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USA Today
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
How 'Jaws' fans can celebrate 50th anniversary at Universal Studios Hollywood, Florida
It's been 50 years since 'Jaws' first terrorized a generation of moviegoers. Nowadays, fans are more likely to squeal with delight than fear over the beloved Universal franchise, which still has an entire Amity Village at Universal Studios Japan. But fans don't have to go that far to celebrate the film's golden anniversary this summer. Here's what to do at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort. Do they still have Jaws at Universal Studios Hollywood? Yes. There's still a Jaws encounter on the World-Famous Studio Tour. (Tip: Sit to the right of the tram for the best view.) The tour is available all year long, but guests may notice a 'Jaws' addition to the Hollywood sign replica this summer. As part of Universal Studios Hollywood's Mega Movie Summer through Aug. 10, guests can also snap photos with the park's hanging shark, which has been brought back for an anniversary photo opp, along with a new meet-and-greet with Captain Quint and Chief Brody. Guests can find these outside the WaterWorld attraction. The California park has also temporarily transformed its quick-service Hollywood & Dine restaurant into Amity Island Cafe. Its 'Jaws'-inspired menu includes a lobster roll, a vegan crab cake sandwich and an oversized donut that looks like a lifesaver. From 'Jaws' to 'The Meg': Ranking the 10 best shark movies of all time Is Jaws still at Universal Studios Florida? Universal Orlando Resort's Jaws ride retired in 2012. However, its hanging shark is still displayed year-round. In honor of the film's 50th anniversary, Universal Studios Florida has also brought out two additional photo opps tied to the former attraction: one is its original billboard; the other looks like one of the boats from the ride, being chased by a shark. Guests will find these in the park's San Francisco area through July 6, along with limited-time "Jaws"-themed snacks. Each night until Aug. 24, guests can catch CineSational: A Symphonic Spectacular, on the park's waterfront before closing. The nighttime show features dancing fountains, projections, and music from some of Universal's most iconic films, including 'Jaws.' Pending weather, each day through Nov. 13, guests can also catch the Universal Mega Movie Parade, which features live characters, floats and Easter eggs from various Universal films, including 'Jaws.' Dates are subject to change. Guests should check Universal Orlando's free app for the latest updates.
Tom's Guide
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
7 best shark thrillers like 'Jaws' to sink your teeth into
Fifty years ago, a great white shark terrorized the residents of Amity Island in "Jaws," Steven Spielberg's masterpiece about three men and their pursuit of the titular terror became one of the most influential movies in cinematic history. 'Jaws' reshaped Hollywood, as the high-concept premise and ingenious marketing created the template for summer blockbusters going forward. Because 'Jaws' is a landmark movie, it completely ruined the shark thriller genre. Every killer shark movie will always be compared to 'Jaws.' It's an unfair standard, but one that will always be implemented. The seven shark thrillers on this list are not in the same ballpark as 'Jaws." However, they all have enough redeeming qualities to warrant a stream. Action hero Jason Statham fears no man. The Englishman has made a career as the cunning, tough guy who loves to fight. After defeating every man in his path, Statham went to the sea for a new challenge in 'The Meg.' Years after a devastating mission, rescue diver Jonas Taylor (Statham) is recruited by a research facility to rescue a crew on a submersible stuck at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Not even Jonas could have predicted what's waiting for him in the trench — a 75-foot giant shark known as the Megalodon (Meg for short). Lo and behold, the Meg escapes to the surface and wreaks havoc. 'The Meg' combines the spirit of a B-movie with the budget of a blockbuster and gets an amusing and ridiculous creature feature. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Rent/buy on Amazon or Apple If you're not an experienced diver, just admit it! The situation in '47 Meters Down' could have been avoided had sisters Kate (Claire Holt) and Lisa (Mandy Moore) told the truth. Instead, they let the captain drop them in a shark cage in the ocean. The line attached at the top of the cage breaks, sending the sisters straight to the ocean floor, 47 meters below the surface. With their oxygen supply dwindling and sharks circling nearby, the sisters must work together to stay alive long enough to be rescued. While not the best B-movie, '47 Meters Down' features several effective jump scares, and it successfully positions the sharks as ruthless killing machines that the audience will fear. Watch on Prime Video In the '90s, creature features carried the attitude that the more ridiculous, the better. 