The initial director assigned to Jaws was Dick Richards, not Steven Spielberg. He was let off because he kept referring to the shark as the whale. 1)
Elmer, Brody's dog in Jaws, was Steven Spielberg's dog. 2)
Peter Benchley, the author of Jaws, appeared in the film as a news reporter on the beach. 3)
Bruce Ramer, Steven Spielberg's lawyer, inspired the name of the mechanical shark. 4)
The initial filming schedule for Jaws was 58 days, but it was increased to 159 days. 5)
Jaws had four Academy Award nominations. It took home three awards for outstanding music, sound, and editing. It did not win the Academy Award for Best Picture. 6)
When composer John Williams originally performed the basic E-F-E-F Jaws motif on the piano, Spielberg believed he was joking. 7)
It is estiamted that more than 67 million Americans viewed it when it first came out. 8)
Jaws swam passed the magical $100 million threshold in just 38 days. 9)
The Ben Gardner head scene was a late addition to the film and was shot in the swimming pool of editor Verna Fields. 10)
Martha's Vineyard was the fictitious town of Amity Island. 11)
Martha's Vineyard residents were paid $64 apiece to run up and down the beach during the shark attack scene as extras. 12)
The Orca was a repurposed Nova Scotia fishing boat known as the 'Warlock'. 13)
Roy Scheider knocked Joe Alves out as he was stabbing some styrofoam (in place of the shark during the final battle). 14)
Producers David Brown and Richard Zanuck spent $175,000 for the film rights to Jaws writer Peter Benchley's book before it was released! 15)