09/02/2026
Rabbit hole time again...hahaha
So, the play "The Shark is Broken" is the behind-the-scenes look at the filming of the 1975 first summer blockbuster film, JAWS.
When you do research, "magically," things pop up that the cyber-universe believes you should also look at. There are times it's kinda creepy - right?
Well, this one got me. You see, when I read the book Jaws back in 1974, I couldn't put it down - it was a fun, sometimes terrifying read.
The movie - which I did not go out and see because I enjoyed the book so much. [Yes, I have since seen the movie - several times]
Now, for the cyber-universe's "hey here's a fact you might like to know," this one is about the 27-year-old director Steven Spielberg and the bookwriter/screenwriter/actor in the film Peter Benchley.
In the movie, near the end, Chief Brody fires his r***e and sends the great white shark up in an enormous explosion.
Peter told Steven Spielberg that the ending was simply too unbelievable. A shark would not explode that way.
It is said that Steven took Peter's objection under consideration, but still decided that even though it was not 'quite real,' his way would be more dramatic and people would love it. Which is true, and was one of the reasons that the movie became a huge success.
So, thanks, cyber-universe, for sharing this fact with me. Oh, and Peter, though he didn't get the ending he wanted in the movie, he still fared pretty well. Per IMBd: He was paid $175,000 for the book and screenplay with escalator clauses that brought his total for film rights to about $250,000. In addition, he received 10% of the production's net profits, which was approximately $10 million. He received another $1 million for the book's foreign sales, as of 1976.
And what did Steven get? That's hard to determine, because he STILL makes money off the movie today. He was about the first director, and remember he was only 27 at the time, that now has become a standard in pay. First, he received an upfront fee of about $150,000. AND THEN, a profit participation that STILL pays Steven money to this day - it is actually unknown what he actually has and will continue to make on this movie and, of course, all his other blockbusters that have followed.
The Shark Is Broken is just a slice of the piece about the making of Jaws - and so much more.
We open in a week - what a ride and history lesson this has been.
Tickets and info: www.trianglepro.org/the-shark-is-broken