'Deep Blue Sea' was unapologetic about going over the top. One killer shark? No, thank you. Try three genetically engineered monsters that are faster, stronger and more violent than the average mako shark. Dr. Susan McAlester (Saffron Burrows) believes the brain tissue from these sharks can cure Alzheimer's disease. But she didn't account for the sharks outsmarting humans and using their island research facility as a hunting ground. Some of the kills are laughable, but director Renny Harlin smartly embraced the film's excessive and crafted delightful popcorn entertainment. Most importantly, always remember that the perfect omelette is made with two eggs, not three. Rent/buy on Amazon or Apple How could a shark find its way into the Seine? Don't sharks survive in salt water as opposed to freshwater? These questions posed in 'Under Paris' can be answered with two words: climate change. After a mako shark named Lilith kills her entire research team, Sophia Assalas (Bérénice Bejo) abandons the ocean to work in the confines of an aquarium in Paris. Somehow, Lilith makes her way into the Seine River. The shark can quickly adapt to new surroundings, a necessary mutation she learned due to the effects of climate change. With a triathlon scheduled for the Seine, Sophia must stop Lilith from transforming the river into a bloodbath. Watch on Netflix 'Open Water' might feature a relationship, but make no mistake — this is not a date movie. Also, if you've ever wanted to go scuba diving, then don't watch 'Open Water.' But if you're interested in an atmospheric horror, then give this independent thriller a shot. Daniel (Daniel Travis) and Susan (Blanchard Ryan) embark on a scuba diving trip, believing it will help repair their relationship. The trip becomes a nightmare when the boat mistakenly leaves the couple stranded in the middle of the ocean. Oh, and sharks are lurking beneath the water. Again, it's a great horror movie that's bad to watch as a couple. Watch on Tubi B-movie veteran Jaume Collet-Serra was the perfect choice to direct 'The Shallows.' Collet-Serra's affinity for gritty violence paired perfectly with a shark attack story. Nancy Adams (Blake Lively) is a medical student still grieving the loss of her mother. Nancy visits a secluded beach in Mexico for some surfing and relaxation. On her last wave of the day, a great white shark bites Nancy's leg, forcing her to stay on an isolated rock 200 yards away from shore. Time is ticking because the tide will eventually submerge the rock. Lively goes full action heroine and battles the shark in this terrific survival thriller. Watch on Starz The latest entry on the list is a film that's currently in theaters from Shudder and IFC. If 'The Silence of the Lambs' and 'Jaws' had a baby, it would be 'Dangerous Animals.' Director Sean Byrne made a shark thriller where the real monster is on the boat. Tucker (Jai Courtney) runs a cage diving business. As you find out, it's a front for his real passion — feeding tourists to sharks and filming their deaths. Tucker meets his match in Zephyr (Hassie Harrison), a rebellious surfer he kidnaps who won't go down without a fight. Backed by an insane performance from Courtney and a star-making turn from Harrison, 'Dangerous Animals' is a sharp genre thriller that will gain an even bigger following once it hits streaming.
USA Today
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
How 'Jaws' fans can celebrate 50th anniversary at Universal Studios Hollywood, Florida
How 'Jaws' fans can celebrate 50th anniversary at Universal Studios Hollywood, Florida Show Caption Hide Caption Top 3 scary moments in 'Jaws' 'Jaws' turns 50 this summer and USA TODAY film critic Brian Truitt celebrates with his favorite bloody moments. Universal Studios Hollywood features a "Jaws" encounter on the Studio Tour, along with photo opportunities and themed dining at Amity Island Cafe. Universal Studios Florida no longer has the Jaws ride, but offers photo opportunities with "Jaws"-themed props and limited-time snacks. Both parks celebrate the film's 50th anniversary with special events and entertainment, including a "Jaws"-themed parade and nighttime show. It's been 50 years since 'Jaws' first terrorized a generation of moviegoers. Nowadays, fans are more likely to squeal with delight than fear over the beloved Universal franchise, which still has an entire Amity Village at Universal Studios Japan. But fans don't have to go that far to celebrate the film's golden anniversary this summer. Here's what to do at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort. Do they still have Jaws at Universal Studios Hollywood? Yes. There's still a Jaws encounter on the World-Famous Studio Tour. (Tip: Sit to the right of the tram for the best view.) The tour is available all year long, but guests may notice a 'Jaws' addition to the Hollywood sign replica this summer. As part of Universal Studios Hollywood's Mega Movie Summer through Aug. 10, guests can also snap photos with the park's hanging shark, which has been brought back for an anniversary photo opp, along with a new meet-and-greet with Captain Quint and Chief Brody. Guests can find these