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The nighttime boat sequence, Indianapolis speech and ending

Bill Simmons: The opening attack and the diving discovery of a head are honorable mentions.

Bill Simmons: The beach attack, son mimicking his father, Indianapolis speech, Quint’s death and final shark confrontation are nominated.

You’re going to need a bigger boat

Chris Ryan: The bigger-boat line is the leading choice, with its frequent we-versus-you misquotation noted.

The film

Jaws (1975)

Directed by Steven Spielberg · Thriller

124 minutes [ 2 ]

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Everything from the episode

In the order the hosts got to it. Open a row for the discussion.

27:59

Most Rewatchable Scene

The nighttime boat sequence, Indianapolis speech and ending

The nighttime boat sequence, Indianapolis speech and ending

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:27:59Read transcript
  • The opening attack and the diving discovery of a head are honorable mentions. — Bill Simmons
  • The beach attack, son mimicking his father, Indianapolis speech, Quint’s death and final shark confrontation are nominated. — Bill Simmons
  • The wine visit is an additional favorite for the exhausted chief and the three-way domestic dynamic. — Chris Ryan
  • The town meeting and first Quint appearance are nominated, with praise for the mayor’s scenes. — Sean Fennessey
  • Chris Ryan chooses everything on the boat after sunset, including the Indianapolis speech. — Chris Ryan
  • The Indianapolis speech authorship remains unresolved: playwright William Sackler [observed name] is credited with its premise, while Milius, Shaw and on-set rewriter Gottlieb are also discussed. — Sean Fennessey
  • A reported failed intoxicated take was followed by an electrifying next-day performance. — Bill Simmons
  • Shaw reportedly entered the casting discussion because the producers admired his work in The Sting. — Sean Fennessey
  • The final stretch from Quint’s death through the shark’s defeat is a favorite, while the father-son scene remains a personal one-scene choice. — Bill Simmons
31:53

Half-Assed Internet Research

An extraordinarily troubled shoot shaped the finished film

An extraordinarily troubled shoot shaped the finished film

In the discussion (23)
Approx. transcript time · 00:31:53Read transcript
  • Spielberg reportedly paid for the additional floating-head scare himself, filming a model in a pool clouded with powdered milk. — Bill Simmons
  • Spielberg reportedly tried to leave Jaws for Lucky Lady but was blocked. The discussion names its director as Stanley Donnan in the transcript and its cast as Liza Minnelli, Burt Reynolds and Gene Hackman, calls it a hit that has become obscure, and says Lucas recruited its British crew for Star Wars. — Sean Fennessey
  • Shallow ocean depth allowed recovery of the mechanical shark, which required continuous maintenance. — Chris Ryan
  • Spielberg reportedly regretted not using a tank, while the speakers defend the real ocean as essential to the movie. — Bill Simmons
  • Unwanted boats, soaked equipment and a sinking vessel contributed to a shoot expanding far beyond its schedule. — Bill Simmons
  • A reported anticipated crew prank prompted Spielberg to leave before the final shot. — Bill Simmons
  • The Making of Jaws is strongly recommended for its extensive interviews and production history. — Sean Fennessey
  • Visions of Light is cited for Michael Chapman’s account of rejecting fixed tripod shots because tilting boat horizons would make audiences sick, leading to fluid handheld work. The speaker is uncertain whether Chapman was Jaws’s camera operator and connects him with later Raging Bull cinematography. — Chris Ryan
  • Shaw’s drinking and antagonism toward Dreyfuss are described through production accounts and documentary recollections. — Bill Simmons
  • A reported escalating cash dare to jump from the mast ended when Spielberg intervened to protect the actor needed for filming. — Bill Simmons
  • The mechanical shark was reportedly named Bruce after Spielberg’s lawyer. — Bill Simmons
  • The tracking-and-zoom shot is admired as iconic, with concern that repeating it now would feel clichéd.
  • Mythbusters reportedly found that shooting the tank would not cause the film’s explosion.
  • A writer whose surname is uncertain in the transcript, heard as Gabbler or Gables, is credited with interpreting Dreyfuss as science, Quint as spiritualism and Brody as the common man. The speakers find the spiritualism label amusing and call the interpretation overthinking while enjoying the idea that the common man succeeds. — Bill Simmons
  • The Taylors reportedly used a smaller diver and cage to make real shark footage look proportionally larger. — Bill Simmons
  • Footage of an empty cage attack reportedly led to Hooper surviving; the shark’s accidental snag also entered the rewritten scene. — Sean Fennessey
  • Mrs. Kintner’s performer reportedly struck the actor for real across seventeen takes because a fake slap was difficult. — Bill Simmons
  • Benchley reportedly objected to the tank climax and was removed from the set; he also appears as a reporter. — Bill Simmons
  • A proposed Quint introduction mocking Moby Dick was abandoned when Peck reportedly withheld permission because he disliked his performance. — Bill Simmons
  • The extra head scare reportedly weakened the later shark scare, prompting a single-major-scare lesson; the speakers question whether that holds in the trailer-heavy present. — Bill Simmons
  • The reshoot reportedly cost Spielberg three thousand dollars; a tarp helped cover the milk-clouded pool. — Bill Simmons
  • The filming schedule went from 52 days to 155 days. — Bill Simmons
  • Shaw reportedly kept fleeing back to Canada because staying in the United States too long would mean paying taxes. — Bill Simmons
34:47

