7. The Shark In Jaws Was Nicknamed The Great White Turd
Steven Spielberg's prototypical summer blockbuster celebrated its fortieth anniversary in 2015, and Jaws still holds up today. Chucking out most of the source material, the director honed Peter Benchley's novel into a sleek beast, with the titular shark barely appearing on screen. Spielberg is still praised for his restraint in that regard, ratcheting up the tension. Except the reason the shark is hidden for the majority of Jaws was more down to necessity than filmmaking prowess. Spielberg had intended the animatronic shark to be the star attraction of Jaws, featuring it as much as possible, rather than relying on first-person views as he stalked his prey to the strains of that classic John Williams score. That all happened because the shark didn't work. Affectionately nicknamed Bruce, the special effect later took on the title of The Great White Turd, because it didn't do anything it was supposed to. It sank in the sea, its jaws didn't move when they wanted it to. It turns out the reason people were afraid to go into the water for decades since couldn't harm a fly.
Tom Baker
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Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
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