To get ready I've been re-watching the JAWS movies and reading Patrick Jankiewicz's excellent book JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE: A JAWS COMPANION.
Here are some "fun facts" that demand to be shared:
Universal had wanted Charlton Heston to play Quint.
In Peter Benchley's novel, Hooper is having an affair with Ellen Brody and he is eaten by the shark.
Mrs. Kitner's poster notes that her son Alex was killed by the shark on June 29th -- the same day Quint says the Indianapolis sank.
"You're gonna need a bigger boat" was ad-libbed by Roy Scheider.
Director Jeannot Schwarc was hired to direct JAWS 2 based on the strength of the earthquake scenes he directed in William Castle's BUG
An early draft of JAWS 3-D revealed that the shark was the same burnt-faced shark from JAWS 2.
Actor Mark Gilpin (Sean Brody in JAWS 2) remembers his co-star Donna Wilkes: "Donna had a lot of pressure, because she's the one who had to freak out so much in the film. Donna kept to herself on JAWS 2, because she had to constantly psych herself up."
