Richard Dreyfuss says Steven Spielberg is a crappy friend
Dreyfuss is not happy about his portrayal in Jaws making-of play The Shark Is Broken—or Spielberg's alleged role in rumors about the movie's on-set "feud"
Aux News Richard Dreyfuss
Well, Richard Dreyfuss is pissed.
The veteran actor and Oscar winner gave a pretty blistering interview to Vanity Fair this week, mostly focused on his unhappiness with current Broadway sensation The Shark Is Broken, a fictionalized account of the filming of Spielberg classic Jaws. (The play is co-written by and stars Ian Shaw, son of Quint portrayer Robert Shaw, playing his late father opposite Colin Donnell as Roy Scheider, and Beeltejuice star Alex Brightman as Dreyfuss.) But while Dreyfuss (who caught a recent running of the show, dutifully posing for pictures with its cast afterward) reserved most of his ire for the comedic play itself—calling it “as false a picture as I can possibly imagine” of the making of the movie—he was also comfortable tossing some shade at Steven Spielberg and Jaws co-writer Carl Gottlieb, who he apparently holds responsible for the spread (or at least the failure to stop the spread) of rumors about an on-set “feud” between him and Shaw that makes up a large part of their characterization in the play.
“I have enormous respect for Steven’s talent as a director,” Dreyfuss notes at one point in the interview. “I guess I don’t have as much for his talent as a friend.”
Dreyfuss—who says that Ian Shaw never reached out to him while writing the play, although he grants that he has “more than any right to write whatever he wants”—refutes the idea that he and Robert Shaw shared anything but good-natured ribbing during their time on the film, and that rumors that the two men were in a “feud” only appeared some 30 years after the fact. “Thirty years after the film is over, I start to hear this thing about a feud,” he says in the interview, saying he’s angry that Spielberg and Gottlieb didn’t do anything to refute the rumors. “I don’t think they just gave it any thought that it would hurt me, and it did. I have to say that Carl and Steven knew better, knew that there was no feud. There was an ongoing kind of humor between us. If you only saw us on the set, then you might think that there was something—a feud that was going on—but it was never real. Never. And I hold that against Carl and Steven.”
As for the play itself, Dreyfuss says some incidents—a moment when Shaw challenged him to do just five push-ups—were drawn from reality, while others (a full-blown panic attack on the movie’s set) were completely fabricated. “The problem is that they made my character the fool,” Dreyfuss says, stating that he only went to see the play in the first place “to see if it really was gonna hurt.” “They didn’t do that to Roy, and they didn’t do that to Robert. And that hurt because it wasn’t true.”
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The Shark Is Broken, a fictionalized account of the filming of Spielberg classic Jaws.And that’s the ballgame. This isn’t a documentary. Dreyfuss should shut up.
I mean, if someone wrote a play about how I was an asshole, and then they were like “bUt It’S fIcTiOnAl” I would be super irritated. People who watch this play aren’t going to walk away saying “that was funny, but of course it’s not a documentary and I shouldn’t let any of this content color my opinion of Richard Dreyfuss.”
Fiction about living people is inherently dicey. I think it’s important, but we should acknowledge the tension there.
I think, given the fact that maybe .0001% of the population will see this play vs the 50 years of movie viewers who’ve seen the film, Richard Dreyfus should concentrate on his conservation campaigns, and not worry about this play, or about a movie that is pretty much unseen by zoomers
And even misleading fiction about dead people can get annoying. Most of what most people know of the composer Antonio Salieri is from Amadeus, where he was jealous rival of Mozart who even caused his death. In reality the two composers got on fine and Salieri was even a bit of a Mozart fanboy and was responsible for the Emperor inviting Mozart to the court.
All of that makes me think that the way Dreyfuss is portrayed in the ‘fictional” play is accurate. Hit dogs holler. Dreyfuss could’ve just kept his mouth shut. But an ‘fictional’ account comes out, and Dreyfuss is all up in arms about it. Hmm…
But this is the same logic as “if she drowns, she’s not a witch.”
This is a play that most people will never hear of, let alone see. And then Dreyfuss amplified it.
Totally agree with you with regard to a Streisand effect here. But on a base level, I get him being pissed.
