Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford
Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford
Pushkin Industries
The Shark That Ate Hollywood: Jaws at 50
38 minutes Posted Jun 20, 2025 at 4:01 am.
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Show notes

Steven Spielberg thought his career was finished. He was behind schedule, his actors were fighting, the crew were mutinous and worst of all, his shark was broken. It looked like Jaws was destined for failure, but the movie that came out defined the Hollywood blockbuster. In this special episode celebrating 50 years of Jaws, we take lessons from the greatest monster movie that almost wasn't made.

Thanks to Alastair Greig for additional music.

For a full list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com.

 

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