What’s Aged the Best?

John Williams’s score, concealed shark and summer-town atmosphere

John Williams’s score, concealed shark and summer-town atmosphere

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:34:47Read transcript
  • The score, Quint, withheld shark views and widescreen home presentation are opening nominations. — Bill Simmons
  • The beach town’s compressed summer economy creates excitement and claustrophobia. — Chris Ryan
  • A lifeguard memory and Brandon’s 90210 beach-club summer illustrate how accurately the movie captures the season’s arc. — Chris Ryan
  • Amity evokes several modest East Coast resort communities and their mixture of openness and confinement. — Sean Fennessey
  • Small houses and the moving camera preserve a less wealthy version of those towns. — Sean Fennessey
  • The two-note music and rarely seen shark are praised, with technical failure credited for forcing the latter approach. — Bill Simmons
  • The summer atmosphere and music are the explicit closing choices. — Bill Simmons
40:13

What’s Aged the Worst?

The mechanical shark and limited representation

The mechanical shark and limited representation

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:40:13Read transcript
  • Visible mechanical-shark shots prompt discussion of a possible digital repair, while the chief’s reaction is defended as more important than the effect.
  • The shark during Quint’s death is criticized as visibly artificial.
  • The absence of minorities stands out; a hypothetical remake might cast a Black Hooper or Brody, while the fictional town’s demographics are offered as a qualification. — Bill Simmons
  • The limited roles for unattached women and the masculine focus are noted without declaring the film broadly offensive. — Sean Fennessey
42:42

Casting What-Ifs

Robert Duvall, Lee Marvin, Sterling Hayden and alternative Hoopers

Robert Duvall, Lee Marvin, Sterling Hayden and alternative Hoopers

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:42:42Read transcript
  • Duvall reportedly wanted Quint rather than Brody, but was considered too young for Quint. — Bill Simmons
  • Duvall as Brody draws mixed reactions, including disagreement about whether he seems New York enough. — Bill Simmons
  • Marvin and Hayden reportedly turned down Quint; Hayden is received enthusiastically. — Bill Simmons
  • Reed is another reported Quint alternative; the proposed Voight Hooper casting prompts relief that it did not happen. — Bill Simmons
  • Kline as Hooper is considered workable. — Bill Simmons
  • Heston is considered too commanding for Brody; Bottoms, Gray and Bridges are Hooper possibilities, with Gray judged strange. — Sean Fennessey
  • Heston reportedly resented the rejection and said he would not work with Spielberg. — Bill Simmons
  • Hayden’s tax situation is given as the reason he could not take Quint. — Bill Simmons
46:17

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Murray Hamilton as Mayor Vaughn