Well, a fictional account can still ruin people’s reputations. However, in this case it’s hard to imagine Dreyfuss’ reputation getting any worse.
You know who really ought to be mad? Salieri.
Ben fucking Affleck better stay the FUCK outta New Zealand.
I agree, but why specifically?
Dude got censured by the NZ Parliament for Argo, and rightfully so, for the same reason Canada was pissed at him: basically making out the NZ (and Canadian, and British) embassies to be cowards and near-outright villains who refused to help the Americans. The Brits initially sheltered the Americans but for…obvious reasons…the British embassy got too dangerous. NZ actually rented a brand new house to use as a safehouse when they heard the Americans were in danger, out of their own pocket and on their own initiative, and it was the Kiwis who drove them to their flights. (Fun Fact: Mendez, who Affleck plays as the hero, actually overslept that morning and the Kiwis had to wake his arse up – they were 30 minutes late for the flight because of that. Mendez begged the Kiwis not to tell anyone. Also, Mendez was only in Tehran for 36 hours.)In the movie, the Kiwis basically go “Nah, keep us out of it. We scared.” and turn them away as soon as they turn up at their door.It wasn’t as bad as what happened to the Canadians, who Affleck royally fucked. Jimmy Carter himself said the whole event was “90% Canada”; the CIA was a junior partner. And that’s why name, in intelligence circles, the whole event is referred to as “The Canadian Caper”.Basically, Affleck stole most of the work New Zealand, Britain, and especially Canada did, gave that credit to the CIA and (of course, how else would it win an Oscar?) Hollywood. I’m pretty sure if Jimmy Carter meets him Affleck’s gonna cop a framing hammer upside the head, too.
But he was the bomb in Phantoms, yo!
Case in point: Marion Davies, a brilliant actor and comedian of the silent era, whose reputation still hasn’t recovered from being the supposed inspiration for the talentless mistress Susan Alexander in Citizen Kane.
True but how often do fictional portrays of characters etch themselves into posterity over the real thing? Everyone today thinks Patton was a gruff-voiced gutteral general, thanks to the portrayal of George C. Scott. (I love the performance but I also know it’s not quite reality.)
Richard Dreyfuss is the lifetime walking embodiment of Justified/Raylan Givens’s “If you run into a asshole in the morning…” quote.
I mean he’s also thoroughly off his rocker and at points in his life was a danger to himself and others. At least on lithium all he does is say dumb shit and fall off his rocker.
Literally came here to reference Raylan in the exact same way.
And now I can picture Richard Dreyfuss having his nose broken and then tossed in the trunk of a Lincoln for most of the day. And that makes me very happy.
A well-earned star. Every day is a good day to quote Raylan Givens.
He’s the kind of guy that, had he lived in the 1800s, would be thinking to himself, “I’ve got to teach that Steven a lesson, by FUCKING his horse. That’ll get him good.”
Maybe this is why he never had an opportunity to portray a black man on film.
Love a good Spider Man pointing at himself moment
But Richard Dreyfuss always comes off as such a nice and even keeled person! He never has a bad word to say about anyone!
Imagine how chaotic the set on What About Bob? with Bill Murray was!
It’s on Charlie Korsmo to write that book.
Yeah. Run, don’t walk!
Didn’t he recently go on some huge rant about “woke” people? That really cuts down on how much slack I’m willing to cut him.
Of course. You’re a wokenstein. You live to be offended…
LOLOL. “Woke” people are so sensitive, they can’t even talk about wokeism without fear quotes. Y’all have turned into parodies of yourselves, you weird little pronouners.
That was actually one of his broken clock moments.
In May he was decrying the Oscar’s diversity standards which also seemed like a perfect opportunity for him to lament how insane it is that in 2023 he’ll be forever denied the chance to perform Othello in blackface. Because, y’know, role of a lifetime for an actor like Richard Dreyfuss.
Dreyfuss was the keynote speaker at a fundraiser for my former workplace. He talked about civics, which was his big thing at the time. He was absolutely unhinged, ranting about the collapse of society (this was before 2016 so fine, but just because they’re after you doesn’t mean you aren’t paranoid), forgetting sentences partway through, sometimes slipping into incoherence, most of it totally unrelated to the mission of the non-profit. The speech was thereafter referred to as The Dreyfuss Affair. The general consensus was that he was on a lot of medication for something or other. I guess I’m glad to see he’s…nominally functional.
