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Chances are you've heard a story about an audience member somewhere, probably Cannes, either passing out, throwing up, or having a fit during a film screening. While we might not consider seeing a Steven Spielberg film to be a particularly raucous experience (at least, NOW), that wasn't the case when Jaws was screened for the first time for a preview audience. It's a screening that Spielberg has never forgotten, because of one man's rather volcanic reaction.

Looking back at the movie's production and preparation for release, Spielberg recounted a particularly explosive response that an audience member had to the film. Spielberg said, "At one point, I remember I was standing at the door, and after the death of the Kintner boy, a man got up and started walking out—I thought, 'Oh my God. Our first walkout.' Then he began running and I went, 'Oh, no, he’s not walking out—he’s running out.' I could tell he was headed for the bathrooms, but he didn’t make it and vomited all over the floor. And I just went, 'Oh my God, what have I done? What kind of a movie have I made? A man has just barfed because of my film.' But the great news was, about five minutes later, he went right back to his seat."

Shoutout to that audience member for not letting his own vomit impede his ability to lock in for a Spielberg movie. It's the fact that that man remained undeterred after publicly vomiting all over the cinema floor that gets me. The film compelled this guy so much that it canceled out any sense of shame or embarrassment that he could have felt. Honestly, Spielberg should consider this a badge of honor for his directing prowess, precisely because the guy returned to his seat.

My question is, for anyone who was alive when Jaws came out, did movie theaters not have trash cans placed outside the doors of the theater yet? I won't pretend to know what this audience member was thinking when he was making a break for it. Maybe he was seeking the privacy of the bathrooms (understandable because vomiting in public is super embarrassing). But wouldn't throwing up in a trash can outside be a more elegant solution? Still, who am I to be critiquing this man's spur-of-the-moment exit strategy. We all have our moments. His just happened to unfold in front of Steven Spielberg.

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