outside the WaterWorld attraction. The California park has also temporarily transformed its quick-service Hollywood & Dine restaurant into Amity Island Cafe. Its 'Jaws'-inspired menu includes a lobster roll, a vegan crab cake sandwich and an oversized donut that looks like a lifesaver. From 'Jaws' to 'The Meg': Ranking the 10 best shark movies of all time Is Jaws still at Universal Studios Florida? Universal Orlando Resort's Jaws ride retired in 2012. However, its hanging shark is still displayed year-round. In honor of the film's 50th anniversary, Universal Studios Florida has also brought out two additional photo opps tied to the former attraction: one is its original billboard; the other looks like one of the boats from the ride, being chased by a shark. Guests will find these in the park's San Francisco area through July 6, along with limited-time "Jaws"-themed snacks. Each night until Aug. 24, guests can catch CineSational: A Symphonic Spectacular, on the park's waterfront before closing. The nighttime show features dancing fountains, projections, and music from some of Universal's most iconic films, including 'Jaws.' Pending weather, each day through Nov. 13, guests can also catch the Universal Mega Movie Parade, which features live characters, floats and Easter eggs from various Universal films, including 'Jaws.' Dates are subject to change. Guests should check Universal Orlando's free app for the latest updates.
USA Today
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
50 years ago, ‘Jaws' scared us senseless. We never got over it.
Show Caption Name that theme song: Dunnn-dun. Dunnn-dun. Dun-dun dun-dun dun-dun dun-dun. Who are we kidding? That terrifying two-note John Williams creation of course conjures the opening shark strike in 'Jaws,' which turns 50 on June 20. That's a half-century of scaring the bejesus out of generations of movie- and beachgoers. Five decades of us all scanning the horizon for fins while Hollywood thrashes about trying to replicate Steven Spielberg's blockbuster, from 'Shark Week' to 'The Meg.' Full confession: Seeing 'Jaws' kept me not only out of the ocean for years but also out of a pool. I've even heard of people who were scared to get into a bathtub. Irrational? Sure. Uncommon? Not really. That was the revelation provided by a deep dive into the realm of 'Jaws' fanatics, many of whom have long gotten over their fear of open water and swapped it for a churning mania for the movie. The terror roars back this summer, with "Jaws" and its three (admittedly lesser) sequels airing on Peacock starting June 15, and NBC's three-hour presentation of the original film on June 20, featuring an introduction from Spielberg. There's also a big screen re-release on Aug. 29. Is 'Jaws' the scariest film of all time? Watch it once or hundreds of times and the scare seems fresh every time, says Dawn Keetley, editor of the journal Horror Studies and professor of English and film at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. "Spielberg presents this shark as a pure animal force that we run into at our peril," Keetley says. She notes that "Jaws" starts out a pure horror film, then morphs into a perilous and tense buddy film when the three protagonists head off in a boat in search of the beast that haunts them. "Sharks stand in perfectly for wild nature that's at the edge of where humans can go, and as humans, we always push at the border," she says. "Sharks mark where we can't go very easily, maybe where we shouldn't go. To the dangerous and the forbidden." Don't be scared of sharks − 'more people die from taking selfies' Among the first moviegoers to be frightened by "Jaws" was Christopher Shaw Myers, nephew of Robert Shaw, who memorably played doomed shark hunter Quint. "While I'd read the book (by Peter Benchley), oh, my God, was it terrifying,' he says. Myers was a senior in high school when he joined his mother, Joanna, Shaw's sister, in a darkened Philadelphia movie house crammed with theater owners who were considering showing the film. His favorite part? The haunting soliloquy by his uncle, who explains his hatred of sharks after they ripped apart fellow servicemen on a sinking Navy ship. In defense of Carcharodon carcharias (aka, the great white), sharks aren't looking for humans. 'More people die from taking selfies than from sharks,' says Taylor Chapple, co-director of the Big Fish Lab at Oregon State University. 'But it's the uncertainty of it. The fear of the unknown. You think maybe there's a shark down there.' 'Jaws' tapped into that very primordial fear, which is chillingly encapsulated by Quint's famous USS Indianapolis speech: 'So, eleven hundred men went into the water. Three hundred and sixteen men come out, and the sharks took the rest.' 