Ten Questions with Carl Gottlieb

1. You were brought on the original Jaws as a writer, though after the film had already started pre-production. What was the condition of the script, story and film before your arrival?

The film, of course, was nonexistent, because at the time I joined the project it existed only as a screenplay, but was thoroughly prepared to shoot. Sets were built, locations chosen, and the shark was designed and under construction. Although the story and screenplay were in reasonable shape, the film that would have been made from those elements would not resemble the final work we all know.

Peter Benchley had written a first draft, and he had been rewritten by Howard Sackler, the screenwriter and playwright whose most famous work was "The Great White Hope." (It was Sackler who first introduced the "Indianapolis" speech into the story.) I was hired less than two weeks before we started shooting the movie, on the basis of a long memo I had written to Steven about the script after he solicited my opinions. I couldn't add much in the way of sets (no time to build or find them), so I had to work within the parameters of what we had, and what we could build or locate on short notice.

2. Jaws 2 seemed like an unlikely choice for a sequel considering that the first story appeared to be so self-contained, and it certainly must have been daunting to try and repeat its extraordinary success. What I actually found interesting about Jaws 2 was the focus on psychological impact that the first film's events had on the character of Brody. Was that an underlying theme inherent in the story before you began writing, or something that developed over time?

The conscious choice in JAWS 2 was to make it a true sequel, with many of the same characters facing the same nemesis and problems. It was clear that if Brody returned, he should be marked by his past experience, his character should be consistent. By keeping the strong relationship with his family, we kept his character intact, and by keeping the town's character the same (obsessed with tourism and development), we managed to repeat Amity's civic problems from the first film.

Having the Brody kids be the right age helped me involve them with the other teenagers in the town (I invented a "cruising culture" to bring them all together and put them in peril), and there's even a scientist/oceanographer similar to Hooper. As Sid Sheinberg said about sequels, "You invite people to dinner, you serve them a fine fish, and when you invite them again, they expect another fine fish, not roast beef, so you serve them fish again..." Which is what we did.

3. In addition to contributing to the screenplay for the original Jaws, you also acted in the film. Why didn't you write yourself into the sequel?

It was considered, but there was just too much to do and not enough time to do it all, so I couldn't take time away from the typewriter to put on a costume and hang around the set all day waiting to say my lines. Besides, in the original JAWS I played a character who was always in the script. In JAWS 2 all the characters in the script I might have played had already been cast, so I would've had to invent someone new, and it was just too much trouble. It was tough enough getting back on schedule and shooting the movie we had. The original writer and director had been replaced, the production was in a state of controlled chaos, we had to bear down and grind out winning material without any additional distraction.

4. What did you think of the producers initial idea for a second sequel (a spoof entitled Jaws 3- People- 0)?

"JAWS 3 - PEOPLE 0" was a concept invented by Matty Simmons, a producer on the Universal lot whose background was the National Lampoon. He was at Universal by virtue of his connection to ANIMAL HOUSE, and was always looking to do another blockbuster comedy. He had the notion that the JAWS franchise would lend itself to spoofing and parody, in the broad comic style that characterized the National Lampoon movies. I think a first draft was commissioned, and I know that Matty did a detailed synopsis, but in the end, Universal decided not to test their shark franchise with such a radical departure, so nothing was ever done.

As for myself, I came from a comedy background, so I appreciated the potential, and would've been just as happy to do something along those lines, but nothing ever came of it...

5. Is there anything in the Jaws films that you wrote (I won't crucify you and include Jaws: The Revenge in there) that, with hindsight, you wished you had done differently?

Every writer and director has to face the results of their choices forever -- the film is fixed, permanent, and every mistake you made is preserved, along with every winning decision and superior solution. Even with "directors cuts" and "alternative versions" made possible by DVD, you never really get to make a movie a second time, so it's the first version you live with the rest of your life.

There are no huge mistakes of which I'm ashamed. There are a lot of little things I might've done differently if there had been time and budget. But on the whole, I did what I could with the material I had, and trusted my collaborators -- producers and directors -- to come up with a finished film of which I could be proud. Remember, I didn't create any of the sequels; I was hired to rewrite and fix material that was developed without me. It sounds smug and self-serving of me, but I believe that whatever major mistakes were made, those decisions occurred before I got there.

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