Embarrassing moments in professional settings are practically universal experiences, from inadvertently expressing affection to a business contact, to making typos in crucial emails, to even spilling a drink on a laptop containing vital files. These mishaps, while cringe-inducing, are part and parcel of navigating the professional world. However, few blunders can quite compare to the spectacle of getting one’s head trapped in a mechanical shark—an ordeal reportedly endured by none other than George Lucas, the visionary behind Star Wars.
Legend has it that during a visit to the set of Steven Spielberg’s iconic film Jaws, Lucas, accompanied by esteemed colleagues Martin Scorsese and John Milius, encountered “Bruce the Shark,” the formidable mechanical star of the film. Ever the tech enthusiast, Lucas couldn’t resist the temptation to investigate the inner workings of the creature, given his background as the founder of Industrial Light and Magic, a leading visual effects company.
Seizing an opportune moment, Spielberg and his cohorts decided to play a prank on Lucas, playfully closing the shark’s jaws around his head. However, what began as a lighthearted jest quickly turned into a panic-inducing situation when the mechanical shark malfunctioned, ensnaring Lucas within its jaws. Despite their best efforts, Spielberg and his crew struggled to extricate Lucas from the predicament, fearing they had irreparably damaged the expensive prop.
Ultimately, they managed to free Lucas from the mechanical jaws, but not without some trepidation over the potential repercussions of their misadventure. Little did they know that this incident would foreshadow Spielberg’s own trials and tribulations with the temperamental animatronic sharks during the filming of Jaws. Infamously prone to malfunction, the mechanical sharks presented numerous challenges for Spielberg, forcing him to rethink his approach to filming and ultimately leading to the decision to limit their on-screen appearances.
While the tale of Lucas’s entanglement with the mechanical shark has become the stuff of cinematic lore, it’s worth noting that the veracity of the story remains unconfirmed, as none of the individuals involved have publicly addressed it. Nevertheless, it endures as a tantalizing anecdote, adding a dash of whimsy to the behind-the-scenes drama of one of cinema’s most celebrated thrillers.