'The story is that the speech was very long, and Robert asked Steven if he could cut it back,' says Myers, author of 'Robert Shaw: An Actor's Life on the Set of 'Jaws' and Beyond.' When the actor delivered his version, 'there was dead silence in the room, and Steven said, 'We have our picture.' ' For Steven Spielberg, 'Jaws' was both his 'origin story' and almost his career killer That moment of glee was rare for Spielberg, who at 27 was helming a movie based on a bestselling novel. Studio executives wanted not only a hit, but they wanted it fast. Spielberg, who had made 'Duel' and 'The Sugarland Express,' feared the swift end of a promising career. He was over budget, shooting on open water and dealing with a mechanical shark nicknamed Bruce (after his lawyer) that kept malfunctioning. (Shaw's son, Ian, played his father in a Broadway show he co-wrote about the 'Jaws' debacle called 'The Shark Is Broken.') The degree to which 'Jaws' traumatized its young director is evident in 'Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story,' a National Geographic documentary airing July 11 on Hulu and Disney+. Spielberg sat for director and friend Laurent Bouzereau and confessed: 'There was nothing fun about making 'Jaws.' ' In the documentary, Spielberg relates that long after the problematic 1974 shoot was over and the 1975 movie was a box-office smash, he had nightmares about the experience. He found solace in sneaking into Universal Studios theme park and curling up on the leather bench inside the Orca, the boat used for much of the shoot. 'I underestimated how traumatic it was for Steven. But he never wanted to give up, and that's one lesson from 'Jaws': Don't give up," Bouzereau says. " 'Jaws' is his origin story. But in our interview, I could feel the weight of that experience still sitting with him.' Most 'Jaws' cast members were Martha's Vineyard locals, who still have stories to tell For all the hardship of making the movie, 'Jaws' bit the culture hard and never let go. Helped by a PG rating that admitted many youngsters who had no idea of the horror in store, the movie raked in $1.5 billion, adjusted for inflation. Matt Taylor summered on Martha's Vineyard as a kid, and at age 7 in 1979, he was deemed old enough to see 'Jaws.' Four years on, the line for the film still snaked around the block. 'It was probably one of the most exciting movie events of my life. My heart was pounding out of my chest,' he says. 'I love the water, but when I go in, I still have to face the horizon.' Taylor's love of 'Jaws' eventually led him to compile photographs and memorabilia collected by locals during the shoot into the book 'Jaws: Memories From Martha's Vineyard,' which is being re-released this summer. One of the crucial ingredients of 'Jaws' is the preponderance of islanders who had parts in the movie, which featured fewer than 10 Hollywood actors, including Roy Scheider as police chief Martin Brody and Richard Dreyfuss as shark expert Matt Hooper. Those non-actors lent a realism that shooting on a Hollywood lot with seasoned stars cannot replicate. Many of them still participate in "Jaws" meet-and-mingle events. For a long time, the islanders kept their memories of 'Jaws' to themselves, 'but it seems to me like the Vineyard has reacted to its own fame in the past decade or so,' says Taylor, himself a local now. 'These days there's 'Jaws' merchandise in every shop, 'Jaws'-themed food dishes, 'Jaws' tours of the island, and of course those locals who were in it who share their stories.' From fests to homemade 'Jaws' remakes, fans can't get enough of their favorite film Stephen Duncan trekked from Los Angeles to Martha's Vineyard for the first JawsFest in 2005, but he's not sure he'll be able to return this year, instead perhaps taking in a 'Jaws: The Exhibition' display at LA's Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. 'They've gotten wise, and it's gotten expensive" to attend the Martha's Vineyard confab, says Duncan, who works in the title insurance business but also runs a website dedicated to his passion for 'Jaws.' 'I've seen the movie maybe 300 times, enough so that if you said a line, I could say the next one,' he says. Well, here's an easy one: 'That's a 20-footer,' Hooper gasps as the great white swims past the Orca. 'Twenty-five. Three tons of him,' Quint adds. You know what's next − a catchphrase repurposed endlessly since 1975. Says a shell-shocked Brody: 'You're gonna need a bigger boat.' Such inspired dialogue (Scheider improvised the line) coupled with Spielberg's Hitchcockian use of point of view – in that opening shark attack, we never see a shark – is what keeps 'Jaws' fresh half a century on, says Ross Williams, who started the U.K. site The Daily Jaws. 'I saw it with my mum when I was 5, and it's been my favorite movie ever since,' he says. In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, Williams invited fans to co-create the "Jaws WeMake," a "Jaws" tribute of sorts featuring a pastiche of animation, Lego figures and home movie shoots of classic scenes. Fans from more than 200 countries contributed. 'In 1975, people thought they were watching a 'shark movie,' and they were,' he says. 'But 50 years on, we realize 'Jaws' is about family, home, duty, politics, the class system, the past, healing from trauma and so much more.' For Williams, all of life seems to be captured in the oversized mandibles of Spielberg's enduring cinematic masterpiece. 'Like all classics,' he says, ' 'Jaws' is the movie that keeps on giving.'
