Signing Spielberg

Once Universal Pictures agreed to make the movie, producers David Brown and Richard Zanuck had to find a director, though there was only one that they thought would fit the bill: Steven Spielberg.

After the pair watched his 1971 picture ‘Duel’, which featured a berserk trucker tormenting a timid driver, the producers knew Steven had what it would take to make a shark attack movie, due to its thematic similarities to his previous work.

The director, who was only 26 years old at the time, jumped at the chance to make ‘Jaws’, and signed on the dotted line.