Steven Spielberg has shared his surprise over being snubbed at the Oscars for one of his most iconic films.
The 78-year-old has been behind huge hits over his decades-long career, including ET, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, Catch Me If You Can and Minority Report.
He has also won the best director statue at the Oscars twice over the years – for Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List – but revealed his disappointment over not even landing a nomination for his efforts on 1975 flick Jaws, almost 50 years ago.
In a new documentary to celebrate the legendary shark thriller’s 50th anniversary, on June 20, he spoke candidly about the expectation that the movie would sweep awards season.
‘When a film is on the cusp of being considered for awards, it’s not so much what you want for yourself — it’s what everyone else says is going to happen for you,’ he declared, via People Magazine.
‘So I just understood, “I guess I’m getting nominated.”
‘So when I wasn’t, I was surprised. And I was disappointed.
‘Because I was believing the noise, and you have to not believe that stuff.’
Although Steven wasn’t mentioned in the best director category, Jaws did land four nominations at the ceremony in 1976, and took home three of those.
Jaws missed out on best picture to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest but John Williams took home the trophy for best original score, while the team also nabbed best sound and best film editing.
Despite not winning every category that year, the filmmaker conceded: ‘Oh yeah, I would’ve One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest for best picture over Jaws. I would’ve done that.’
In Jaws, Steven directed a star-studded cast led by Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw, as a team on the hunt for a terrifying great white shark after it attacked beachgoers.
To celebrate the milestone anniversary, the film has been dissected for a new National Geographic special, titled Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story, which will premiere on July 10.
It has grossed more than $475million worldwide, and has gone down as one of the biggest blockbusters of all time.
However, during a 2022 appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, Steven explained that he actually fears sharks are still ‘mad at him’ over the frenzied reaction to the release.
‘That’s one of the things I still fear,’ he told the host. ‘Not to get eaten by a shark, but that sharks are somehow mad at me for the feeding frenzy of crazy sports fishermen that happened after 1975.
‘I truly and to this day regret the decimation of the shark population because of the book and the film. I really, truly regret that.’
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