THE SINGLE SHARK THEORY

Note the change in angle from a similar movie poster, originally uploaded by PinthGarnell.

We were talking conspiracy theories during the writing of Episode 54 and I offered up my only homegrown conspiracy theory. That Steven Spielberg had Vic Morrow killed. A lot of people have forgotten that Vic Morrow died on the set of Twilight Zone: The Movie, but even less know that Spielberg produced that movie, fewer know that he was never called into court, that he was protected by the studios who were protecting their golden boy, and EVEN LESS know that Spielberg ordered the hit, HOLLYWOOD STYLE.

The year was 1976, Jaws was the surprise biggest hit in Hollywood history by a long shot. The record set by The Godfather, who nobody thought could be beat was smashed by Jaws. Jaws was so big it would take Star Wars to make everyone forget, every B studio in the world popped up with their Jaws ripoff, Pirhana, Octopus, Orca, but only one ripoff dared to use...a shark. It was called Great White, entirely financed, crewed, and shot in Italy. And seen by an adolescent named Adam Witt who was obsessed with sharks and shark movies.
Meanwhile the heads of Universal were not happy. Great White was the only ripoff they hauled into court and sued because it was the only one that dared to have the exact same plot as jaws, and it starred as the Quint ripoff, Vic Morrow. Money from Spielberg's pocket taken by Vic Morrow. And Hollywood's Golden Boy didn't take it sitting down. Five years later Vic Morrow played a man trying to rescue two kids in Vietnam while being pursued by a helicopter when something went wrong. The helicopter banked sharply to the right, cutting Vic and the two children in half. Spielberg was never called into court. He had already more money for the studio than any previous director made in their careers, they were careful to distance him from the events.