viewers walked away from the movie believing that sharks could be vengeful and seek out humans to kill. In 2015, Oliver Crimmen from London's Natural History Museum told the BBC, "Jaws was a turning point for great white sharks. "Not to get eaten by a shark, but that sharks are somehow mad at me for the feeding frenzy of crazy sport fishermen that happened after 1975." Burgess added, "You didn't have to have a fancy boat or gear—an average Joe could catch big fish, and there was no remorse, since there was this mindset that they were man-killers." The movie was a massive hit when it was released in 1975 and is considered to be the first blockbuster movie. No one appreciates how vulnerable they are to destruction," he Some were inspired to hunt sharks themselves and many others were given a misperception of sharks and their behavior. The threat of Jaws' deadly shark stuck with a portion of the movie's large audience. In the interview, Spielberg was asked how he would feel if his fictional desert island was surrounded by sharks. In 1975, Spielberg's film [Jaws](https://bestlifeonline.com/biggest-summer-blockbuster-every-year/), a thriller about the hunt for a great white shark attacking citizens of a New England town, was released and went on to be a major hit. [Steven Spielberg](https://bestlifeonline.com/julia-roberts-steven-spielberg-feud-news/) has directed a number of iconic movies during his career, from E.T. to Indiana Jones to [ Jurassic Park](https://bestlifeonline.com/jurassic-park-age-gap-news/).

Steven Spielberg "truly regrets" making Jaws as he believes it drove a frenzy of shark killings.

resort added he hates the idea it painted sharks as man-eaters. Article content

Director Steven Spielberg is apologizing for the impact his 1975 classic movie "Jaws" had on the decline of the shark population 47 years after its release.

[CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP](https://www.foxnews.com/apps-products?pid=AppArticleLink) [Peter Benchley](https://www.foxnews.com/category/entertainment/celebrity-news) told the BBC in 2015. [Hollywood blockbuster](https://www.foxnews.com/category/entertainment) is about a New England beach town attempting to fight off a great white shark killing tourists and beachgoers.

Steven Spielberg's Jaws is inarguably one of the most beloved films in history, and despite the countless ways in which the movie has left a positive ...

The original story features a great white shark of monstrous and exaggerated proportions targeting a small beach community in New England, killing a number of beachgoers. "That's one of the things I still fear. While there might not be concrete data on the negative impact the film has had on sharks directly, his adaptation of the Peter Benchley novel of the same name took a number of liberties about sharks to tell a riveting story, with decades of viewers misconstruing fiction as fact.