What separatesJaws: The Revengefrom the usual bad movie crowd is its otherwise decent pedigree.
It was the product of a major Hollywood studio.
The budget was generous.
The short answer to that question is simple: a lack of time.
The longer answer is more complex, and very, very strange.
The film had made a profit, sure, but the effects were horrible and the reviews were derisive.
We want a quality people picture, Sheinberg said, not a shark picture.
Nevertheless, Sargent appeared to be upbeat about the films chances.
That period was, to use a term often bandied about in Hollywood, a total disaster.
First cameLegal Eagles,an Ivan Reitman-directed comedy starring Robert Redford, Daryl Hannah, and Debra Winger.
Sheinberg denied the story (Its a rumor started by idiots for the consumption of idiots, hesaid).
But at any rate, Price went and Sheinberg stayed.
After all, hed been president of Universal whenJawshit cinemas like a tidal wave in the summer of 1975.
Wasnt there at least a chance that lightning could strike in the same place twice forJaws?
That year,Alienshad made a huge splash in cinemas.
It was a monster movie in which its heroine faced off against a toothsome force of nature.
Critics loved it even though it was a horror sequel that should, in theory, have been terrible.
TheJawssequels was, less famously, This time, its personal.
Sargent and de Guzman wanted Brody back, but in a capacity with weird echoes of HitchcocksPsycho.
The people content is what turns me on.
The originalJawsstarted its shoot without a finished script.
The screenplay forJaws: The Revengewas completed in just five weeks.
With acting jobs drying up, Gary left the movie business behind and became a literary agent instead.
I thought he was teasing me.
Far from a mother figure hanging around somewhere near the kitchen, Ellen Brody would be the heroine.
Was Ellens new status asJaws 4s star due to the success ofAliens?
Did Sheinberg have the idea of giving his franchise its own Ellen Ripley?
With Gary in place, the rest of the cast was gradually assembled around her.
But Universal was insistent, and Van Peebles found himself warming to the script.
Like Sargent, Van Peebles was also offered the double lure of a large pay check and creative freedom.
The reply was a resounding no the schedule was simply too tight to move things around.
And so I had to be there, Caine toldTime Magazine,And so I missed it.
Scheider, bored with shark hunting and less than thrilled at beingRevenges Janet Leigh, rejected Universals offer.
Journalists wondered aloud just how and why Universal was crushing what shouldve been a two-year production into nine months.
Even Frank Baur, the films associate producer, admitted that were doing the impossible.
Sid Sheinberg expects a miracle and were going to make it happen.
Sets were hurriedly constructed, including an entire village of wooden huts and a sandy beach.
There mustve been a point among the chaotic shoot that Sargent began to wonder what hed gotten himself into.
Jawsshould never have been made, Sargent toldThe Chicago Tribune.
It was an impossible effort.
Sometimes I wonder if he was right.
There was growing concern, however, at the response to the ending.
The Aftermath
I won an Oscar, paid for a house and had a great holiday.
Not bad for a flop movie.
Sheinberg remained upbeat about the chances of makingJaws V,but the franchise ultimately sank, never to resurface.
This article originally ran inDen of Geek UK.
