An extraordinarily troubled shoot shaped the finished film
In the discussion (22)
- Spielberg reportedly paid for the Ben Gardner head reshoot in a swimming pool
- Powdered milk and a tarp simulated murky water
- Spielberg reportedly tried to leave for Lucky Lady before Universal blocked him
- The shallow ocean floor at Martha’s Vineyard supported mechanical-shark retrieval
- The crew continuously dried, repainted and repaired the shark
- Weather, intruding boats and equipment problems repeatedly delayed shooting
- The Orca sank with actors aboard on one occasion
- The shoot reportedly expanded from roughly fifty days to 155
- Spielberg reportedly left before the final shot to avoid a crew prank
- Camera movement compensated for the horizon’s rocking
- Shaw’s drinking, tax-related trips and hostility toward Dreyfuss are recounted
- The mechanical shark was nicknamed Bruce after Spielberg’s lawyer
- MythBusters reportedly challenged the exploding scuba-tank ending
- Real shark footage used a smaller cage to alter apparent scale
- Unexpected cage-attack footage prompted Hooper’s survival in the rewrite
- Lee Fierro reportedly struck Scheider repeatedly because she could not fake the slap
- Benchley reportedly objected to the ending and was removed from the set
- A discarded Quint introduction had him mocking Moby Dick in a theater
- Gregory Peck reportedly refused use of that film
- Adding the head scare reduced the later shark reveal’s surprise
- The Indianapolis speech’s authorship is unresolved among Sackler, Milius, Shaw and Gottlieb contributions
- Shaw reportedly failed an intoxicated monologue take and returned to deliver it successfully the next day
Robert Duvall, Lee Marvin, Sterling Hayden and alternative Hoopers
In the discussion (7)
- Duvall reportedly declined Brody because he wanted Quint, for whom Spielberg considered him too young
- Lee Marvin, Sterling Hayden and Oliver Reed are reported Quint alternatives
- Hayden’s tax situation is cited as a barrier
- Spielberg reportedly wanted Jon Voight for Hooper
- Kevin Kline, Timothy Bottoms, Joel Grey and Jeff Bridges are discussed for Hooper
- Charlton Heston reportedly wanted Brody and resented rejection
- The panel thinks Heston would be too commanding and Scheider supplies necessary unease
Mayor Vaughn’s risks and Quint’s decisions
In the discussion (5)
- Why is the mayor willing to risk lives to keep beaches open?
- The novel’s mafia-blackmail explanation is absent from the film
- One host argues dependence on a single tourist season already explains the mayor
- Why does Quint strand the others by destroying the radio?
- The possibility of seeking Coast Guard help is raised
Vaughn’s reelection, Quint’s missing decades and a possible sequel
In the discussion (10)
- Did Mayor Vaughn get reelected?
- The hosts invent a campaign framing the shark crisis as national attention and shared recovery
- What did Quint do between 1945 and 1975?
- His shark hunting and drinking are speculated about, not established biography
- How exactly was the barrel-and-harpoon plan supposed to finish the shark?
- Should the existing Jaws sequels count?
- A Cobra Kai-style continuation could return forty years later instead of remaking the film
- A grown Brody child could be police chief and a Kintner relative a vengeful mayor
- Hooper could run a research institute or become mayor
- The panel disagrees over returning to Jaws versus inventing a new ocean story
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