Dreyfuss has intermittently been on a lot of “medication” since the 60s. He was sniffing a lot of it all through the 70s, including Jaws.
Does this wax-faced fidget even work anymore? All his carping about how wrong other people are, whether its civics, The Academy or playwrights is really past its prime. GO somewhere and do a JOB!
Yes. I got an earful about him from an actor I was working with. In full transparency, my co-worker was our lead, and easily the best number 1 on the call sheet I’ve ever met, so I have a bias. Anyway, my co-worker did a stage play with him, and it did not go well. Dreyfus could not learn his lines, has serious hearing problems, and just wasn’t able to perform.
How’s the whole “making fun of majorly successful actors for getting old” workin’ out for ya, kiddo?
This was a big deal about 15 years ago when he starred in Complicit in London; he wore a visible ear piece throughout the show which was delayed for a week for unspecified reasons widely rumoured to be about his inability to learn his lines. I think that probably tanked his late-stage career along with his… interesting personality.
See, I was looking forward to an anecdote illustrating what a horrible person Richard Dreyfuss was. This made me feel bad for him.
Man, of all the things you could harangue Dreyfuss about, this was a weird choice.My father is 8 months older than him, and went into semi-retirement 15 years ago. He’s been fully retired now for at least a decade. Why exactly are you demanding that Dreyfuss do a JOB!?
He should be flipping burgers at the Malibu Wendy’s.
So he can occupy his time other than futzing about regarding how everyone else makes a living. He’s a well-known actor, he can work far longer than most of us.
Oh, of course, you’re here to help Dreyfuss, not to bury him.
“Does this wax-faced fidget even work anymore?”Well, he is something like 77. He’s allowed to retire.
He hasn’t given any indication he is retiring. I wish he would so journalists would stop asking for his opinion.
What a silly and moronic comment. Yeah, he hasn’t any right to have an opinion unless it meshes with your puritanical view.
As a gay man, I can assure you the Puritans would have nothing to do with me.
Is it just me or does he look like he’s been Benjamin-Buttoned in that picture with the cast?
He looks like he tried to get plastic surgery to look like Paul Newman and it didn’t take.
So obviously none of us actually know the guy, and I have no opinion on him personally nor whatever he believes in…BUT, his quotes here ARE pretty odd. To paraphrase his comments: ‘I am angry anyone is alluding that there were any issues on set between me and Shaw. OK, yes, anyone who saw us on set would definitely think there was a problem between us, and yes, the push up incident did happen like in the play… but aside from getting it mostly right they got it entirely wrong.’
“but aside from getting it mostly right they got it entirely wrong” You should read the article, comrade. He says nothing of the sort… Grow some skin and a backbone, kiddo.
Dreyfuss says one incident happened. It’s a whole Broadway play where Ian Shaw (whose daddy’s career is the only thing he has going for him) valorizes said daddy, mostly at Dreyfuss’s expense. If, as Dreyfuss says, this purported feud that came up 15 years ago (and 30 years after the movie came out) is false, I’d be annoyed, too.
Sure, I get that. But his claim that anyone who watched them on set might think there was a problem too makes me think there is more truth to it than he is willing to admit. But true, I was not there.
“We were just PRETENDING to hate each other on set! How could anyone believe the performances of two talented actors who were totally committed to their parts?”
In fairness, the play sucks.
Bring back the Education of Max Bickford
I’m sure Dreyfuss know a bit more about what went down during the Jaws shoot than the kid who wrote this play, but I’m a sensitive far-leftist so I’ll just rant about how he’s older than me and has different opinions from me while I’ll never accomplish 1% of what he did in my lifetime… But I DO support men being women just by throwing on a dress and changing their pronouns. Because THAT makes sense…Durrr…..
Calling The Shark is Broken a Broadway sensation is probably a bit of a stretch. The reviews have been mixed to poor, with the NYT calling it “bloodless and toothless,” and Deadline said it was “too slender a tale, too gentle, to provide thrills or even, truth be told, much drama.” It’s not exactly packing theaters, and it’s tickets are always half off at TKTS. But that’s beside the point. Dreyfuss seems to imagine there’s no feud and it seems entirely likely to me that he remembers it that way. I can think of a lot of instances where I’ve had to interact with a raging asshole who had no idea they were a raging asshole. Dreyfuss’ behavior often suggests that he’s That Guy.
