It Almost Dun Nut Happen

Steven Spielberg's big break as a director almost didn’t happen because the star of the film was a flop.

At the time, Spielberg had only directed one major movie and it wasn’t a commercial success. Yet his talent convinced producers to give him a chance at a big film based on a popular novel. Yet the star Bruce wasn’t making it easy for him. He didn’t make shoots and he wasn’t up to snuff when he did. His skin was bloated. He didn’t handle the ocean shoot very well. He didn’t seem ‘real’ in his scenes.

Spielberg couldn’t however fire the actor. Because he wasn’t an actor or even real. Bruce was the prop shark built to represent the man-eating shark in the film Jaws. Yet it never worked. Spielberg later calculated that during the 12-hour daily work schedule, on average only four hours were actually spent filming.

How can you make a film about a shark with no shots of a shark?

It turns out very well. The mechanical problems with Bruce forced Spielberg to rethink how he shot the film. Instead of showing the shark, he had to imply the danger and in doing so amped up the suspense. It forced the actors to portray the fear that a mechanical device never could. Jaws would become a hit and Spielberg a legend. All because of a major problem.

In James 1:2-4 we read, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing”. We may think tough times and problems are the things that are ruining our lives but they may well be the very thing that will make us. Trials force us to grow, to think differently, to rely on our faith. They are not pleasant but they do produce.

Next time you think of ‘how bad things are’ you might want to reflect on how they can make good things happen. Without trial, we never grow. Without growth, we never become stronger. Without strength, we never last. If we don’t last, we will not receive our reward.

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