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Business Wire
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Business Wire
Bigger Boat, Bigger Legacy! National Geographic Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Blockbuster Film Jaws With the Only Authorized Documentary, JAWS @ 50: THE DEFINITIVE INSIDE STORY, Featuring Exclusive New Interviews With Director Steven Spielberg
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--National Geographic's SHARKFEST wouldn't exist without the film that changed cinema - and our relationship with sharks - forever: 'Jaws.' This summer, in tribute to the movie that sparked a lasting fascination with the ocean's most misunderstood predator, National Geographic goes behind the scenes of the legendary blockbuster with JAWS @ 50: THE DEFINITIVE INSIDE STORY. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Laurent Bouzereau ('Faye,' 'Music by John Williams'), the 90-minute documentary takes viewers on the ultimate deep dive, from Peter Benchley's bestselling novel to the cinematic phenomenon that is 'Jaws' and how the film continues to ripple through pop culture, cinema and shark conservation to this day. You may think you know the full story of 'Jaws' - but not until now. JAWS @ 50 hails from Steven Spielberg's Amblin Documentaries and Nedland Films, in partnership with Wendy Benchley and Laura Bowling, and is this summer's only authorized documentary on the making of 'Jaws,' with the award-winning director himself diving back into the story that launched his career and earned him final cut on the film, a creative control he has maintained for the last 50 years. The documentary premieres July 10 at 9/8c on National Geographic and streams the next day on Disney+ and Hulu. This definitive account offers an unfiltered look at the chaos and creativity behind the making of 'Jaws,' featuring never-before-seen footage from Spielberg's and Benchley's personal archives, including home videos and rare outtakes. Through candid new reflections, Spielberg recounts the high-stakes production, from battling a malfunctioning mechanical shark and relentless weather delays to his own post-production PTSD and fears the film would end his career. The documentary also reexamines the infamous 'Jaws effect' - the wave of shark fear it unleashed - and reframes it as a legacy of awe, curiosity and enduring respect for the ocean's top predator. Complemented by brand-new interviews with cast, crew, filmmakers and shark advocates, JAWS @ 50 captures the full creative and cultural shockwaves of the first summer blockbuster. In addition to Steven Spielberg, the documentary includes exclusive interviews from original cast and crew - including Joe Alves (production designer), Jonathan Filley (Cassidy), Lorraine Gary (Ellen Brody), Carl Gottlieb (Meadows, screenwriter), Jeffrey Kramer (Hendricks), Ian Shaw (son of Robert Shaw, who played Quint), Jeffrey Voorhees (Alex Kintner), and composer John Williams - and a who's who of modern filmmakers and superfans - including J.J. Abrams, Emily Blunt, James Cameron, Cameron Crowe, George Lucas, Greg Nicotero, Jordan Peele, Steven Soderbergh, Guillermo del Toro, Robert Zemeckis, and more - reflect on how 'Jaws' shaped their work and the cinematic landscape. Alongside cast and crew, the film also features heartfelt insights from Peter Benchley's wife, renowned voice for sharks and ocean policy advocate Wendy Benchley; their children, Tracy Benchley Turner and Clayton Benchley; and his brother, Nat Benchley, offering a rare glimpse into the real-life inspiration behind the bestselling novel that started it all. But JAWS @ 50 is more than a behind-the-scenes doc; it's a celebration of a legacy that fueled a global shark obsession and inspired generations of scientists, storytellers and ocean defenders. Through thoughtful conversations with leading marine advocates and scientists - including Philippe Cousteau, Candace Fields, Austin Gallagher, Gibbs Kuguru, Dr. John Mandelman (New England Aquarium), National Geographic Explorer and photographer Brian Skerry, Dr. Greg Skomal and others - the documentary explores how 'Jaws' reshaped our relationship with the ocean and helped transform public perception of sharks, turning fear into fascination and sparking real-world conservation efforts that continue today. For National Geographic, JAWS @ 50: THE DEFINITIVE INSIDE STORY is produced by Amblin Documentaries and Nedland Films. For Amblin Documentaries, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey are producers. For Nedland Films, Laurent Bouzereau and Markus Keith are producers, with Bouzereau also directing. Wendy Benchley and Laura Bowling executive produce the documentary. And, for National Geographic, Tracy Rudolph Jackson and Ted Duvall executive