Jaws 2

Jaws 2 (1978) is the first sequel to Jaws. It is set four years after the events of the original film. Its famous tagline is: "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water..."

Production

The producers had the idea for a sequel within weeks of the original movie being released. Howard Sackler, who had contributed to the script of the original movie but chose not to seek arbitration, was charged with writing the first draft.

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Since Steven Spielberg "wanted to move on to fresher climes", theatre director John Hancock was chosen to helm the picture. Dorothy Tristan, Hancock's wife, was invited to rewrite Sackler's script. Offended, Sackler left the company. Hank Searls' novelization is based upon Tristan's script.

Related Topics:
Steven Spielberg - John Hancock - Hank Searls - Novelization

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Hancock's vision for the film was dark. On a Saturday evening in June 1977, after a meeting with the producers and Universal executives, the director was fired. He had been involved in the film for eighteen months.

Related Topics:
June - 1977

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Tristan left with her husband. Echoing the production of the first film, Carl Gottlieb was enlisted to further revise the script, adding humour and reducing some of the violence.

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At this point, Spielberg considered returning to direct the sequel. Because of his contract for Close Encounters of the Third Kind, however, he would not be able to film for a further year, a gap too long for the producers. Production Designer Joe Alves (who would direct Jaws 3) and Verna Fields (who had been promoted to vice-president at Universal after her acclaimed editing on the original film) proposed that they co-directed it, but the request was declined by the DGA. The reigns were eventually handed to Jeannot Szwarc, best known for the TV movie Bug and Night Gallery.

Related Topics:
Close Encounters of the Third Kind - Joe Alves - Jaws 3 - Verna Fields - DGA - Jeannot Szwarc - Bug - Night Gallery

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Roy Scheider reluctantly returned to reprise his role as Martin Brody. Universal agreed to count the film as the remaining two of his contractual obligations. The atmosphere was tense on the set, and he often argued with Szwarc.

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Martha's Vineyard was again used as the location for the town scenes. The majority of filming, however, was at Navarre Beach in Florida, because of the warm weather. Cable Crossing Island was a floating set that was towed out from the Shalimar Yacht Basin when needed and could be seen from the Garniers Bayou Bridge tied up at night with its faux beacon still blinking. The interior shots of the teen hang-out where they play pinball were filmed in the original location of the Hog's Breath Saloon on Okaloosa Island. This restaurant has recently relocated to Destin, Florida as its original building was susceptible to hurricane damage. The original building was still vacant and derelict in January 2005. The production company had to seek dredge and fill permits from the State of Florida's Department of Environmental Regulation to sink the sled that controlled Bruce the shark on the sea bottom.

Related Topics:
Martha's Vineyard - Navarre Beach - Florida - Shalimar Yacht Basin - Garniers Bayou Bridge - Okaloosa Island - Destin, Florida

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