USA Today
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
50 years ago, ‘Jaws' scared us senseless. We never got over it.
50 years ago, 'Jaws' scared us senseless. We never got over it. Show Caption Hide Caption Top 3 scary moments in 'Jaws' 'Jaws' turns 50 this summer and USA TODAY film critic Brian Truitt celebrates with his favorite bloody moments. Name that theme song: Dunnn-dun. Dunnn-dun. Dun-dun dun-dun dun-dun dun-dun. Who are we kidding? That terrifying two-note John Williams creation of course conjures the opening shark strike in 'Jaws,' which turns 50 on June 20. That's a half-century of scaring the bejesus out of generations of movie- and beachgoers. Five decades of us all scanning the horizon for fins while Hollywood thrashes about trying to replicate Steven Spielberg's blockbuster, from 'Shark Week' to 'The Meg.' Full confession: Seeing 'Jaws' kept me not only out of the ocean for years but also out of a pool. I've even heard of people who were scared to get into a bathtub. Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox Irrational? Sure. Uncommon? Not really. That was the revelation provided by a deep dive into the realm of 'Jaws' fanatics, many of whom have long gotten over their fear of open water and swapped it for a churning mania for the movie. The terror roars back this summer, with "Jaws" and its three (admittedly lesser) sequels airing on Peacock starting June 15, and NBC's three-hour presentation of the original film on June 20, featuring an introduction from Spielberg. There's also a big screen re-release on Aug. 29. Is 'Jaws' the scariest film of all time? Watch it once or hundreds of times and the scare seems fresh every time, says Dawn Keetley, editor of the journal Horror Studies and professor of English and film at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. "Spielberg presents this shark as a pure animal force that we run into at our peril," Keeltey says. She notes that "Jaws" starts out a pure horror film, then morphs into a perilous and tense buddy film when the three protagonists head off in a boat in search of the beast that haunts them. "Sharks stand in perfectly for wild nature that's at the edge of where humans can go, and as humans, we always push at the border," she says. "Sharks mark where we can't go very easily, maybe where we shouldn't go. To the dangerous and the forbidden." Don't be scared of sharks − 'more people die from taking selfies' Among the first moviegoers to be frightened by "Jaws" was Christopher Shaw Meyers, nephew of Robert Shaw, who memorably played doomed shark hunter Quint. "While I'd read the book (by Peter Benchley), oh, my God, was it terrifying,' he says. Meyers was a senior in high school when he joined his mother, Joanna, Shaw's sister, in a darkened Philadelphia movie house crammed with theater owners who were considering showing the film. His favorite part? The haunting soliloquy by his uncle, who explains his hatred of sharks after they ripped apart fellow servicemen on a sinking Navy ship. In defense of Carcharodon carcharias (aka, the great white), sharks aren't looking for humans. 'More people die from taking selfies than from sharks,' says Taylor Chapple, co-director of the Big Fish Lab at Oregon State University. 'But it's the uncertainty of it. The fear of the unknown. You think maybe there's a shark down there.' 'Jaws' tapped into that very primordial fear, which is chillingly encapsulated by Quint's famous USS Indianapolis speech: 'So, eleven hundred men went into the water. Three hundred and sixteen men come out, and the sharks took the rest.' 'The story is that the speech was very long, and Robert asked Steven if he could cut it back,' says Meyers, author of 'Robert Shaw: An Actor's Life on the Set of 'Jaws' and Beyond.' When the actor delivered his version, 'there was dead silence in the room, and Steven said, 'We have our picture.' ' For Steven Spielberg, 'Jaws' was both his 'origin story' and almost his career killer That moment of glee was rare for Spielberg, who at 27 was helming a movie based on a bestselling novel. Studio executives wanted not only a hit, but they wanted it fast. Spielberg, who had made 'Duel' and 'The Sugarland Express,' feared the swift end of a promising career. He was over budget, shooting on open water and dealing with a mechanical shark nicknamed Bruce (after his lawyer) that kept malfunctioning. (Shaw's son, Ian, played his father in a Broadway show he co-wrote about the 'Jaws' debacle called 'The Shark Is Broken.') The degree to which 'Jaws' traumatized its young director is evident in 'Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story,' a National Geographic documentary airing July 11 on Hulu and Disney+. Spielberg sat for director and friend Laurent Bouzereau and confessed: 'There was nothing fun about making 'Jaws.' ' In the documentary, Spielberg relates that long after the problematic 1974 shoot was over and the 1975 movie was a box-office smash, he had nightmares about the experience. He found solace in sneaking into Universal Studios theme park and curling up on the leather bench inside the Orca, the boat used for much of the shoot. 