Interesting article on the mechanical shark made for the movie 'Jaws':
Quote:
'Jaws' Shark Hunted Down The star of "Jaws" has been found resting in a Los Angeles junkyard.
No, not Richard Dreyfuss -- the shark! With the 35th anniversary of Steven Spielberg's classic blockbuster just around the corner, an NPR reporter set out to track down the mechanical beast that struck fear into the hearts of so many.
In order to maximize their control over the creature, the "Jaws" filmmakers built three sharks for their 1975 movie. All created from the same mold, the sharks were dubbed "Bruce" after Spielberg's lawyer, Bruce Ramer. The gigantic metal creatures were 25-feet long and weighed hundreds of pounds. The heads alone came in at 400 lbs. apiece, with jaws the size of a small human.
When reporter and "Jaws"-enthusiast Cory Turner set out to track down Bruce's whereabouts, he went straight to the source -- the movie's director. A spokesman for Steven Spielberg explained that the original Bruces had all been destroyed, as no one had thought to save them.
But theories circulated on a Facebook page for the famous shark that another Bruce might be out there. After a little research, Turner discovered that a fourth shark had indeed been cast from the original mold, just months after its brothers were constructed. The baby of the Bruce family was created for display at Universal Studios Theme Park, where it hung by its tail for fifteen years.
In 1990, the shark was taken down and shipped out to destinations unknown. Turner picked up the phone and started dialing junkyards. He finally found the creature in a yard in the Sun Valley area of Southern California -- just minutes away from Universal. Turner brought the team who built Bruce -- art department members Joe Alves and Roy Arbogast to verify the shark's authenticity.
"It's the real one," Arbogast told Turner after examining the creature. "It's just kinda' nice to see it again after 25 or 30 years. It's amazing that it's still here."
Bruce's discovery couldn't come at a better time. There's talk that Universal might be considering a 3D "Jaws" remake -- with comedian Tracy Morgan in the shark-hunter role. Perhaps Bruce will find his way onto the silver screen once again.
They did an amazing job with Jaws. I still marvel at how authentic the killer shark looks on film today.
A lot of people say it looks fake, but I think as far as the first movie goes, that's all a crock. Spielberg used the shark(s) sparingly in the film because they hardly ever worked. When you do see the shark in the original film, it's enough to suspend disbelief. But those other films? Yeah. They look as fake as Joe Biden's hair.
Seeing Jaws on opening day in the theater? With the state of special effects at the time? And not knowing much about the film other than it was about sharks?
It was a bigger roller coaster ride than Jurassic Park. It was more horrifying than Rosemary's Baby and the Exorcist. It was awesome.
Nobody gave a shit about it appearing fake or the special effects having seams. I miss those days.
There's talk that Universal might be considering a 3D "Jaws" remake -- with comedian Tracy Morgan in the shark-hunter role. Perhaps Bruce will find his way onto the silver screen once again.
I remember "Bruce" from my visit to Universal Studios Theme Park, that would have been in 1980. I think they had it pop up from the water, it was quite a sight, also saw the original Norman Bates house from "Psycho", wonder if that is still there.
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I remember "Bruce" from my visit to Universal Studios Theme Park, that would have been in 1980. I think they had it pop up from the water, it was quite a sight, also saw the original Norman Bates house from "Psycho", wonder if that is still there.
That may have burned down in the lot fire, I'll see what I find.
Apparently it's still there, I could have sworn I read somewhere that it burned down...
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Wonder if the Bruce in the junkyard has all the gears and stuff in it or was it just a straight exterior copy?
I have a bit of an obsession for all things JAWS related. I've been reading about the "Junkyard Bruce" for years now. Many a private collector has offered the owner a pretty penny for it, and Universal actually made an offer for it as well at one point. They were all declined.
Matt, it's a copy made from the original mold, with no inner workings. It was made for Universal Studios California and hung on the dock outside the JAWS ride for several years before it was replaced for a more "realistic" shark and sold for scrap to the junkie who owns it now. Universal also had one of the two original boats, The Orca, from the film that sat in the lagoon as part of the original ride. As with Bruce, they did not treat it as the iconic prop that it was, and allowed it to rot away until it was removed and destroyed as trash.
For several years after the ride first opened, Spielberg used to sneak onto the Orca and sit in the cabin when he was having difficulty working out specific shots or scenes in his later films.
Interestingly, none of the sharks actually used in the ride either in California, