Steven Spielberg about “The White Hai”
Panician and nightmares after film work
Steven Spielberg had post -traumatic panic attacks for years after the shooting of “The White Hai”, a documentary reveals about the film.
“The White Hai” celebrates 50th birthday this year. It was Steven Spielbergs (78) the first big feature film offer after working on television. Since there was a lot of money at the time, the director almost suffered a heart attack, he revealed in the new documentary “Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story”.
The filming on the classic film was difficult at the time and the pressure to perform was high. In Hollywood it was already speculated as to whether Spielberg would ever work again after his return from Martha’s Vineyard, where the film was made. Accordingly, the expectations and frustration of the actors, the crew and the studio investors were on his shoulders.
As reported in the documentary, he regularly called his mother: “Mommy, that’s really impossible. Help!”, Spielberg is quoted.
“When the film was finished in Martha’s Vineyard, I had a real panic attack,” recalled the successful director. “I couldn’t breathe, I thought I had a heart attack. I couldn’t really take a breath. I kept going to the bathroom and sprayed water in the face. I trembled.”
He justified his mental breakdown with an overwhelming: “It was everything I had experienced on the island, trying to hold myself, but also the team.
“I had nightmares for years”
Although “The White Hai” became a global box office hit and Spielberg hit an incomparable career, the nightmares did not stop. Spielberg confessed: “I had a really hard time when I had completed the film.” He revealed that he woke up regularly and “the sheets were gossip wet. At that time there was the word PTBS (post -traumatic stress disorder, note of the editor), and I had nightmares from the direction for years.”
Therapieoot helped him
Spielberg later described how he sneaked onto the film boat “Orca” for years after it was exhibited in the Universal Studios. There he crouched in unobserved moments and sobbed.
“I had nothing to cry,” he said. “The film was a phenomenon, and I sit here and forget tears because I am unable to solve myself from this experience. The boat helped me. This Orca was my therapeutic companion for several years after ‘the white shark’ came out.”
The documentary “Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story” on the creation of the film from 1975 will be shown on Disney+ from July 11th.
Spotonnews
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
