A lot changed after the release of Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” in 1975. Widely considered the first blockbuster of the summer, the film revolutionized the way Hollywood distributed its big-budget spectacles. But, as Bruce Springsteen laments, the iconic shark thriller killed one of America’s favorite pastimes: skinny dipping.
“One of the great pleasures on the Jersey Shore in 1975 was swimming at night, preferably naked with someone you wanted to have sex with,” Springsteen joked Thursday night at the Museum of Modern Art. “Steven Spielberg fucked it up. He fucked it up pretty good. Over the years, I’ve asked myself, ‘Why would a nice man like that, why would he do that?'”
Springsteen eventually became friends with Spielberg. But during their 30-year friendship, including several trips aboard Spielberg’s boat, Springsteen seemed disturbed to have never seen the “Jaws” director set foot in the water.
“You know, the bigger boat they needed in ‘Jaws’? He’s got it, but a lot nicer,” Springsteen said. “Now, this boat is surrounded by the ocean. That’s a lot of water. I’ve been on this boat, and I can tell you that Steven Spielberg doesn’t go in that water. See, this boat is so big it has a pool on it. Steven Spielberg doesn’t go in the fucking pool. I’m not sure I’ve seen him in a bathing suit. But why swimming at night is fucked up – not just on the Jersey Shore, but all over the world – that’s because it’s very nice. The man, Steven Spielberg, is afraid of water.
Springsteen capped a cavalcade of industry titans who took the stage at MoMA and Chanel’s 18th annual benefit film, honoring Spielberg’s decades-long career. Tom Cruise, Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, Cate Blanchett, Drew Barrymore, Steve Martin and Stephen Colbert were among the Hollywood legends on hand to celebrate the director, who humbly described the evening as “a family affair.”
“Everyone who’s coming tonight, I mean, they’re all close friends,” Spielberg said. Variety on the red carpet. “We’ve all started at one point or another. Either I hire them to star in my movie or they hire me to direct them in something else. So it’s really a family affair for me. There’s no one here tonight that I don’t know and don’t love.”
Opening remarks came from Cruise, who starred in Spielberg’s “Minority Report” (2002) and “War of the Worlds” (2005). His appearance was a last-minute surprise, even for Spielberg himself.
“I am very grateful for the times we shared personally. Ever since I was a young man, you have always been very generous to me,” Cruise said. “It’s been an absolute privilege to make two films with you.”
Scorsese spent his speech marveling at the longevity of their careers, ending with a question to his longtime friend: “How did we end up being 80?” » After guests dined at American Wagyu, a scene from “Disclosure Day” played in which Blunt’s character unwittingly exploits his newfound mind-reading ability to avoid a speeding ticket. After taking the stage, she explained to the audience what it means to experience Spielberg’s infectious wonder after capturing a shot he loved.
“You’ll see him come out of the tent with his fists in the air and he’s clapping,” Blunt said. “It’s like the best moment of your career.”
“Disclosure Day,” which saw Spielberg revisit his fascination with extraterrestrial life nearly 50 years after “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” grossed a modest $248 million worldwide this summer. Although the director has previously said he is developing a “great” western, he has been coy about whether it will be his next project.
“I have a lot of things in development right now,” he said. Variety. “I’m trying to figure out what I’m going to do next.”
Thanks to Spielberg and his famous friends, the 18th Annual MoMA Film Benefit raised the most money in the event’s history, helping the museum acquire and restore classic films for future generations. Chanel has supported this annual benefit since 2011 and has been the main sponsor of the MoMA film since 2021.
Previous winners of the MoMA Film Benefit include Sofia Coppola, Samuel L. Jackson, Guillermo del Toro, Penélope Cruz, George Clooney, Laura Dern, Martin Scorsese, Julianne Moore, Tom Hanks, Cate Blanchett, Alfonso Cuarón, Tilda Swinton, Quentin Tarantino, Pedro Almodóvar, Kathryn Bigelow, Tim Burton and Baz Luhrmann.
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