Fans of the movie Jaws descended upon the Vineyard this past weekend to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Steven Spielberg blockbuster, which was largely shot on the Island.
The streets were packed with people sporting Jaws merchandise or dressed as the characters. Richard Dreyfuss, who played the oceanographic institute scientist Matt Hooper, held court with fans, and just about any way visitors turned, the black eyes of Bruce the shark loomed.
Events dotted the Island all weekend. Actors in the film, many of which are Islanders, signed autographs, the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra played the soundtrack during a screening of the film at the Winnetu, and the Vineyard Gazette Media Group held a Jaws festival in collaboration with the Martha’s Vineyard Museum on Sunday.
Roy Combs came to the Sunday festival to celebrate his 11th birthday. Roy was a big fan of the film, and he dressed up as Amity police Chief Martin Brody for Halloween.
“I like Jaws,” Roy said. “The whole movie.”
Among the people Roy met was Jeffrey Kramer, who played Deputy Leonard Hendricks. Mr. Kramer, who attended several of the weekend’s festivities, said that the response he has seen from Jaws fans has been fabulous.
“It’s exhilarating. When you see this kind of enthusiasm, life is worth living,” he said. “Who knew that this would be a defining event in film.”
Molly Scheider, the daughter of actor Roy Scheider – who played Chief Brody – was also in attendance. Her father died when she was 13, and she came because her father could not.
“It’s a little weird, but at the same time, I know he lives through all these people who knew them,” she said. “I get to experience my dad.”
She was able to reminisce about her father with others who worked on the film. She spoke with Andy Fligor, who showed her his family’s home video of the film’s production, including footage of Mr. Scheider tanning between takes of the movie. The footage was shot by Carol Fligor, an Edgartown resident who looked after the children on set. Her children, Mr. Fligor and his sister Abby were extras in the movie.
“The Jaws fans have been extraordinary,” Abby Fligor said while signing autographs with her brother and mother. “They’ve been so excited…to see and do what they can.”
Extras reconnected and online friends met for the first time. Michael Smith, the Kansas City-based author of Finatics – 50 Years of Jaws, said the event was a chance to meet fellow fans of the film that he had befriended over the years through social media.
“It’s cliche that Murray Hamilton says Amity means friendship, but it’s family,” he said. “It’s like you’ve been friends forever.”
Fans came from far and wide for the event. Brothers Roger and Nick Kasper made the trip from England to celebrate the anniversary. They saw the film when it first came out, with Nick sneaking Roger into the movie to see it. They have seen the impact the movie has had five decades on.
“My grandson, who is seven and has never seen the film, plays with his tools in the pool and goes dun-dun, dun-dun,” Nick said.
Brian and Donna Rodwich, who came from Virginia, have been trying to get their grandchildren into the movie. For the two, watching the film is an annual tradition.
“We watch it almost religiously every Fourth of July,” Mr. Rodwich.
Eric Ropke, who worked as a carpenter on the film, also came to partake in the events. On set, he helped with maintenance on one of the barges and worked on the shark itself.
He said that when the production crew first left the Island, he was unsure if the movie would even be made because there had been so many issues. It was at the 25th anniversary, when he started to realize how much the movie mattered to people.
“I was just a carpenter who worked on a movie,” Mr. Ropke said. “When people found out I had worked on the movie, it was like I was a rockstar.”
Comments (4)
Comments
Comment policy »