produce. About National Geographic Content Representing the largest brand on social media with over 780 million followers and 1.1 billion impressions each month, National Geographic Content's award-winning and critically acclaimed storytelling inspires fans of all ages to connect with, explore and care about the world through factual storytelling. National Geographic Content, part of a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the National Geographic Society, reaches over 532 million people worldwide in 172 countries and 33 languages as a digital, social and print publisher and across the global National Geographic channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo MUNDO), National Geographic Documentary Films, and direct-to-consumer platforms Disney+ and Hulu. Its diverse content includes Oscar®- and BAFTA award-winning film Free Solo, Oscar-nominated films Sugarcane, Fire of Love and Bobi Wine: The People's President, Emmy® Award-winning franchise 9/11: One Day in America and JFK: One Day in America, Emmy® Award-winning series Animals Up Close, series Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller, Life Below Zero, and Secrets of the Whales, in addition to multiple National Magazine Awards, Pulitzer Prize Finalists and Webby wins. Visit and or explore Instagram, Threads, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, and Reddit. About Amblin Documentaries Amblin Documentaries is a division of Amblin Partners, a content creation company led by Steven Spielberg. Presidents, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey oversee all development, production, and programming for Amblin Documentaries. In addition to its award-winning, culture-defining work in the scripted space through Amblin Television, Amblin Documentaries is a producer of renowned documentary features and series such as the film 'Good Night Oppy' for Prime Video – which was nominated for seven Prime Time and News and Documentary Emmys, the Emmy-winning series 'Five Came Back' for Netflix, and 'Laurel Canyon – A Place in Time' – which received three Emmy nominations including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special for its portrayal of the music scene in LA's Laurel Canyon in the 60's and 70's. Most recently, Amblin Documentaries produced 'Life on Our Planet,' 'Encounters,' and 'Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul' for Netflix as well as 'San Francisco Sound' for MGM+. Upcoming projects from Amblin Documentaries include 'Faye,' based on the life and career of Faye Dunaway, which premiered at this year's Cannes Film Festival, 'Bodyguard of Lies,' with the Washington Post & Alex Gibney, 'Wild, Wild Space,' with HyperObject Industries & ZPZ, and, in partnership with Imagine Entertainment, a documentary on the life and work of legendary composer John Williams. Amblin Documentaries also produced 'Strokes of Genius' – the double-Emmy nominated film about the epic rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal; and 'The Contender' – in which Sylvester Stallone and Sugar Ray Leonard give 16 young boxing hopefuls a shot at the big time, and which received two Emmy nominations. Other unscripted Amblin Documentaries productions include 'Letters to Jackie: Remembering President Kennedy' and HBO's 'Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind' and 'Mama's Boy: A Story from Our Americas. About Nedland Films / Laurent Bouzereau (Director/Producer), and Markus Keith (Producer) Laurent Bouzereau is an award-winning filmmaker and best-selling author. His films, which he co-produced with his partner Markus Keith through their production company Nedland Films, include the feature documentary Faye about legendary actress Faye Dunaway for HBO/Amblin, the award-winning documentary Music by John Williams, produced by Steven Spielberg and Amblin/Imagine, the Disney+/Lucasfilm documentary Timeless Heroes on Harrison Ford, the HBO feature documentaries Mama's Boy, based on the best-selling memoir by Dustin Lance Black, and Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind, as well as the acclaimed Netflix series Five Came Back (with an Emmy winning narration by Meryl Streep), executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Amblin. Bouzereau is the author of several books on cinema, including Spielberg: The First Ten Years (2023) and The De Palma Decade (2024). About Wendy Benchley Wendy Benchley is a renowned global voice for protecting sharks and safeguarding our seas. As a scuba diver, she has witnessed dramatic changes to our ocean's wildlife and habitats; this has motivated her vigorous efforts to help shape smarter, stronger environmental and marine policies with government officials, NGOs, and other civic leaders. Based in Washington, D.C., Wendy is