Richard Dreyfuss didn't really want a part in "Jaws" at first. He was convinced that his latest picture, "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz," would be a big success, and turned Spielberg down for the role of Matt Hooper.
The production of Steven Spielberg's iconic film "Jaws" in 1975 is often remembered as a groundbreaking moment in cinema history. However, behind the scenes, a tumultuous and widely reported feud emerged between two of the film's leading actors, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss.
Richard Dreyfuss has shared a rare post to explain why he initially turned down Jaws. The actor appeared in the 1975 blockbuster alongside Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw.
Like a zealous sailor scouring the seas for the catch of a lifetime, the director hoped to net Academy Award-winner Lee Marvin (The Dirty Dozen) as Quint. The only problem? "He wasn't interested," Spielberg said. "What I heard was that he wanted to go fishing for real!
Why JAWS Was the Greatest Accident in the History of Cinema | On Film
Who auditioned for Jaws?
For the role of Hooper, Spielberg initially wanted Jon Voight. Timothy Bottoms, Jan-Michael Vincent, Joel Grey, and Jeff Bridges were also considered for the part. Spielberg's friend George Lucas suggested Richard Dreyfuss, whom he had directed in American Graffiti.
Susan Jane Backlinie (September 1, 1946 – May 11, 2024) was an American actress and stuntwoman. She was known for playing Chrissie Watkins, the shark attack victim in the opening scene of Steven Spielberg's 1975 film Jaws.
Turned down the lead role of Gen. George S. Patton in Patton (1970) because he did not want to glorify war. Burt Lancaster and he did not get along during the shoot of The Professionals (1966) due to that fact that Marvin's bottoming-out alcoholism was making him unreliable and difficult at the time.
Both the author of Jaws, Peter Benchley, and the director, Steven Spielberg, regret the negative impact the film had on shark populations and the perpetuation of shark stereotypes.
Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss had a tumultuous relationship on and off-screen, with Shaw frequently tormenting Dreyfuss and their animosity adding authenticity to their onscreen dynamic. Despite their feud, Richard Dreyfuss later had fond memories of Robert Shaw, describing him as kind and funny in private.
However, the writing of Quint and the casting of him proved two very different problems. Originally Spielberg had envisioned Sterling Hayden and Lee Marvin in the role but both declined. 9 days before principle photography was due to start on Jaws, Quint (nor Hooper) had been cast.
Several other GBHS students were hired as stand-ins or doubles for the teenage actors to appear in the water scenes and to maintain and sail the boats. Richard Dreyfuss, who played Matt Hooper in Jaws, said he chose not to return in Jaws 2 because Spielberg was not directing.
When the shark attacks the man in the estuary, the man is barefoot. However, when the severed leg sinks to the bottom, there is a shoe on the foot. An editing error occurs during Hooper's examination of the first victim in the medical examiner's office.
Dreyfuss added that his problem with the show "is that they made my character the fool." “They didn't do that to Roy, and they didn't do that to Robert," he said. "And that hurt because it wasn't true." He also claimed he only began to hear stories of a supposed feud between him and Robert on Jaws' set in recent years.
Here are some of the things Jaws got wrong about sharks: Sharks are not vengeful: In JAWS The Revenge, the great white shark is depicted as a vengeful predator seeking revenge against the humans who have hunted and killed its kind. However, sharks do not have the cognitive capacity to hold grudges or seek revenge.
The work of up-and-coming director Steven Spielberg, dealing with pneumatically-powered prop sharks and seasick actors, came to be seen as the first-ever summer blockbuster. Though the film takes place in the fictional town of Amity Island in New York, it was actually filmed throughout Martha's Vineyard, Mass.
“Jaws Became a Living Nightmare”: Steven Spielberg's Ultimate Tell-All Interview. “It was made under the worst of conditions,” the filmmaker reveals in a new book. “People versus the eternal sea. The sea won the battle.”
'Bruce', the Great White primary antagonist, was portrayed by animatronic sharks, while the red herring of the picture, 'Oscar' was the real deal. As Universal Studios busied themselves around Edgartown Harbor filming their fictional shark hunt, a group of actual Vineyard anglers embarked on a similar venture.
Burt Lancaster had made it through most of the filming for the 1965 WWII heist thriller The Train before he injured his knee. It happened on the golf course when Lancaster stepped into a hole, spraining his knee and leaving him with a bad limp.
You all know what I do". Quint's official first name has never been officially revealed. In the novel, Quint dies when he becomes tangled in the ropes of the harpoons he has thrown at the shark and it drags him underwater, drowning him. His death won the Golden Chainsaw in YouTuber Dead Meat's Kill Count of Jaws.
Speaking to the New York Post, she said: “I knew it was a book cover and that was it. If you know me, you can tell it's me." Maher now goes by the name of Allison Maher Stern, after marrying real-estate developer Leonard Stern.
Susan Backlinie, the actor who portrayed the woman killed by a massive shark in the opening scene the iconic movie "Jaws," has died. Sean Clark, who is the founder of Convention All Stars, confirmed Backlinie's death on social media.
