The Jaws Thread

Sarah

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Because we weren't finished and it has to be done @Mel O'Drama

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Sarah

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LOL My favourite line :)

OK This may have to wait until I have a visual aid but I've been wanting to ask this for ages. Do you have any idea what Chief Brody is looking into in the scene after he gets drunk? Is it in the kitchen or bathroom? There are all these wee things that look like matches or a spice rack...it has mystified me for years!
 

Mel O'Drama

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Do you have any idea what Chief Brody is looking into in the scene after he gets drunk? Is it in the kitchen or bathroom? There are all these wee things that look like matches or a spice rack...it has mystified me for years!

I think I'm going to need more as I can't picture the scene you mean.

Is this after Hooper comes round and Brody drinks the wine? Or after he's drinking the beer on Hooper's boat? Or after Ellen's "wanna get drunk and fool around" scene? Or when the men are drinking on the boat and comparing wounds.

Gosh - Brody drank a lot, didn't he?! :eek: And that's not even counting Jaws 2!
 

Sarah

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lol It's after Hooper comes round I think. I'll try to take a photo of it and upload it. It has puzzled me for years.
 

Mel O'Drama

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Do you have any idea what Chief Brody is looking into in the scene after he gets drunk? Is it in the kitchen or bathroom? There are all these wee things that look like matches or a spice rack...it has mystified me for years!

I'll try to take a photo of it and upload it. It has puzzled me for years.

@Sarah

Now it's puzzling me!! I just popped the film in to have a look and I can't work out the room or the scene. The scene with Hooper is all set in the dining room, and Brody stays put. The "wanna get drunk and fool around" scene with Ellen is in the Brodys' sun room, but I can't see anything that looks like a spice rack or matches.

Now I'm starting to wonder if it's a scene in Jaws 2.

If you can upload a photo, I'd love to help get to the bottom of this mystery.
 

Mel O'Drama

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Do you have any idea what Chief Brody is looking into in the scene after he gets drunk? Is it in the kitchen or bathroom? There are all these wee things that look like matches or a spice rack...it has mystified me for years!
Ps it is Jaws 2!!!

Aha. I knew it was familiar when you mentioned it. I'm glad we've worked out it was Jaws 2. :D


The things that look like matches are… matches! :D

It's in the Brody kitchen, and the weird mirror thing that the matches are in is directly over the cooker. So I suppose the matches must be to light the gas hobs or the pilot light. It is a bizarre looking contraption. I haven't seen anything quite like it before.

The spice rack you said about is next to the match holder, also above the cooker.

It's a shame the house in Jaws 2 was completely different to the house used in the first film - the exterior and interior layouts. I especially liked the little sunroom in the first film with the view of the dock at the back of the house (where Brody read the shark book and got scared by Ellen).

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When he eats the girl and nearly gets Sean :(

Oh yes. That shot of the shark just under the surface of the water right before it comes up is really chilling.
 

Sarah

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THANK YOU @Mel O'Drama !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AN AGE OLD MYSTERY HAS BEEN SOLVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That makes perfect sense that it's matches to light the cooker. But I did wonder was it just a lazy habit or some sort of weird ashtray. It grossed me out a bit as I hate smoking but know that Brody smokes so thought it was something he had used for that. A million thank yous!!

Also yes, that is very chilling when you see the shark under the water. You can see his teeth. It's really frightening. 'I can't get up!'. Horrific.
 

Sarah

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OK so last night I gave Jaws 3 another outing. Yikes. I don't know why when I was younger this one was my favourite (briefly). It's maybe because it was shiny. But Dear God I cannot tolerate Bess Armstrong. I just can't do it. OK I love that she loves the dolphins but all the happy happy happy happy stuff and her constant gesticulation really grates on me.

The most hilarious thing about Jaws 3 is Calvin (some damn shark's mutha!)

 

Mel O'Drama

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OK so last night I gave Jaws 3 another outing. Yikes. I don't know why when I was younger this one was my favourite (briefly). It's maybe because it was shiny.

I loved it too when I was young enough not to know any better. :D

The SeaWorld angle made me really uncomfortable when I last watched it. Those poor dolphins and Orca. :(


The most hilarious thing about Jaws 3 is Calvin (some damn shark's mutha!)

He's brilliant.

Oh dear God. The shark reversing out of the tunnel in that video. :mad: All that's missing is the sound effect:



Dear God I cannot tolerate Bess Armstrong. I just can't do it. OK I love that she loves the dolphins but all the happy happy happy happy stuff and her constant gesticulation really grates on me.

Ha!! I thought of you recently when listening to Barney Rosenzweig's audiobook about Cagney & Lacey:

In 1983 (the same year Jaws 3-D came out) he produced a Pilot called This Girl For Hire, which was meant to be a noir-type detective show. He'd fought to get Farrah Fawcett who at that point was becoming a respected actress. She had become unavailable by the time negotiations were worked out.

