'Jaws' Celebrates 50 Years This Weekend - Catch Up On Nostalgia And Fun Facts

It's been 50 years since Jaws caused a worldwide panic in movie theaters that still makes some people not want to "go in the water."

June 20, 1975 will forever be known as the day that changed how human beings think about the ocean as well as ruined the reputation of sharks forever, while also bolstering the legendary career of a young director named Steven Spielberg.

Now, 50 years later, movie fanatics and residents of Martha's Vineyard (which was the filming location for the fictional Amity Island) are celebrating the anniversary of the iconic film's release, while Spielberg and a whole generation of fans are sharing some fun facts and nostalgic stories about how the shark came to be. 

(Shout out to this fan who even recreated a real-life replica of the film's ORCA ship!)

SPIELBERG WAS NOT NOMINATED FOR BEST DIRECTOR

For the elder readers out there, I'm sure you can vividly recall the summer of 1975 when Jaws essentially became the first ever summer blockbuster. (Fun fact: Spielberg was NOT nominated for the Oscar for Best Director. Instead, Miloš Forman would end up winning for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.)

Spielberg would end up going over his allotted production budget of $3.5 million, eventually reaching $9 million, which in the end proved worth it, as the film made over $440 million and was the highest-growing film of all-time until something called "Star Wars" was released in 1977. 

Another fun fact: In a stroke of irony and proof that everything-happens-for-a-reason, viewers don't actually see the Jaws shark until 81 minutes into the 124-minute film, due to the animatronic shark (nicknamed ‘Bruce’) continuously breaking down and Spielberg having to change his filming technique and script. In the end, the director would later tell 60 Minutes that by not showing the ocean's deadly hunter until later, it actually helped build the suspense and ultimately made the movie more successful.

'YOU'RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER BOAT'

As someone who is a millennial and wasn't around for the film's debut until over a decade later, it's been wild to read stories about how the movie caused such a phobia of sharks at the time. Some people were so terrified that they thought they'd encounter a shark even in their bath tubs!

The movie and the hysteria was so huge that even "Mr. Jaws" became a thing.

The rest, as they say, is history, until it's not - as millions of people are still scared of the ocean and what lurks underneath the water because of Spielberg's film.

As I've written in the past, there's two things that one can absolutely never negotiate with: sharks and tornadoes. Until then, one has to do what they can to hopefully never encounter a shark in the ocean - which is why many of us think about wearing a red bathing suit past that first sandbar!

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