Steven Spielberg once found himself powerless over one of his own films, unable to stop it from being altered. Had he acted seven years earlier, another one of his movies – one of his best – might’ve prevented the situation entirely. But back then, he didn’t have the control he does now.
By the time he finally secured the rights, the damage had already been done.
Steven Spielberg learned the hard way – Jaws paid the price
Steven Spielberg had a front-row seat to his own movie getting out of hand, and not in a good way. Before E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial cemented his power in Hollywood, he had little control over what studios did with his films. That’s how Jaws, arguably his best movie, ended up with a string of sequels that he had nothing to do with. And, well… we all know how that turned out.
By the time E.T. became a box office juggernaut, Spielberg made sure history wouldn’t repeat itself. Referring to the ability to block unnecessary sequels, he explained (via THR),
That was a real hard-fought victory because I didn’t have any rights. Before E.T., I had some rights, but I didn’t have a lot of rights. I kind of didn’t have what we call ‘the freeze,’ where you can stop the studio from making a sequel because you control the freeze on sequels, remakes and other ancillary uses of the IP. I didn’t have that. I got it after E.T. because of its success.
It wasn’t just about control; it was about integrity. Universal wanted a follow-up to E.T., but Spielberg shut it down. He toyed with an idea about E.T.’s home planet but decided it was better left as a book. He stated,
I have no intention ever of seeing E.T. anywhere outside of this proscenium.
The move paid off. While E.T. remains untouched, Jaws wasn’t so lucky. Its legacy got tangled in questionable sequels, proving Spielberg’s instincts were spot-on. If only he had that power seven years earlier, Jaws might’ve been left in peace.
Steven Spielberg’s daughter Destry reacts to Tracy Morgan’s courtside incident
Destry Spielberg’s first courtside Knicks game came with an unexpected plot twist. Sitting just one seat away from Tracy Morgan, she got a front-row view when the comedian suddenly vomited on the floor, briefly halting the Knicks-Heat showdown.
Sharing the moment on her Instagram story, Spielberg posted a disgusted reaction shot before revealing the culprit. She wrote,
Genuinely so glad hes okay…Honestly thank you for making my first courtside game one to remember. I will never forget this one.
Morgan, later taken off in a wheelchair, confirmed it was food poisoning. He wrote,
Thank you for all your concern! I’m doing ok now and doctors say it was food poisoning. Appreciate my MSG family for taking such good care of me and I need to shout out the crew that had to clean that up. Appreciate you!
More importantly, the Knicks are now 1-0 when I throw up on the court so maybe I’ll have to break it out again in the playoffs
The Ready Player One director’s daughter is no stranger to the spotlight. An actress and filmmaker, she previously made headlines in the Hollywood nepotism debate. Now, she’s made courtside history, just not in the way she expected.
Watch E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Jaws on Prime Video & Apple TV.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
