The Jaws Log
Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2020 11:39 am
The Jaws Log is a diary and retrospective of how the movie came about, and was later made. It's written by Carl Gottlieb, who shares screenplay writing credits with Peter Benchley, but we quickly learn this was never the original plan. Benchley submitted several drafts while collaborating continuously with Spielberg, after which a second writer was brought in to punch things up. Eventually Gottlieb, who was a friend of Spielberg's and was originally just set to act in a bit part (newspaper writer Harry Meadows, a part that became even bit-ter as Gottlieb had to write himself out of many scenes for the good of the film), was then later tapped as the third, and primary writing force on the movie.
Gottlieb's history was in comedy writing, for shows like the Smothers Brothers, the Odd Couple, the Bob Newhart Show and others, and later for films like The Jerk. This explains both some of the funnier, lighter moments in the movie, as well as the very readable, enjoyable and often hilarious book he wrote about the experience.
In the years since the book was published, it's attained a high degree of renown for its accurate and telling depiction of how things work in movies, both in the big head offices where the decisions about who gets to make what and for how much money are made, as well as the daily goings-on of the entire cast and crew, particularly on a project which was seen as a very hot commodity before anyone knew if it was any good. At the time, Benchley's book was nearly as much of a phenomenon in the book publishing world as the movie would become in the history of film. Several folks in the business have stated it should be required reading for anyone interested in setting foot in Hollywood's alien landscape.
To me, the most interesting thing about it was that the book was originally published before the film was released. There had been a few preview screenings to indicate that it was going to be a hit, but it had not become the legendary, iconic film it is today. Nor had the stories around the film become the larger-than-life stories you may have heard. This has the quite welcome effect of showing you in a more realistic, down-to-earth fashion how, yes, there were problems, and the Sword of Damocles hung precariously over the production as it went over time and budget, but many of the stories seem like they've been embellished and overblown in the years since. One gets the sense that the film was never really in that much danger, because the book was still the biggest thing in the world at the time, and nobody was going to pull the plug on a property this potentially valuable.
There are plenty stories about the shark not working, and delays in shooting caused both by that, by weather issues, by other failing equipment, and by Martha's Vineyard locals who were not pleased with what was happening to their parochial, xenophobic island, but eventually these were all ironed out, and he mentions that by the time they were nearing the end of shooting the last act, "the shark worked", which none of the other dramatic retellings mention.
The supposed feud between Benchley and Spielberg is also downplayed to a more reasonable level. They took a few swipes at each other in newspaper interviews (not always intentionally), but once Benchley visited the production house on the island, he was drinking and playing poker with everyone (including Spielberg) within the hour, and the two seemed to have maintained a friendship -- however distant -- in the years since.
The 30th anniversary edition includes footnotes and other additions to acknowledge the phenomenon the movie became, and other corrections and additions. There seems to be no lasting animosity between any of the major players, and the only slight bit of snark comes in the form of Gottlieb's comments about the Indianapolis speech. This appears in the 25th Anniversary notes, because at the time the book was written, the scene figured to be just a bit of dialogue to stick in between the action, but since has become one of the defining moments of the film, and one of film's most legendary monologues. Gottlieb throws some passive-aggressive shade at John Milius, who has taken credit at times for writing that speech, and Gottlieb points out that Milius was never actually there, and he personally gives most of the writing credit to Robert Shaw himself. This is done in a light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek manner you'd expect from a comedy writer, but it's telling nonetheless.
Any fans of the movie would be hard-pressed to find a more entertaining and intimate portrait of What Really Happened, and fans of moviemaking in general will find plenty of behind-the-scenes material to really paint a picture of how movies really get made.
Or at least used to. The book was written at a time where the big, monolithic studios were getting replaced by a new paradigm, and Gottlieb expresses with some degree of melancholy watching the new supplant the old. In the later notes, it's clear that that "new way" has already been replaced again by corporate monstrosities that gobbled up all the studios, and now there's none of the old way, or even "new old way" left.
And so it goes, as he concludes.
Gottlieb's history was in comedy writing, for shows like the Smothers Brothers, the Odd Couple, the Bob Newhart Show and others, and later for films like The Jerk. This explains both some of the funnier, lighter moments in the movie, as well as the very readable, enjoyable and often hilarious book he wrote about the experience.
In the years since the book was published, it's attained a high degree of renown for its accurate and telling depiction of how things work in movies, both in the big head offices where the decisions about who gets to make what and for how much money are made, as well as the daily goings-on of the entire cast and crew, particularly on a project which was seen as a very hot commodity before anyone knew if it was any good. At the time, Benchley's book was nearly as much of a phenomenon in the book publishing world as the movie would become in the history of film. Several folks in the business have stated it should be required reading for anyone interested in setting foot in Hollywood's alien landscape.
To me, the most interesting thing about it was that the book was originally published before the film was released. There had been a few preview screenings to indicate that it was going to be a hit, but it had not become the legendary, iconic film it is today. Nor had the stories around the film become the larger-than-life stories you may have heard. This has the quite welcome effect of showing you in a more realistic, down-to-earth fashion how, yes, there were problems, and the Sword of Damocles hung precariously over the production as it went over time and budget, but many of the stories seem like they've been embellished and overblown in the years since. One gets the sense that the film was never really in that much danger, because the book was still the biggest thing in the world at the time, and nobody was going to pull the plug on a property this potentially valuable.
There are plenty stories about the shark not working, and delays in shooting caused both by that, by weather issues, by other failing equipment, and by Martha's Vineyard locals who were not pleased with what was happening to their parochial, xenophobic island, but eventually these were all ironed out, and he mentions that by the time they were nearing the end of shooting the last act, "the shark worked", which none of the other dramatic retellings mention.
The supposed feud between Benchley and Spielberg is also downplayed to a more reasonable level. They took a few swipes at each other in newspaper interviews (not always intentionally), but once Benchley visited the production house on the island, he was drinking and playing poker with everyone (including Spielberg) within the hour, and the two seemed to have maintained a friendship -- however distant -- in the years since.
The 30th anniversary edition includes footnotes and other additions to acknowledge the phenomenon the movie became, and other corrections and additions. There seems to be no lasting animosity between any of the major players, and the only slight bit of snark comes in the form of Gottlieb's comments about the Indianapolis speech. This appears in the 25th Anniversary notes, because at the time the book was written, the scene figured to be just a bit of dialogue to stick in between the action, but since has become one of the defining moments of the film, and one of film's most legendary monologues. Gottlieb throws some passive-aggressive shade at John Milius, who has taken credit at times for writing that speech, and Gottlieb points out that Milius was never actually there, and he personally gives most of the writing credit to Robert Shaw himself. This is done in a light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek manner you'd expect from a comedy writer, but it's telling nonetheless.
Any fans of the movie would be hard-pressed to find a more entertaining and intimate portrait of What Really Happened, and fans of moviemaking in general will find plenty of behind-the-scenes material to really paint a picture of how movies really get made.
Or at least used to. The book was written at a time where the big, monolithic studios were getting replaced by a new paradigm, and Gottlieb expresses with some degree of melancholy watching the new supplant the old. In the later notes, it's clear that that "new way" has already been replaced again by corporate monstrosities that gobbled up all the studios, and now there's none of the old way, or even "new old way" left.
And so it goes, as he concludes.