How the cult classic Jaws by Steven Spielberg Was Inspired by a Shark Attack Survivor

Nearly 50 years have passed since the premiere of the cult classic horror movie Jaws, which shook the globe. We learned to dread the open ocean from the movie. Over the years, this Steven Spielberg-directed movie about a massive, terrible shark that preys on anyone who go into the water has gained cult status. Do you know that the inspiration for the movie came from the greatest shark attack ever recorded in history? In addition, the assault survivor served as a consultant for the film Jaws.

Currently 82 years old and from Australia, Rodney Fox is both an environmentalist and a survivor of the most heinous white shark attack in history. He is also a leading expert on the species in the globe. Rodney Fox, a young insurance salesman at the time, felt a powerful force suddenly strike him in the side while competing in a spearfishing match at Aldinga Beach, south of Adelaide, in 1963. Then he had a feeling of being sliced open by swords. It took him some time to realize that a white shark had just attacked him.

During the assault, Rodney said in many interviews that he felt like he was being slammed and crushed by a train and that he felt like a bone in a dog’s teeth. All of Rodney Fox’s left side ribs were broken, and the assault revealed his whole abdomen. His diaphragm was ruptured, his spleen was visible, his scapula was pierced, and his lung was torn apart. The only reason he survived, according to witnesses, was because he was wearing a body-hugging t-shirt that kept his organs together and prevented them from dropping into the water. According to the incident’s eyewitnesses, Rodney’s intestines were lodged in his T-shirt. On his body, Rodney required 462 sutures.

Following the encounter, Rodney Fox began learning about great white sharks to help him overcome his fear of them. After visiting Adelaide Zoo, he later developed the idea of cage diving. Soon, researchers and documentarians began to visit his suburban Adelaide house. Then, in 1973, 10 years after the event, Steven Spielberg gave Rodney a call. After reading about Rodney’s story, he was motivated to film a shark movie and required his assistance. Rodney contributed his knowledge of finding the sharks, running the cages, and giving advice on how to shoot the sharks to match the script for the movie Jaws. Australian directors of photography Ron and Valerie Taylor collaborated with Rodney.