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Axios
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Axios
At 50, "Jaws" still gobbles up tourist dollars
The 50th anniversary of "Jaws" is making this summer season a little more special, with nostalgia for the blockbuster fueling events and promotions on Martha's Vineyard and around Cape Cod. Why it matters:"Jaws" continues to generate economic waves across Massachusetts, showing that anniversary marketing efforts from a huge movie studio down to local pubs can turn nostalgia into a measurable tourism boost. State of play: The half-century birthday of Spielberg's classic brought all sorts of cinematic shark hunters to the island to seek out filming locations and anniversary events. Merchandise sales have surged and film fans who've never come to the Cape or Islands before are soaking up the resort vibes. Zoom in: Martha's Vineyard, where much of the film was shot, was the epicenter of the celebration with Amity Week in late June to coincide with the film's release date. There were themed events, cast reunions featuring Richard Dreyfuss at Edgartown's Wharf Pub, a dog costume meetup and even a live score performance by the Cape Symphony. Practically every eatery in the area had some kind of shark-themed promotion. The local Chamber of Commerce printed up maps with shooting locations for fans to see firsthand the estuary where Chief Brody's son almost got chomped and where young Alex Kintner was straight-up eaten. What they're saying:"What we do know is that hotel occupancy was at 99% for 'Jaws' weekend, which is a strong early indicator" of a business boost, Martha's Vineyard Chamber of Commerce executive director Erica Ashton told Axios. Ashton is waiting for more data from the island's airport and ferry operators to size up the impact "Jaws" has already had on this season's tourism to the Vineyard. Few local companies have capitalized on their "Jaws " connection quite like Rhode Island's Narragansett Beer with its "Crush it Like Quint" limited-edition cans. Vineyard confectioner Murdick's Fudge created special treats that look like they've been attacked by a shark. Even the Massachusetts Lottery got in on the fun with a "Jaws" -themed scratch ticket with a $1 million top prize. And Universal Pictures isn't letting the anniversary go unnoticed. The studio re-released the film in IMAX and 4K formats nationwide. Martha's Vineyard Museum's"Jaws at 50: A Deeper Dive" exhibition runs through Sept. 7. "Part of our exhibit about 'Jaws' is a room devoted to teaching people more about sharks as a species, and efforts to understand them, protect them," museum research librarian Van Riper told USA Today.
Straits Times
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Celebrating 50 years of Jaws on Martha's Vineyard
Jaws fans take photos with a poster from the film at the Martha's Vineyard Museum during the Jaws 50th Anniversary celebration on June 21. PHOTO: AFP EDGARTOWN, Massachusetts – It was the third day of Amity Homecoming Weekend on Martha's Vineyard, and like thousands of other Jaws superfans celebrating the movie's 50th anniversary on the island where it was filmed, Mr David Scanlon was living his dream. The 30-year-old from Savannah, Georgia, has loved Jaws since his first viewing at age three, from which he somehow emerged more enchanted than petrified. At 10, he begged his mother to take him to Martha's Vineyard, 11km off Cape Cod in Massachusetts, for the 30th-anniversary festivities. 'Not this time,' she had told him. 'We'll go for the 50th.' And so it was that Mr Scanlon and his mother – along with his sister, brother-in-law and 15-month-old nephew, Georgie – sat by the sparkling harbour on June 22 afternoon. They were steps from a replica of the Orca, the fishing boat where the movie's terrifying climax unfolds, savouring an experience two decades in the making. 