Once upon a time, I encountered a woman named Jody during one of my late-night psychic binges.  Halfway through our conversation, she shared with me that she was the daughter of a famous Salem witch, Laurie Cabot.

This intrigued me because I had read about Laurie and couldn’t believe I was speaking to her daughter.

I told her I was a filmmaker, which led us to the subject of movies.

To my great delight, she shared this story about her mother and a Hollywood prediction made one Sunday afternoon in the summer of 1974.

Full article by Jasmine Hayward here.

A PREMONITION

Some crew members had found their way to her store in Salem, Massachuttese a far cry from where they were shooting in Martha’s Vineyard.

According to Jody, as they wandered through the store, they mumbled and complained about their issues on set.

Laurie was intrigued by her visitors and couldn’t help but initiate a conversation. She inquired about their work wondering if anyone she might know was in it.

One of the crew members, a rather portly man, replied, “I doubt it. This director is really green. He has no idea what he’s doing. It’s embarrassing. All I know is, I won’t be telling anybody I know I worked on this crap.”

Laurie’s interest was piqued, so she probed the man further.

“May I ask his name?”

“Why? It doesn’t matter. You’ll never hear of him again after this movie is released. If it’s released.”

The men chuckled amongst themselves. It was apparent their faith in the fledgling young director was dwindling.

“Humor me,” she retorted.

The portly crew member looked at his buddies, then back at Laurie and said, “Steven. Steven Spielberg.” Laurie stared at the men in her store for a quick moment before responding.

“I hate to bust up your pity party, but you’re dead wrong about him,” she said with quiet confidence.

The crew members went silent.

“Not only is this movie going to be successful, but this man will be one of the most successful directors of our time.”

She turned to the portly man, “And you? You will be telling EVERYONE that you worked on this film.”

PROPHECY FULFILLED

I don’t have to tell you how this prediction ended. Not only did Spielberg become the prophesied director that Laurie spoke of, but his “crappy” little movie known as JAWS went on to become the seventh highest-ranking film of all time before STAR WARS was released in 1978.

As of January 2018 (the date of this article), it is the 204th-highest-grossing film of all time, with $470.7 million worldwide and the 66th highest domestically, with a total North American gross of $260 million. Not bad for a “green director” whom no one would ever hear from again.

So there you have it, folks. Whether this story is really true or just some sort of fantastical tale told from the mouth of witches, I’ll never really know.

What I do know, however, is that a premonition from a Salem witch in the summer of 1974 came to fruition and, some thirty years later, whispered softly into the ears of this truth-seeking cinephile.

 

Keep Seeking,