4 Behind-the-Scenes Disasters That Almost Ruined These Legendary Movies 

When you watch your favorite movie, you probably only see the polished picture-perfect result. But behind the scenes, hundreds of people poured their hearts and souls into making it happen. Some sacrifice their financial stability, while others put everything on the line to make their dream project come to life.

Yet, for every movie that graces our silver screens, countless others never make it past the writers' room. But against all odds, some movies that seemed destined for disaster became legendary cinema.

And today we're going to talk about the most shocking and iconic films that almost never got made.

Jaws (1975)

A young director, a malfunctioning robot shark, and the unforgiving Atlantic Ocean.

When creatives get together on set, it means they have a strict schedule to work on. But the mechanical star of Jaws, a 25-foot shark, had other plans for the production. Ironically, it simply couldn't swim. The salt water turned this beast into a stubborn actor who refused to perform.

Thus, the filming stretched from a planned 55 days to a grueling 159, and the budget more than doubled from $4 million to $9 million.

Yet, these technical difficulties forced Spielberg to get creative, showing less of the shark and building tension through suggestion, a technique that would ultimately make the film even scarier.

Spielberg himself reflected on the chaotic experience, telling Vanity Fair:

“Jaws was a fun movie to watch but not a fun movie to make. It was made under the worst of conditions. People versus the eternal sea. The sea won the battle—but where we won was with audiences in every country.”

Today, Jaws remains the ultimate summer blockbuster. Its power over us has not diminished even after almost 50 years, and that only tells us one thing: those trials and tribulations were absolutely worth it.

Titanic ( 1997)

James Cameron 's epic story of love and tragedy was almost a disaster itself.

Kathy Bates told Entertainment Weekly:

“There was a long shoot, and a lot of people thought that it was gonna be a disaster movie of another kind, that it was never gonna make any money.”

The filming was INTENSE. The cast spent hours in cold water, people got sick, Kate Winslet nearly drowned, and the crew even got spiked with PCP (a hallucinogenic drug) that someone put in their food! Yes, we were as shocked as you when we first found out about the last one.

The usually composed Cameron revealed a shocking detail about the food poisoning incident on a Q with Tom Power podcast, saying:

“This is a hundred percent true story. You haven't lived until you've been high on PCP, which by the way, I do not recommend to anyone.”

But just like with Jaws, all those problems somehow made the movie better. The stress, the cold, the exhaustion, it all shows up on screen, makes everything more believable.

The movie grossed over $2.2 billion worldwide and won 11 Oscars. Not bad for a film everyone thought would flop.

The Exorcist (1973)

If you thought The Exorcist was scary, wait until you find out about what happened during its making.

The production seemed to be haunted by its own demons.

The series of misfortunes was almost supernatural. A mysterious fire destroyed the set, leaving only Regan's bedroom untouched. Ellen Burstyn suffered a serious back injury during filming when a stunt went wrong. The incidents were so numerous and inexplicable that many crew members became convinced the production was cursed.

Burstyn later spoke about her injury with justified anger:

“That was a bad experience. I don’t feel that I was complicit in it because I told [Friedkin] not to do it. When I think about it now, why weren’t there pads on the floor, why weren’t there pads on my back?”

And she's got a point. When you're making a movie, especially one that pushes boundaries, safety should still be a top priority.

The Exorcist went on to become one of the most influential horror films ever made. It grossed over $441 million worldwide and became the first horror film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

Apocalypse Now (1979)

The mess that happened during the production didn’t stop the movie’s success.

Martin Sheen had a heart attack during filming, the set was destroyed by a typhoon, Marlon Brando arrived on set severely overweight and unprepared, and the budget went through the roof.

And that is not even a tip of the iceberg yet. Francis Ford Coppola, literally mortgaged everything he owned to finish this film. And we mean EVERYTHING!

Coppola's famous words at the 1979 Cannes premiere captured the madness perfectly:

“We were in the jungle, there were too many of us, we had access to too much money, too much equipment, and little by little we went insane.”

Yet, all this chaos somehow made the movie. All that madness ended up on our screens. It's a fever dream that pulls you deeper and deeper into its world.

The film went on to become a masterpiece, winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes and two Academy Awards. So we guess in this case they had to lose their mind a little to create something unforgettable.