18. The Shark Was Massive
Photo: pinterest
The shark being massive shouldn’t come as a shock if you’ve seen the movie. That was sort of the point actually. Not only was the shark massive on screen, but the rig for the mechanical shark was even bigger. Production designer, Joe Alves built the pneumatically-powered shark and the rig that supported it. In total, the entire contraption measured 25 feet long and weighed in at a staggering 12 tons! The size of the rig was part of the reason Martha’s Vineyard was chosen as the shooting location due to its fairly shallow water depth for the scenes in which the shark rig needed to rest on the ocean floor.