actively engaged in the marine policy community and supports many of the world's leading ocean & environmental philanthropies. She plays a prominent leadership role and is actively involved, as a Board member, in WildAid's highly effective and widely respected global work that reduces the demand for illegal wildlife products, including ivory, rhino horn, and shark fin. She is a Board Member of Beneath the Waves and Blue Frontier Campaign. She is also a Trustee on EDF's Advisory Board. About Laura A. Bowling Laura is a branding and strategic communications executive who has successfully led interdisciplinary creative teams for 25 years, delivering award-winning campaigns across all media platforms from corporate and nonprofit arenas. Laura has worked with some of the world's most successful companies and prestigious brands, including Procter & Gamble, Ogilvy (N.Y.C.), The Walt Disney Company, and Conservation International, where she served as Chief Marketing Officer. Laura has a deep passion for protecting the environment and social causes. She oversees a successful consulting business, based in Carmel, California, that focuses on branding, strategic communications, and development for nonprofits. She has worked closely with Wendy Benchley on all aspects of branding for the Peter Benchley Ocean Awards and on Wendy's public speaking and ocean advocacy events, publications, and press.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Applause for Jaws, Despite Flaws
The motion picture Jaws deserves another round of applause on its 50th birthday, despite its flaws. Released on June 20, 1975, this classic invented the summer blockbuster genre, made sharks a familiar (if demonized) foe, and gave a visceral picture to the words 'shark attack.' But today, humanity has grown to have a better appreciation for all sharks, even those that swim near the beach. We owe some of the public sentiment that it's 'safe to go back in the water' to Jaws. Initially, the movie's biggest impact was to portray shark bites as intentional "attacks" on swimmers. The fictional story of the human-shark relationship (and human-ocean relationship) that humans are on the menu—has been one of the most successful Hollywood narratives in motion picture history. More movies, sequels and spin-offs have created a lasting narrative and industry of 'rogue' sharks, rabid dogs, territorial bears, hungry crocodiles, and other animals that intentionally and sometimes hysterically attack innocent people in classic 'Sharknado' style. [Sign up for Today in Science, a free daily newsletter] The public believed this story of intentionality so completely that every shark bite was essentially a murder, and every shark a potential murderer, and the beach was the scene of a crime by a deviant monster against innocent beachgoers. Importantly, the rogue narrative of sharks gaining a taste for human flesh pre-dated Jaws, and was invented largely by an Australian surgeon, Sir Victor Coppleson, in the 1950s. Peter Benchley's 1974 novel, Jaws, and the movie blockbuster provided the justification for, and weakened push-back against, all the anti-shark public policies that followed, including revenge shark hunts, shark derbies, changes to fishery laws that classified sharks as waste fish, delays in enacting shark conservation and the placement of lethal shark nets on some international beaches. Another piece of the Jaws story was its portrayal of an innocent coastal community being preyed upon. Here, beachgoers were not large land animals entering into the foreign domain of a dynamic marine ecosystem, but they were cast as property owners and recreational water users who had the right to expect nature to behave in a domesticated manner. This misperception that the beach is safe introduced as big a misconception and falsehood on the public, as the idea that sharks are all dangerous. The ocean is constantly in flux, and the direct opposite to "shark bites are intentional attacks" is a much less Oscar-worthy story about the beach as a wild, dynamic and active ocean environment. In 2014, I proposed the 'Jaws Effect' in the Australian Journal of Political Science, in which I argue that politicians use familiar fictional films and movies as the basis for explaining real-life events. The Jaws Effect can be seen as a political instrument that uses films to reinforce three themes: 'that sharks are intentionally hunting people, that shark bites are fatal events and that killing individual sharks will solve the problem.' Following a terrible fatal shark bite in Western Australia in 2000 and subsequent shark bites and encounters, the West Australian premier Colin Barnett repeatedly used the term 'rogue sharks' the he said were returning to the beach to attack swimmers, so there needed to