'It's a perfect film,' Mr Scanlon said, 'and from a very young age, you understand that – long before you have any technical understanding of why.' Jaws actor Richard Dreyfuss signs autographs at the meet-and-greet party at the Wharf Pub during the Jaws 50th Anniversary celebration in Edgartown, Massachusetts, on June 21. PHOTO: AFP The anniversary festivities on the Vineyard included a jam-packed schedule of VIP meet-and-greets, book signings, film screenings and lectures about sharks and the movie's history. At the Martha's Vineyard Museum, a Jaws exhibit included one of the battle-scarred yellow barrels that the movie's giant great white shark dragged into the depths. There were limited-edition Jaws doughnuts and cocktails to sample, and a dizzying array of merchandise to buy. There was a US$40 (S$51) apricot-scented commemorative candle called Chrissie's Last Swim, in honour of the movie shark's first victim. But for many who travelled long distances to be there, the real draw was the island itself: the sweeping, grass-fringed beaches and postcard-perfect villages they had come to know and love from repeated viewings of director Steven Spielberg's blockbuster breakthrough, which was released in theatres on June 20, 1975. Michael Robert Anderson, 33, a film-maker from Staten Island, New York, who credits his career choice to the influence of Jaws and Spielberg, found it deeply cathartic to finally see the movie scenery that felt as familiar as his own neighbourhood. Touring the island, he referred to stills from the film that he had downloaded on his mobile phone, and snapped a matching photo of his own in each location. Most looked much as they did in the movie, he said, a likeness that amazed him as he walked through modern-day Edgartown, the stand-in for the movie's fictional village of Amity Island. 'This is almost like coming to the set, and the set's still here,' Anderson said. 'You're just waiting to hear Steven Spielberg say, 'The shark's not working!'' The mechanical shark in the movie, nicknamed Bruce, frequently broke down, which was one reason the 1974 shoot ran 100 days over schedule. A Jaws fan looks at memorabilia from the film at Martha's Vineyard Museum during the Jaws 50th Anniversary celebration in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, on June 21. PHOTO: AFP Speaking at the museum , Joe Alves, the movie's production designer, described how he initially set out to scout locations on the island of Nantucket, 48km offshore . His ferry turned back to Cape Cod because of bad weather, but the ferry to the Vineyard – much closer to land – was still running, so he went there instead. 'When I saw Edgartown, I said, 'This is perfect,'' Alves recalled. 'A perfect little village for a shark to destroy.' Previously a quiet, rural retreat frequented mostly by New Englanders, the Vineyard grew into a busier, higher-end destination in part because of the exposure Jaws gave it. To some, the movie deserves a share of blame for what they consider unwelcome changes. On June 22, as guests mingled at a VIP reception on the museum lawn, Ms Patricia Pachico, 65, a lifelong island resident, sat with a friend at the bar 3.2km away at VFW Post 9261. Both expressed some resentment of the crowds and traffic that the movie's success spawned. 'It's not our island any more,' Ms Pachico said. 'It's Jaws Island now.' A person reading a newspaper that says Jaws @ 50! on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts on June 24. PHOTO: BRIAN KARLSSON/NYTIMES The most arduous – and dangerous – 50th-anniversary tribute was that of Lewis Pugh, a British endurance swimmer. He swam 96.6km around the island over 12 days in May to raise awareness about global shark hunting and declining shark populations, which threaten ocean ecosystems. Like Spielberg in 1974, Pugh and his support team tapped the expertise of local fishermen to help them navigate the rocky coast in weather conditions that ranked among the worst the veteran swimmer has faced. 'We've always had a cardinal rule that we never speak about sharks,' Pugh said in an interview. 'But this time, I wanted to speak about sharks and reshape the narrative about them, the culture of fear that Jaws has shaped for 50 years.' Pugh, 55, who has never rewatched Jaws since his first viewing, did not spot any sharks during his Vineyard swim. On the June 20 Friday night that marked 50 years since Jaws debuted in theatres, Mr Scanlon had marked another kind of milestone. In a hotel room in Raynham, Massachusetts, en route to the Vineyard, he sat his 15-month-old nephew on his lap and showed him Jaws for the first time. The baby had been mesmerised, the family said, watching it twice through without a peep. 'He won't remember it, but we will,' Mr Scanlon said. 'It was quite a moment.' NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