Murray Hamilton as Mayor Vaughn

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:46:17Read transcript
  • Quint is excluded for appearing too much; Mrs. Kintner and the discovered head are honorable mentions. — Bill Simmons
  • Hamilton as the mayor is the clear selection. — Bill Simmons
  • The ferry introduction, autopsy objection and panic-versus-business speech are praised.
  • Spielberg reportedly hired Hamilton because he loved him in The Graduate; Doris Day films, The Hustler, an FBI story with Jimmy Stewart, The Drowning Pool, Rich Man, Poor Man and extensive television work are recalled from Hamilton’s career. — Sean Fennessey
49:50

Picking Nits

Mayor Vaughn’s risks and Quint’s decisions

Mayor Vaughn’s risks and Quint’s decisions

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:49:50Read transcript
  • The mayor’s willingness to risk deaths for beach business is questioned, with a defense based on the town’s compressed tourist season. — Chris Ryan
  • The objection returns alongside joking support for the mayor’s pro-business platform. — Sean Fennessey
  • Quint’s destruction of the radio traps the others in a dangerous mission when outside help would be preferable. — Chris Ryan
1:08:43

Apex Mountain

No affirmative selection

No affirmative selection

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:08:43Read transcript
  • Scheider’s Jaws breakthrough is defended as his career peak: a recognizable supporting star becomes a lead in the biggest movie. The case for All That Jazz cites an Oscar nomination, a signature late role and carrying the whole film; this prompts a distinction between career power and best performance. — Bill Simmons
  • Shaw’s peak is disputed. A Man for All Seasons is called his best; From Russia with Love receives praise followed by a more reserved response. The Sting is praised repeatedly, while another response prefers Shaw in Jaws and points to Quint’s city-hands scene. — Chris Ryan
  • Close Encounters leads the Dreyfuss choices. The unclear title transcribed as Mr. Hothotapus is loved but explicitly rejected as the answer. The Goodbye Girl is considered because of Oscar success while dismissed as a poor romantic comedy that nobody would revisit. His What About Bob performance receives praise. — Bill Simmons
  • The debate explicitly distinguishes career power from best performance when defining Apex.
  • All That Jazz is the preferred Scheider answer; the direct response explicitly identifies Chris as having long favored that film. — Chris Ryan
1:12:47

Is This Movie Better With…?

Danny Trejo could fit several parts

Danny Trejo could fit several parts

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:12:47Read transcript
  • Trejo is imagined as the shark, Quint in a low-budget version, Mrs. Kintner, the mayor or the discovered head. — Bill Simmons
  • Trejo’s severed-head appearance in Breaking Bad is recalled. — Bill Simmons
1:13:19

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

Murray Hamilton

Murray Hamilton

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:13:19Read transcript
  • Hamilton is the choice for younger viewers who mainly know him as the mayor, while older audiences may know his career. — Bill Simmons
1:13:33

Unintentional Comedy Award

Mrs. Brody’s sudden alarm and the visible shark

Mrs. Brody’s sudden alarm and the visible shark

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:13:33Read transcript
  • The artificial shark and the knowledge of the actors’ reported off-camera conflict can now prompt laughter. — Bill Simmons
  • The mother changes her mind only after seeing an illustration of a shark biting a boat. — Sean Fennessey
  • The helpful man’s obvious impending death is amusing, with the theme-park ride recalled as reproducing this setup. — Chris Ryan
  • A Belushi Landshark autopsy parody changes how one participant watches the original scene. — Bill Simmons
1:16:16

The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie

You’re going to need a bigger boat

You’re going to need a bigger boat

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:16:16Read transcript
  • The bigger-boat line is the leading choice, with its frequent we-versus-you misquotation noted. — Chris Ryan
  • The sweater and broken-heart exchange during the scar comparison is a favorite. — Chris Ryan
  • The warning not to drink the liquor is another favorite. — Chris Ryan
  • Having no spit conveys fear before entering the cage.
  • The closing tidal exchange is recalled uncertainly, and the Indianapolis speech is praised throughout. — Bill Simmons
1:19:14