Bess ended up taking the lead, but she was the network's choice and Rosenzweig wasn't a fan. I think you'll enjoy reading what he had to say about her:

It's a vehicle for a star. As Barbara Brady, Bess Armstrong acted the part nicely. She comported herself like the pro she is. If she is a star, however, it's from the fairly antiseptic school that Julie Andrews attended. Following my first-time meeting with Miss Armstrong, I remember noting in my diary: "What's Mary Poppins doing in 'The Maltese Falcon'?" It was too late for such a lamentation. She was already mine. The battle to get CBS to approve someone - especially someone with some individuality and star power was long and arduous. Ultimately, I failed.





There are two things that save Jaws 3 for me.


1. Dennis Quaid in shorts


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2. John Putch in wet briefs.

(I can't find a picture, so here's one of him in shorts too)

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Sarah

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Hahahaaha:crazy: That sums her up to a tee!! The Mary Poppins school of acting. I had the misfortune of seeing her pop up in Frasier a while back and God that was a nightmare as well. I can feel every part of me clench even thinking about her.

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Jessie

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I'm watching Jaws and Jaws 2 tonight.

Sharks terrify me but I watch the films every year.

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I can't believe Jaws is celebrating its 42nd Anniversary

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Loved Ellen and Martin Brody

Mayor Larry Vaughn is such a jerk
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Steven Spielberg was 27 when he directed the film
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Jessie

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40 Shocking Facts About the Filming of ‘Jaws’
Fascinating trivia to celebrate the 42nd anniversary of this classic summer thriller.

On June 20, 1975, the now-iconic movie Jaws was released, igniting a nationwide terror of sharks that’s still going strong 40 years later. The film also revolutionized the movie industry by inventing the idea of the summer blockbuster (back then, most highly anticipated movies were released around Christmastime). Jaws became the first motion picture to gross more than $100 million and won three Academy Awards (for Best Sound, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Dramatic Score).

Here, more fascinating Jaws trivia even film buffs might not know


1. The movie Jaws was developed from a book of the same name by Peter Benchley. Though he says the book is pure fiction, Benchley says he was inspired by the capture of a 4,500-pound shark off the coast of Montauk in 1964.

2. Benchley originally titled the book Silence in the Deep before he asked his father, the children’s books author Nathaniel Benchley, for suggestions. The senior Benchley sent back a list of 200 possible titles, including the now-famous monosyllabic title, and some lengthier options; for example, Wha’s That Noshin’ On My Laig? The title Jaws was the only one both Peter Benchley and his editors could agree upon.


3. Steven Spielberg, the film’s director, first became aware of the book when he noticed it on top of a large stack of papers in his producer’s office. He initially thought it was about a dentist.

4. Spielberg was not the original director chosen for the film. The first director was fired after a production meeting in which he continually referred to the shark as a whale.

5. Three months before production was set to begin,Spielberg decided he wanted to direct a different movie (he didn’t want to be typecast as a “truck and shark” director). He went to speak with the producers, who knew he wanted to back out. When Spielberg saw that they had worn Jaws crew t-shirts, all three started laughing, and Spielberg said, “Never mind.”

6. Benchley later became an ocean conservationist, and said he regretted writing a book that portrayed sharks in such a cold-blooded manner.

7. Producers knew they couldn’t use a real great white shark in the movie because this breed died quickly in captivity; at the time, the current record for keeping a one alive in confinement was 11 days. Scientists believe that great whites died from depression and self-starvation due to the stress of capture.

8. Three mechanical sharks were constructed to play the part of the great white: a “left” and “right” shark for side shots, and a full-sized one.

9. Collectively, the sharks were referred to as Bruce—after Spielberg’s lawyer.

10. After the full-sized shark sank during its first time in the water, the crew also nicknamed the shark “Flaws” or the “Great White Turd.”

11. The sharks were to be attached to a 16-ton platform sitting on the ocean floor. The malfunctioning arm used to control the sharks was referred to as the “Iron Monster.”

12. The mechanical sharks were such a disappointment, partly because their combined cost was $225,000 (nearly $1 million in today’s currency).

13. The shark malfunction issuesmade it necessary to film most of the movie’s scenes without them. In fact, the first shark doesn’t appear until one hour and 21 minutes into the two-hour film.

14. In lieu of more face time with sharks, Spielberg says he channeled Alfred Hitchcock to let an invisible threat terrorize the audience.

15. Another filming roadblock:The odd-looking mechanized sharks attracted fellow mariners, who would often ruin a shot by steering over to ask what the production crew was doing. It would take up to six hours to set up shots again.

16. The original filming took place off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard during May and June, but Spielberg had to extend the filming by three months because of shooting complications. A local prankster, apparently angered by the outsiders overstaying their welcome, left a dead brown shark on the porch of the production office.

