Steven Spielberg Watched ‘Jaws’ Alone to Mark Film’s 50th Anniversary: ‘I Liked It’

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Steven Spielberg spent the 50th anniversary of “Jaws” not unlike the film’s scores of fans —by watching the movie. But for Spielberg, the chief survivor of the tumultuous production shoot, watching the blockbuster granddaddy isn’t quite the same experience as it is for others. For starters, he didn’t pop in a Blu-ray, stream, or look at a DCP with an audience of strangers. Instead, he watched a print, and he watched it the only way he could on the fateful golden anniversary of the movie that launched his unrivaled career: by himself.

“I did watch ‘Jaws.’I don’t watch my movies, but I was alone, nobody was with me, and I ran a really good print of‘Jaws’on the 20th of June,” Spielberg told Deadline. “I wanted to see the movie on the day it originally opened [in 1975] and see if I could get through the movie, get to the end of the movie without reliving the nightmares ofmakingthe movie. And I have to say, by the time I got to the end, it was the first time I ever watched‘Jaws’as an audience, not as a filmmaker.”

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Half a century away from the problems that plagued the movie —including shooting delays and malfunctioning sharks —Spielberg seemingly saw “Jaws” as generations of movie lovers have since. He professed enthusiastically, “I liked it!”

As part of a series of events celebrating the “Jaws” anniversary, Universal Studios dedicated a new theater in his name on its storied Los Angeles lot.

“It is one of the greatest honors ever given to me, to have my name on a theater on this particular film lot because the history of this studio is legendary,” Spielberg told Deadline. “I am hoping that every single movie that plays here is a really good movie, but when movies play in this theater thataren’tvery good — which I hope will never happen —don’tblame the guy whose name is on the door.”

At the event, Spielberg also previewed footage from his next feature film, a yet untitled science fiction thriller —rumored to involve UFOs —that has a starry cast of characters, including Emily Blunt, Colman Domingo, Josh O’Connor, and Colin Firth. The film is set to release in theaters on June 12, 2026.

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Additionally for the “Jaws” anniversary, a documentary, “Jaws @ 50”, will premiere on National Geographic and Hulu next month, on July 10 and 11, respectively. The Academy Museum in L.A. will also be unveiling an exhibit dedicated to the movie, complete with hundreds of production artifacts. The museum already has on display one of the mechanical sharks, named Bruce after Spielberg’s lawyer. The “Jaws” exhibit will open on September 14.

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