‘Jaws @ 50’ Exclusive Showing At Orpheum Theater

 Steven Spielberg told us himself in the documentary “Jaws @ 50, the Definitive Inside Story” that he thought this might be the end of his career as a filmmaker, and he was only 26! The movie was way over budget due to issues with Bruce the mechanical shark and the frequent bad weather on the waters off Martha’s Vineyard. But look at “Jaws” now: it’s still being celebrated 50 years later as the originator of the summer blockbuster. 

Amblin Entertainment (Spielberg’s film production company) and National Geographic are the forces behind the new documentary, and both were represented at the Chatham Orpheum Theater on June 26 when the film debuted on the Cape. Justin Falvey, the co-president of Amblin Television, and Jennifer Driscoll, director of public relations for National Geographic, were both there to welcome the sold-out crowd. Wendy Benchley, “Jaws” author Peter Benchley’s widow, also attended and was thrilled to be in Chatham. 

Jennifer Falvey, a Chatham resident and Justin’s cousin, said she was so excited to work with Kevin McLain, the Orpheum’s executive director, to be able to offer the documentary for a special showing here before it debuts on the National Geographic channel and Hulu on July 11. The documentary was shown for five more days, through July 1, at the Chatham theater with free tickets available at the box office. 

The event began with a reception in the theater featuring cans of Narragansett beer, wine and pizza from Pizza Shark. Owners of Chatham’s Cape Shark, Brendan and Kristina Stearns, fresh off the island of Martha's Vineyard where they attended “Jaws” 50th anniversary events, brought their portable screen-printing machine and produced the special “Jaws” 50th anniversary T-shirts right there! All proceeds both from the T-shirts and the sold-out tickets went to the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy. Over $6,000 was raised, $3,500 from ticket sales and $2,500 in T-shirt sales. 

The film is fascinating. Did you know only eight Hollywood stars were in the “Jaws” cast? Everyone else was a Martha’s Vineyard local, even the ill-fated swimmer Alex Kinter and his mother. Or that originally, Spielberg wasn’t so sure about the score John Williams wrote? 

The Q&A after the show with Wendy Benchley and state shark biologist Dr. Greg Skomal, moderated by Falvey, was also very interesting. Benchley told the crowd that because of the movie many endangered sharks were killed for sport, and she is now an ocean conservation advocate serving on the board of the nonprofit Beneath The Waves and a supporter of the AWSC. “We were horrified at these actions,” she said. 

Skomal pointed out that one of the positive reactions to the film was that shark research really “came out” and was “jump-started” because of it, and so much has been learned in the last 50 years. 

Benchley also talked about how she and Peter met on Nantucket when she was a hostess at the Jared Coffin House because of a Lucky Strike cigarette. “He was smoking a cigarette and I asked him for a drag. We started dating, and got married a year later,” she said. 

When urged by Falvey, Benchley told the crowd how she saved her husband’s life. 

“We went to Australia after ‘Jaws’ came out to see some great whites. Peter was in a shark cage lowered into the water. They had half a horse dangling in the water as bait, to attract the sharks. When a shark came at the horse and the cage, a rope from the cage got caught in its mouth, and Peter was dragged under the boat. I kept screaming to get the rope out of his mouth, but no one was acting on it so eventually I was able to grab the rope and somehow get it free and out of his mouth.” 

Needless to say, Benchley was a very entertaining speaker. 

“Jaws,” the original movie, plays at the Orpheum Theater until July 6.