be a law to help the government kill specific target sharks that were intent on haunting the local beach community. During this period, Benchley wrote an open letter to Western Australia about the case and the political directive to hunt down the shark responsible. He wrote, 'This was not a rogue shark, tantalised by the taste of human flesh and bound now to kill and kill again. Such creatures do not exist, despite what you might have derived from Jaws.' The Jaws Effect, however, continues in Australia today. In 2024, the District Council of Elliston passed a motion to allow fisheries officers in South Australia to kill great white sharks following shark bites in that area, which stated, 'Sharks are capable of learned behavior. The purpose of terminating the shark responsible for an attack is to prevent that shark from using that behavior to harm another person.' Yet, at 50 years old, Jaws is also a celebration of sharks, creating a fascination that helped lead to more than two generations of new shark researchers. Indeed, some of the people who have done the most for shark conservation worked on Jaws. Valerie Taylor help collect footage of sharks that was used in Jaws and was one of the leaders in New South Wales on conservation laws to protect the Grey Nurse Shark, which in 1984 became the first protected species of shark. As well, Leonard Compagno, who was a scientist and consultant on Jaws, also led the effort to protect White Sharks in South Africa. The idea that Jaws led to bad public relations is too simple a story. Our reading of the movie, real-life sharks, the public and our beaches are all evolving. Jaws is better at 50, sharks are seen more positively in 2025, and the public is more engaged in shark conservation and beach safety. There's even a 'Jawsie' Award in Australia, given yearly to the most outlandish reports of shark attacks and meant to spur real beach safety awareness. I would be remiss if I did not note the connection between Jaws, the false rogue shark theory, and current debate over orcas ramming into yachts off the Strait of Gibraltar. Both National Geographic and the BBC, for example, have run headlines about such 'rogue' orcas. In the mix of stories to explain this behavior, one that claimed that it was an 'orca scorned' type situation where a female orca had been traumatized by a boat previously and was now training her young to attack boats in revenge. Very Jaws, or perhaps Jaws 3, but there will be no awards for this fish story. This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily those of Scientific American.
Scientific American
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scientific American
The Applause for Jaws, Despite Flaws
The motion picture Jaws deserves another round of applause on its 50 th birthday, despite its flaws. Released on June 20, 1975, this classic invented the summer blockbuster genre, made sharks a familiar (if demonized) foe, and gave a visceral picture to the words 'shark attack.' But today, humanity has grown to have a better appreciation for all sharks, even those that swim near the beach. We owe some of the public sentiment that it's ' safe to go back in the water ' to Jaws. Initially, the movie's biggest impact was to portray shark bites as intentional "attacks" on swimmers. The fictional story of the human-shark relationship (and human-ocean relationship) that humans are on the menu—has been one of the most successful Hollywood narratives in motion picture history. More movies, sequels and spin-offs have created a lasting narrative and industry of 'rogue' sharks, rabid dogs, territorial bears, hungry crocodiles, and other animals that intentionally and sometimes hysterically attack innocent people in classic 'Sharknado' style. On supporting science journalism If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. The public believed this story of intentionality so completely that every shark bite was essentially a murder, and every shark a potential murderer, and the beach was the scene of a crime by a deviant monster against innocent beachgoers. Importantly, the rogue narrative of sharks gaining a taste for human flesh pre-dated Jaws, and was invented largely by an Australian surgeon, Sir Victor Coppleson, in the 1950s. Peter Benchley's 1974 novel, Jaws, and the movie blockbuster provided the justification for, and weakened push-back against, all the anti-shark public policies that followed, including revenge shark hunts, shark derbies, changes to fishery laws that classified sharks as waste fish, delays in enacting shark conservation and the placement of lethal shark nets on some international beaches. Another piece of the Jaws story was its portrayal of an innocent coastal community being preyed upon. Here, beachgoers were not large land