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Vaughn’s reelection, Quint’s missing decades and a possible sequel

Vaughn’s reelection, Quint’s missing decades and a possible sequel

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:19:14Read transcript
  • The mayor probably loses reelection, though a joking campaign defense stresses the rest of the tourist season and shared recovery.
  • Quint’s intervening decades are imagined through heavy drinking, trauma and shark hunting.
  • The barrel-and-harpoon plan is questioned and compared with the novel’s ending.
  • The status of Jaws 2 is disputed, leading to a forty-years-later proposal in which the youngest Brody is police chief and Alex Kintner’s younger brother is a vengeful mayor. — Bill Simmons
  • Hooper is imagined as mayor or head of an oceanographic institute, with a joke about adopting the mast-dare behavior.
1:28:46

Who Won the Movie?

Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:28:46Read transcript
  • Spielberg, Shaw, Scheider, Dreyfuss, Williams and the shark are nominated; Dreyfuss is mentioned with an immediate probably-not qualification. — Bill Simmons
  • The first Spielberg choice credits a career-launching, industry-changing and exceptionally entertaining movie while acknowledging luck. — Chris Ryan
  • Spielberg’s repeated practical and artistic decisions rescued a production another director might have lost: the unseen shark, effective small score, replacement actors and repeated script rewrites all worked. — Sean Fennessey
  • The final response agrees with Spielberg but makes a substantial case for Quint as an irreplaceable supporting character. — Bill Simmons
  • Coogler is compared with the young director, whose early television experience is cited as years of preparation.
Podcast choices
Speaker not identified
Steven Spielberg
Speaker not identified
Steven Spielberg