I’m not sure there’s anything that tracks more than Richard Dreyfuss becoming a cranky old guy. I mean, no one is shocked by this in the slightest, are they?
Richard Dreyfuss was born a cranky old guy.
Are we not going point out the elephant in the room?!We need a Jaws reboot with Ian Shaw! Jesus christ he is a spitting image of his dad!
Having seen the play (I loved it) it makes Dreyfuss actually look pretty good? I was rooting for him the whole time. The actor playing him is wonderful.
and Beeltejuice star Alex Brightman
Uh Oh..
Just here to say GOD DAMN! that looks like Robert Shaw.
Genetics.
Michael Palin, too.
That moustache is working really hard though. He should give it a break.
If any one dude can embody the self-centered entitlement of Boomers, it’s Dreyfuss. Pretty sure it’s the only reason anyone talks to him any more, bc he will go off.
Dreyfuss *did* roast his hideously sexist son pretty well on Twitter that one time. I guess that’s something.
I love how all of the people who’ve never met Dreyfuss or said a word to him have painted him as an asshole. It would be similar to me not knowing your father, seeing something he said when he was upset, and just referencing him as an angry old asshole from that point forward. Some of you guys need serious help.I actually met Dreyfuss at a dinner event about 15 years ago and he could not have been any nicer or more polite. He also loved talking about some of the films he had been in and what those experiences were like for him. But I get it, it’s cool to call someone a dick whom you’ve never met based on something you heard about him. Good stuff.
You met him once fifteen years ago, so that gives you the moral authority over people reacting to his own words?
Indeed. It’s nice to know how well the guy tipped one time, but the man’s persona in public for at least the last decade has been “Guy Who Thinks We Are Utterly Blessed To Hear About ALL The Things That Bug Him”. Maybe we are, but that presumption regardless typifies the Great North American Asshole in the wild.
lmfao triggered
Lol. Person I met once was a few minutes as nice, therefore I know him better than people who worked with.You realize everyone who never met him base their opinions on people who know him, right?But all of us anonymous strangers are super impressed you met him, which let’s be honest, was the real intent of your comment.
I’ve met him, said words to him, had words said to me while being part of some events around the Egyptian Theatre back around the same time period. He was indeed a preening, difficult, ruin-everyone-else’s-day total asshole. So those stories probably circulated for 50 fucking plus years for a reason!But he’s always been troubled and it can’t have been an easy life for him. I’m sure he’s had great days as he’s capable of being super charming and funny too. I guess until someone mentions diversity or something.
Okay, Dreyfuss may be an asshole – did he lie about any of this?
Seems like we’re all missing a point here:In what way is any of this Steven Spielberg’s fault or responsibility?
Dollars to donuts he has “I am decent” tattooed on his ass.
“You’re gonna need a smaller ego …”
this guy has the worst son of all time
I say Richard Dreyfuss is a sour old bitch.
I remember watching one of those “Making of…” documentaries they used to do for just about every hit movie for Jaws. In the interviews, both at the time the movie was made and in the “present day” (I think it came from the early 90s), most of the cast and crew came across very pleasant. They admitted there were problems on the set, but they more of less enjoyed it and were thankful for the experience… with one big exception. Care to wager who was doing nothing but complaining?To be fair, he had mellowed out a little in the interim, and wasn’t completely negative about every aspect of his experience in the later interviews. But he still came across terribly.
I mean these are all arguments someone who really was a little punk would make. It’s pretty public that Spielberg can be a petty, unpleasant dude, but there’s tons of examples of him being a stand-up guy to friends in the industry so… Maybe you guys just WEREN’T FRIENDS, Richard?
As we all know, the film “ What About Bob” had its production/filming issues and Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfus didn’t get on very well.It makes me think, who was the bigger asshole? I am putting my money on Dreyfus. To be a fly on the wall during the making of that film…Now I have to go and watch it. It’s been years, but a damn funny movie. I think that is the true Richard Dreyfus in this movie. What a dick.