animals entering into the foreign domain of a dynamic marine ecosystem, but they were cast as property owners and recreational water users who had the right to expect nature to behave in a domesticated manner. This misperception that the beach is safe introduced as big a misconception and falsehood on the public, as the idea that sharks are all dangerous. The ocean is constantly in flux, and the direct opposite to "shark bites are intentional attacks" is a much less Oscar-worthy story about the beach as a wild, dynamic and active ocean environment. In 2014, I proposed the ' Jaws Effect ' in the Australian Journal of Political Science, in which I argue that politicians use familiar fictional films and movies as the basis for explaining real-life events. The Jaws Effect can be seen as a political instrument that uses films to reinforce three themes: 'that sharks are intentionally hunting people, that shark bites are fatal events and that killing individual sharks will solve the problem.' Following a terrible fatal shark bite in Western Australia in 2000 and subsequent shark bites and encounters, the West Australian premier Colin Barnett repeatedly used the term 'rogue sharks' the he said were returning to the beach to attack swimmers, so there needed to be a law to help the government kill specific target sharks that were intent on haunting the local beach community. During this period, Benchley wrote an open letter to Western Australia about the case and the political directive to hunt down the shark responsible. He wrote, 'This was not a rogue shark, tantalised by the taste of human flesh and bound now to kill and kill again. Such creatures do not exist, despite what you might have derived from Jaws.' The Jaws Effect, however, continues in Australia today. In 2024, the District Council of Elliston passed a motion to allow fisheries officers in South Australia to kill great white sharks following shark bites in that area, which stated, 'Sharks are capable of learned behavior. The purpose of terminating the shark responsible for an attack is to prevent that shark from using that behavior to harm another person.' Yet, at 50 years old, Jaws is also a celebration of sharks, creating a fascination that helped lead to more than two generations of new shark researchers. Indeed, some of the people who have done the most for shark conservation worked on Jaws. Valerie Taylor help collect footage of sharks that was used in Jaws and was one of the leaders in New South Wales on conservation laws to protect the Grey Nurse Shark, which in 1984 became the first protected species of shark. As well, Leonard Compagno, who was a scientist and consultant on Jaws, also led the effort to protect White Sharks in South Africa. The idea that Jaws led to bad public relations is too simple a story. Our reading of the movie, real-life sharks, the public and our beaches are all evolving. Jaws is better at 50, sharks are seen more positively in 2025, and the public is more engaged in shark conservation and beach safety. There's even a 'Jawsie' Award in Australia, given yearly to the most outlandish reports of shark attacks and meant to spur real beach safety awareness. I would be remiss if I did not note the connection between Jaws, the false rogue shark theory, and current debate over orcas ramming into yachts off the Strait of Gibraltar. Both National Geographic and the BBC, for example, have run headlines about such 'rogue' orcas. In the mix of stories to explain this behavior, one that claimed that it was an 'orca scorned' type situation where a female orca had been traumatized by a boat previously and was now training her young to attack boats in revenge. Very Jaws, or perhaps Jaws 3, but there will be no awards for this fish story.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Shark bites were unusually low in 2024; here are tips to avoid getting bit in 2025
After one shark bit a surfer on the foot in 2023, the first known attack at the Shore in 10 years, New Jersey swimmers came out of the waters unscathed by sharks last year. Overall, here and around the world, shark bites were down in what the the Florida Museum of Natural History called an "exceptionally calm year for shark bites." The museum, which maintains the International Shark Attack File, released its annual report Tuesday in which it verified 71 bites, down 20 from the previous year. Four of last year's attacks did prove to be fatal but that was fewer than last year when 14 people died from a shark attack. The International Shark Attack File provides data on what are considered unprovoked bites, defined as incidents in which a person does not initiate contact with a shark. Instances in which a person intentionally or unintentionally initiates contact, including spearfishing and