More than 30 years after its first theatrical release, Steven Spielberg’s JAWS continues to stand as a true classic of fear filmmaking. Last year, a 30th-anniversary celebration called JAWSFest was held in Martha’s Vineyard, and now a new feature-length documentary on the movie and its legacy called THE SHARK IS STILL WORKING is on the way. Producer Jake Gove fills Fango in on how this project differs from previous explorations of the great white film fave: “There have been several documentaries that described the trials and tribulations endured by Steven Spielberg and his cast and crew while filming JAWS,” he says, “but THE SHARK IS STILL WORKING is about what has happened in the 30 years since the film was released. It shows how JAWS has changed pop culture, how it altered the film industry, how it affected the public perception of sharks and how it inspired many filmmakers and fans.”
Produced by Gove, Erik Hollander, James Gelet and J. Michael Roddy, THE SHARK IS STILL WORKING was born at that 2005 bash, as Gove explains: “JAWSFest was attended by over 3,000 fans from around the world, and in the beginning, THE SHARK IS STILL WORKING was to be just about the event and JAWS’ fans. But it evolved into a much bigger project, as we were fortunate to land interviews with Steven Spielberg, Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, producer Richard Zanuck, John Williams, screenwriter Carl Gottlieb, production designer Joe Alves and other cast and crew involved with the movie. In addition, filmmakers such as Bryan Singer, Robert Rodriguez and Eli Roth shared with us how they were inspired by JAWS.”
The filmmakers landed Scheider to narrate the documentary as well, and other interviewees include FX masters Tom Savini and Greg Nicotero, the latter a major collector of JAWS memorabilia. In addition, THE SHARK IS STILL WORKING showcases assorted homages, parodies and other pop-culture homages. Click here to go to the jam-packed official website, which includes a trailer, video clips, updates, pics and lots more info. The site reports that a near-three-hour final cut is close to completion, with the hope for a two-DVD release from Universal.
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