50 years of Jaws

To celebrate the 50 year anniversary of Jaws, the famous shark movie, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures has opened an important exhibition.

The film, which was based on Peter Benchley's novel, tells how a great white shark attacks swimmers in a peaceful seaside town. The plot involves three main characters who are hunting the monster down.

Museum visitors are taken through each scene and can even experience the action, as some exhibits are interactive.

The movie was the second film for Steven Spielberg, then 27, as a director. He'd been afraid that it would fail as the movie was both behind schedule and over budget.

"I thought my career was virtually over halfway through production on Jaws. Because everybody's - was saying to me, 'You are never going to get hired again! This film is, is, is way over budget and way over schedule.'"

In reality, Jaws actually became the first blockbuster movie. Sales exceeded $100 million in the US. After several extra releases of the film, this total has risen to over $477 million across the world.

A large number of the exhibits come from the record-breaking film. They've been lent to the museum by many of the movie's eager fans. Jenny He's the exhibition director at the museum.

"And we have over 200 original objects related to the production of Jaws. It really was a cinematic treasure hunt to find original objects used - not only original objects used on Jaws, but also concept illustrations and production notes. Anything that would put the story of Jaws together for our visitors in a tangible, physical way."

The centre of attention is Bruce, the shark. Now, it's the only model that exists of the sea creature which has been frightening swimmers for years. View Less