releasing sharks from nets or hooks, are not included in the report. NOAA urges boats to go slow: Right whale mom and calf spotted in NY/NJ shipping lanes 'We're interested in the natural patterns of shark behavior so that we can understand why people occasionally get bitten by these animals. Any cue or attribute that modifies an animal's natural behavior is something that, we as scientists, want to exclude,' said Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research. The 71 bites for 2024 includes provoked and unprovoked attacks. Last year there were 24 unprovoked bites and 47 provoked bites. The 10-year average for unprovoked attacks is 70 per year, so 2024 was significantly less sharky than the average. Gulf of Mexico or Gulf of America? How a name change works, and what would make it stick The United States consistently has the highest number of unprovoked bites, a trend that continued last year with a total of 28 reported incidents. An attack by an unknown shark species off the northwest coast of Oahu, Hawaii resulted in the only unprovoked fatality in the U.S. Out of all the states, Florida had the most bites with a total of 14. Of these, eight occurred in Volusia County, which bears the unofficial title of shark bite capital of the world. New Smyrna Beach and Daytona Beach are located in Volusia County. Though unconfirmed, many of the bites in Florida were likely from blacktips whose breeding grounds stretch along the northeast Florida coastline, according to the museum's report. Many of the sharks in this area are juveniles and haven't yet fully developed the ability to distinguish between humans and their natural prey, which includes fish, stingrays and other sharks, according to the museum. A bull shark was identified in one attack along the Florida Panhandle. The rest of the bites in the U.S. occurred in Hawaii, four; Texas, four; California three; South Carolina, two; and North Carolina, one. 'Jaws' at 50: Peter Benchley's toothy terror and the fascination with great white sharks The most occurrences of shark bites happened on the July 4 weekend, when there were six shark attacks — five unprovoked and one unprovoked — in Florida and Texas. Outside the country, Australia had the most unprovoked bites with nine. Ten other countries all had single bites, including one in the Red Sea off Egypt's coast in which a man reportedly swimming outside a designated safety area was killed. Other countries include Belize, Trinidad and Tobago, The Bahamas, the Maldives, Mozambique, French Polynesia, Thailand and the Turks and Caicos. An unusual incident off the coast of Western Sahara marked the first reported shark attack for that region. A German tourist sailing on a British catamaran traveling from the Canary Islands was attacked while swimming alongside the boat. The incident occurred in remote international waters, and it took several hours for an emergency crew to reach the scene by helicopter. The woman died from her injuries on the return trip. The fourth and final death occurred in the Maldives. 'I hunt dead things:' Prehistoric fossils hide throughout New Jersey, waiting to be found Swimmers and waders accounted for 50% of the shark bites in 2024, while surfers made up 34% of the victims and snorkelers and free divers made up 8%. The museum listed 8% of the victims as "others." While surfers may look like seals to a hungry shark below, Naylor said there's another reason why surfers get bit. 'People surf where there are good waves, and where there are good waves, there's turbidity, and where there's turbidity, there are often bait fish that attract sharks. The turbidity also reduces visibility in the water, making it harder for sharks to see. Some of them make mistakes,' Naylor said. Jersey Shore visitor: Great white shark Anne Bonny returns to New Jersey coast The chances of being bitten by a shark remain incredibly low. Drowning and coastal features like rip tides and strong currents pose a greater risk to beachgoers than sharks. To reduce your chances of getting bit by a shark the museum suggests: Always stay with a buddy, since sharks are more likely to approach a solitary individual. Avoid being in the water during low light hours (dawn or dusk) and at night when many sharks are most active and feeding. Avoid areas near fishermen, do not wear flashy jewelry and refrain from excess splashing. Sharks can hear the low-frequency sounds from splashing and may investigate to see if there is a fish/prey in distress. When Jersey Shore native Dan Radel is not reporting the news, you can find him in a college classroom where he is a history professor. Reach him @danielradelapp; dradel@ This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: How many sharks bit people in 2024, and what does that mean for 2025?