More from the conversation

The greatest-film claim is disputed, while extraordinary rewatchability draws agreement; when explicitly addressed, Chris Ryan calls Jaws his favorite movie of the last fifty years.
Approx. transcript time · 00:01:56Read transcript
Childhood encounters made beaches and even pools frightening; imagining the theme music during swimming became a way to push through laps.
Approx. transcript time · 00:03:48Read transcript
The participants describe three consecutive cultural upheavals: Jaws in 1975 changed behavior, Rocky in 1976 encouraged exercising and jogging, and Star Wars in 1977 created a new imaginative universe and repeat viewing. All three are called major blockbusters.
Approx. transcript time · 00:05:12Read transcript
The podcast describes an initial plan for 900 theaters, reduced to 450 on Lou Wasserman’s recommendation to create regional demand while sustaining a national event across the summer. Carl Gottlieb’s production diary is cited for timing the movie around the novel’s paperback release, book clubs and beach readers.
Approx. transcript time · 00:06:04Read transcript
The novel’s affair is removed with approval. The blockbuster’s cultural reach is weighed against the claim that its success weakened the more eccentric director-led Hollywood era.
Approx. transcript time · 00:07:33Read transcript
The shift from summer as a weak release season prompts memories of unsupervised childhood days, wandering to malls and searching a dump for magazines and baseball cards.
Approx. transcript time · 00:08:48Read transcript
The podcast reports Jaws as the first laserdisc release in 1978 and says its first ABC airing in 1979 drew 57 percent of the total television audience, second among televised movies to Gone with the Wind; VHS, deleted-scene editions and widescreen viewing supplied later home-viewing lives.
Approx. transcript time · 00:11:15Read transcript
The PG rating seems startling given the child attack and prolonged death of Quint. A still more gruesome protective attack was reportedly removed.
Approx. transcript time · 00:13:33Read transcript
Quint’s prolonged death is compared with the violence and fear of The Exorcist, Scatman Crothers’s death in The Shining and Sonny Corleone at the tollbooth; the speakers disagree over the closest or worst comparison.
Approx. transcript time · 00:14:07Read transcript
Four reasons for the film’s mythology are proposed: blockbuster status, a troubled shoot ending in triumph, the director’s later dominance and the many films pitched in its image. Performances, music and sharing it with children add to that legacy.
Approx. transcript time · 00:16:02Read transcript
The last half hour of Jaws 2 receives support from two participants, while another rejects the sequels entirely.
Approx. transcript time · 00:17:37Read transcript
The podcast reports that Peter Benchley received $475,000 for the book and $175,000 for the movie rights; those figures are unverified podcast research.
Approx. transcript time · 00:18:02Read transcript
The podcast reports that producer David Brown, married to Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown, encountered an advance copy of the novel and helped secure the property; the acquisition is praised as astute.
Approx. transcript time · 00:18:02Read transcript
The podcast reports a $700,000 television advertising flood over three days, a 450-theater opening and a June 20, 1975 release; those figures are unverified podcast research.
Approx. transcript time · 00:18:26Read transcript
The podcast reports a $9 million budget, including $3 million for the mechanical shark, calls Jaws the first movie to reach $100 million, says it made almost $500 million and says more than 67 million people saw it in 1975; those figures are unverified podcast research.
Approx. transcript time · 00:19:11Read transcript
Duel and The Sugarland Express precede Spielberg’s extraordinary third feature. The participants compare Jaws with Raiders of the Lost Ark, then prefer Jaws while praising its camera inventions and command of popular storytelling. Duel is also called dated but strong and still effective.
Approx. transcript time · 00:19:30Read transcript
The Oscar discussion reports wins for score, sound and editing. Jaws lost Best Picture to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest; the other nominees were Dog Day Afternoon, Barry Lyndon and Nashville. Cuckoo’s Nest is defended as a great film and a defensible winner, while another participant prefers Jaws and says Cuckoo’s Nest has not aged as well. Spielberg missed a director field of Forman, Fellini, Sidney Lumet, Stanley Kubrick and Robert Altman, with Forman winning. The guessed Fellini film remains unresolved. Scheider, Shaw and Dreyfuss received no acting nominations.
Approx. transcript time · 00:20:40Read transcript
Scheider’s run of Jaws, Marathon Man, Sorcerer, Jaws 2 and All That Jazz prompts a four-for-five assessment and disagreement about which film missed: Jaws 2 has defenders, while the discussion distinguishes the entry that did not hit from Sorcerer’s artistic quality. Sorcerer is strongly recommended for its criminals transporting unstable chemicals through South America, dangerous bridges, troubled production and Tangerine Dream score. It is described as Friedkin’s post-Exorcist remake of The Wages of Fear. Still of the Night with Meryl Streep is recommended as a solid thriller, and All That Jazz is praised as a major performance.
Approx. transcript time · 00:22:08Read transcript
A recalled lunch with William Goldman supplied strong praise for Scheider and puzzlement that his leading-man peak was so brief.
Approx. transcript time · 00:23:37Read transcript
Scheider’s willingness to support flashier co-stars is praised: Gene Hackman in The French Connection, Dustin Hoffman and Laurence Olivier in Marathon Man, and Shaw and Dreyfuss in Jaws. All That Jazz lets him lead. His unassuming everyman presence, including a New Yorker transplanted to a beach town, is considered a strength.