'I underestimated how traumatic it was for Steven. But he never wanted to give up, and that's one lesson from 'Jaws': Don't give up," Bouzereau says. " 'Jaws' is his origin story. But in our interview, I could feel the weight of that experience still sitting with him.' Most 'Jaws' cast members were Martha's Vineyard locals, who still have stories to tell For all the hardship of making the movie, 'Jaws' bit the culture hard and never let go. Helped by a PG rating that admitted many youngsters who had no idea of the horror in store, the movie raked in $1.5 billion, adjusted for inflation. Matt Taylor summered on Martha's Vineyard as a kid, and at age 7 in 1979, he was deemed old enough to see 'Jaws.' Four years on, the line for the film still snaked around the block. 'It was probably one of the most exciting movie events of my life. My heart was pounding out of my chest,' he says. 'I love the water, but when I go in, I still have to face the horizon.' Taylor's love of 'Jaws' eventually led him to compile photographs and memorabilia collected by locals during the shoot into the book 'Jaws: Memories From Martha's Vineyard,' which is being re-released this summer. One of the crucial ingredients of 'Jaws' is the preponderance of islanders who had parts in the movie, which featured fewer than 10 Hollywood actors, including Roy Scheider as police chief Martin Brody and Richard Dreyfuss as shark expert Matt Hooper. Those non-actors lent a realism that shooting on a Hollywood lot with seasoned stars cannot replicate. Many of them still participate in "Jaws" meet-and-mingle events. For a long time, the islanders kept their memories of 'Jaws' to themselves, 'but it seems to me like the Vineyard has reacted to its own fame in the past decade or so,' says Taylor, himself a local now. 'These days there's 'Jaws' merchandise in every shop, 'Jaws'-themed food dishes, 'Jaws' tours of the island, and of course those locals who were in it who share their stories.' From fests to homemade 'Jaws' remakes, fans can't get enough of their favorite film Stephen Duncan trekked from Los Angeles to Martha's Vineyard for the first JawsFest in 2005, but he's not sure he'll be able to return this year, instead perhaps taking in a 'Jaws: The Exhibition' display at LA's Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. 'They've gotten wise, and it's gotten expensive" to attend the Martha's Vineyard confab, says Duncan, who works in the title insurance business but also runs a website dedicated to his passion for 'Jaws.' 'I've seen the movie maybe 300 times, enough so that if you said a line, I could say the next one,' he says. Well, here's an easy one: 'That's a 20-footer,' Hooper gasps as the great white swims past the Orca. 'Twenty-five. Three tons of him,' Quint adds. You know what's next − a catchphrase repurposed endlessly since 1975. Says a shell-shocked Brody: 'You're gonna need a bigger boat.' Such inspired dialogue (Scheider improvised the line) coupled with Spielberg's Hitchcockian use of point of view – in that opening shark attack, we never see a shark – is what keeps 'Jaws' fresh half a century on, says Ross Williams, who started the U.K. site The Daily Jaws. 'I saw it with my mum when I was 5, and it's been my favorite movie ever since,' he says. In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, Williams invited fans to co-create the "Jaws WeMake," a "Jaws" tribute of sorts featuring a pastiche of animation, Lego figures and home movie shoots of classic scenes. Fans from more than 200 countries contributed. 'In 1975, people thought they were watching a 'shark movie,' and they were,' he says. 'But 50 years on, we realize 'Jaws' is about family, home, duty, politics, the class system, the past, healing from trauma and so much more.' For Williams, all of life seems to be captured in the oversized mandibles of Spielberg's enduring cinematic masterpiece. 'Like all classics,' he says, ' 'Jaws' is the movie that keeps on giving.'