17. Jaws was set to be released over the Christmas season, but Spielberg took so long filming that the movie had a summer release date, which was traditionally reserved for low-end movies. The filming delay is what spurred Jaws to become the first movie to define the concept of a “summer blockbuster.”

18. The crew also lost 10 days of filming during the summer boating season. The first issue was the New York Yacht Club’s Annual Cruise; boat after boat passed by on the supposed-to-be-empty horizon. This was followed by another parade of boats en route to the America’s Cup race in Newport, Rhode Island.

19. The film’s initial budget was $3.5 million, but it wound up costing around $8 million to make, the equivalent of $35 million in today’s dollars. (Compare that with Pirates of the Caribbean’s $341.8 million budget or Titanic’s $294.3 million cost).

20. The production crew wasn’t allowed to build sets for movie scenes on Martha’s Vineyard, save for the set of Quint’s boathouse. Town officials only gave their consent because the crew agreed to build on an abandoned lot, tear down after, and replace everything that had been there—including the pre-existing trash on the ground.

VLADOSKAN/ISTOCK21. A real shark (not a great white) used in filming got tangled in rope and smashed the underwater cage, which contained a real actor for scale. Spielberg liked this footage so much, he decided to change the script and have Hooper, the out-of-town oceanographer, escape during this attack. None of it was planned.

22. The sharks used in the filmwere smaller than Spielberg wanted, so he hired a short actor specifically for those scenes.

23. Spielberg was not originally a fan of the film’s now-iconic theme song. The first time he heard John William’s opening track, he laughed at its simplicity. He later conceded that the music made the movie more thrilling.


24. In an early scene, a high school band is playing a Sousa march. The music was actually recorded by John Williams and his band, but according to Williams, many of the talented musicians found it difficult to play so poorly. Spielberg played the clarinet for the recording, which Williams said, “added just the right amateur quality to the piece.”

25. Charlton Heston was considered for the role of Police Chief Martin Brody, but Spielberg decided to go with a less-known actor because he didn’t want the audience to immediately identify Brody as the heroic savior (based on Heston’s previous film roles). Heston reportedly refused to ever work with the director.

26. Roy Scheider, the actor who did get the leading role, happened upon it by coincidence. At a party, he heard Spielberg describing the scene where the shark leaps up onto the boat, and immediately asked for a role in the film.


. Scheider improvised the now-famous line, “You’re going to need a bigger boat.”

28. The name of the production company Bad Hat Harry, which has produced such movies as X-Men and Superman Returns, was inspired by a scene in Jaws. Chief Brody tells a beachgoer that he has an ugly swimming cap: “That’s some bad hat, Harry!”

29. Jaws book author Peter Benchley makes a cameo in the film as a newspaper reporter; he worked at the Washington Post before penning Jaws.

30. Townspeople of Martha’s Vineyard were paid $64 each for playing extras who ran across the beach and screamed during the shark attack scene.

31. The beachgoers in the Fourth of July scene didn’t need much prodding to get them out of the water when the supposed shark attack occurred: The ocean temperature that June day was a frigid 64 degrees.


32. Cameraman Bill Butler invented a “water box” with glass windows that allowed cameras to be submerged because Spielberg wanted the audience to feel like they were about to drown in the ocean.

33. Jaws was initially given an R rating before a graphic scene involving a severed leg was cut from the film. The rating was readjusted to PG (there was no PG-13 rating at the time).

34. Artist Roger Kastel originally designed the film’s iconic poster. The swimmer in the poster was a model he was sketching for an ad in Good Housekeeping; he asked her to stay a little longer and lie on a stool in a swimming position.

35. While the mechanical sharks were destroyed after filming, the Orca—the film’s famous boat—ended up at Universal Studios in Hollywood. Steven Spielberg would often visit the boat and reminisce about the movie that launched his career.

36. One day in 1996 when Spielberg went to visit the Orca, he discovered it had disappeared. According to Spielberg, a Universal Studios employee had decided to chop up the mildewed and termite-infested boat. All that remains now is the steering wheel, a propeller, and the anchor.

37. In the movie’s original ending, the shark anticlimactically dies from blood loss while circling Brody. Spielberg changed this to the famous explosion scene, but not everyone agreed with his decision. Peter Benchley was kicked off the set after protesting the change to his novel. He later conceded that Spielberg had made the right decision.

38. But Spielberg didn’t direct the infamous explosion scene. Exhausted from shooting, he had already returned to Hollywood to work on post-production, leaving the filming to the secondary crew.

39. Spielberg would later say:“Jaws was my Vietnam. It was basically naïve people against nature, and nature beat us every day.”

40. Among the movie’s biggest fans was Fidel Castro, who reportedly interpreted the shark attacks as symbolic of an attack on American capitalism.

Article found here

https://www.google.ca/amp/www.rd.com/culture/jaws-movie-trivia-facts/amp/
 
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