Approx. transcript time · 00:24:09Read transcript
The claim that Michael Douglas had the longer career Scheider deserved draws objections about sleaziness and looks, alongside defenses of 52 Pick-Up and Jaws 2. The China Syndrome is offered as an exception to Douglas’s sleazier parts, while Basic Instinct and Wall Street support that comparison. A response distinguishes a likable man who made a mistake from a villain and calls Wall Street the actual bad-guy role.
Approx. transcript time · 00:25:17Read transcript
Brody’s wife is praised in Jaws and its sequel. The podcast describes her as the wife of executive Sid Sheinberg, who worked closely with Spielberg, and contrasts that casting with the criticized performance by the actress transcribed as Karen Linn-Gorney in Saturday Night Fever. The name of Brody’s wife’s performer is unclear in this transcript.
Approx. transcript time · 00:29:53Read transcript
A family visit to Martha’s Vineyard becomes frightening when recognizable filming locations reveal that the movie’s beach is a real place.
Approx. transcript time · 00:37:50Read transcript
Duvall’s Godfather Part III salary dispute prompts disagreement over his decision and whether his presence would have improved the film. The digression argues that Andy Garcia’s role was expanded, criticizes Sofia Coppola’s performance while praising her later directing career, and recalls Winona Ryder as a casting what-if.
Approx. transcript time · 00:43:39Read transcript
A hypothetical remake imagines Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp wanting to play Brody; these are imagined examples, not historical casting claims. The absence of a literal Jaws remake is contrasted with Alien and Aliens borrowing its structure. Paul Reiser’s character in Aliens and the Jurassic Park character killed in a bathroom exemplify the business-minded authority figure who minimizes danger.
Approx. transcript time · 00:49:17Read transcript
The book’s mafia pressure is omitted from the movie, but the mayor’s desire to protect a short tourist season is defended as sufficient motivation, prompting joking political endorsement.
Approx. transcript time · 00:49:50Read transcript
An imagined series follows seasonal island workers falling in love during the production, with the famous filmmakers in the background—an Adventureland-like making-of story.
Approx. transcript time · 00:54:57Read transcript
The mast-dare story becomes joking comparison with workplace pressure to publish or tweet provocative opinions, rather than a new production allegation.
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:46Read transcript
A hypothetical shark bite produces opposed preferences for losing a limb versus surviving with tissue damage. Kevin Wilds is imagined as an immediate authority on the morbid choice, and the debate becomes another joking cash-for-a-tweet dare.
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:57Read transcript
The participants call the John Huston adaptation of Moby Dick poor; the direct question of whether it is rewatchable receives a no. This opinion is distinct from the reported Gregory Peck permission story.
Approx. transcript time · 01:07:22Read transcript
A proposed remake casts Bono as Quint and becomes a political-styled impersonation.
Approx. transcript time · 01:10:49Read transcript
Reported conflict with Murray and SNL colleagues is followed by the story that Dreyfuss accepted Jaws after fearing his own performance in The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz would prevent future work.
Approx. transcript time · 01:11:46Read transcript
A research aside distinguishes the requested sheepshank from the trumpet knot actually tied; Trejo is imagined in numerous roles or as a low-budget Quint.
Approx. transcript time · 01:12:47Read transcript
The pond attack is linked to the amusement-park ride. The beach is playing Olivia Newton-John’s I Honestly Love You immediately before the attack, prompting explicitly uncertain speculation about intentional foreshadowing.
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:02Read transcript
The shark’s apparently slow digestion is questioned because recognizable objects remain in its stomach.
Approx. transcript time · 01:18:46Read transcript
A Cobra Kai-like continuation proposes the youngest Brody as Amity’s police chief and Alex Kintner’s younger brother as a vengeful mayor in a transformed wealthy town. Open Water and The Shallows receive qualified defenses, Deep Blue Sea is called excessive, and a dissenting response prefers a new ocean story to revisiting Jaws. Open Water is praised but one response would not watch it a second time. The Shallows is liked, then criticized as a forty-minute movie stretched to eighty minutes.
Approx. transcript time · 01:22:49Read transcript
A participant asks for a sea movie built with natural effects and contrasts Jaws with the artificial-looking waves and environment of Adrift. The real sea and the actors’ accumulated familiarity make the boat scenes convincing; a college memory recalls drinking with friends while reenacting the song and dialogue.
Approx. transcript time · 01:25:26Read transcript
Familiar beachgoing makes the danger a personal what-would-I-do question. A proposed boat-movie channel, followed by a prison-channel joke, receives an explicit rejection. One participant rejects recreational ocean outings, while another contrasts growing up on Long Island with many boating experiences. Sleeping with the Enemy supplies a specific fear of sailboats. The Perfect Storm becomes the imagined boat channel’s repetitive offering.
Approx. transcript time · 01:26:27Read transcript
An early film-news tipster using Quint’s name and a sketch of the character illustrates the role’s independent cultural identity.
Approx. transcript time · 01:31:06Read transcript
The film’s suspense is praised as working from childhood through old age, with E.T. offered as a comparison but distinguished by its sentimentality.
Approx. transcript time · 01:32:27Read transcript