Jaws Notes To Chew On

Jaws is a defining moment in cinema as its release was the originator of summer blockbusters.

 

 

The film was shot mostly on location in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

 

The mechanical shark proved difficult to work with many malfunctions at the start of production, resulting in the picture going over budget and past schedule.  This also brought about the decision by director Steven Spielberg to simply imply the monster’s presence for most of the film.

 

The producers of the film read the novel on which the film is based in a single night and independently decided to buy the rights to the story.

 

John Sturges was considered for the director’s chair and Dick Richards (who?) was earmarked for the job prior to Spielberg’s hire.  Spielberg had next to zero experience as a major Hollywood director, having just completed his first feature film, The Sugarland Express, which hadn’t even been released prior to him being named director, and having a TV movie released two years prior.

 

Before starting principal photography, Spielberg began doubting the picture and wanted out of his contracting, hoping to avoid being typecast.  His hope was to move to the 20th Century Pictures film Lucky Lady.  What, never heard of it?  It was released in 1975, directed by Stanley Donen and starring Gene Hackman, Liza Minnelli and Burt Reynolds.  The producers refused to let him walk.

 

One of the cuts from page to screen was the adulterous affair between the sheriff’s wife and the visiting oceanographer.  Spielberg feared it would take away from the camaraderie on the boat in the last act.

 

Spielberg sent Carl Gottlieb, a comedy writer at the time working on the TV sitcom The Odd Couple, a script asking for some input on making the film more light.  Gottlieb sent back three pages of notes and ultimately was hired on as the actor who portrayed the editor of the town’s newspaper.  Gottlieb ultimately became the primary screenwriter, despite originally being hired on to do a polish job.

 

The film had several writers contribute throughout the process and many scenes were written the evening before while the principal cast and crew were at dinner together.

 

The credit of Robert Shaw’s monologue about his survival of the USS Indianapolis disaster is in much dispute, with credit going to Shaw himself, who was a playwright, writer John Milius, who contributed dialogue polishes, and playwright Howard Sackler.

 

Three full-size pneumatically powered sharks were created for production, which the crew named Bruce after Speilberg’s lawyer.  It took 14 crewmembers to operate the shark.  A shark in Finding Nemo has the same name.  Another Jaws reference in Finding Nemo is when Dory and Marlin release a missile from its pod into Bruce’s mouth, just like the finale of Jaws.

 

Charlton Heston was interested in the role of Chief Martin Brody, which ultimately went to Roy Scheider.

 

Speilberg’s friend George Lucas suggested the role of Matt Hooper to go to Richard Dreyfuss, who initially declined.  However, a few days later he came back to Speilberg and accepted after being disappointed with a part he had recently completed and was soon to be released, fearing he would not be hired again.  Ironically, he received rave reviews for his performance.

 

The scene where Hooper discovers Ben Gardner’s body required a reshoot, which resulted in Spielberg paying $3,000 of his own money as Universal didn’t want to pay it.  The scene was shot in film editor Verna Field’s pool and milk was poured into the water to recreate the murky setting that was found in Martha’s Vineyard.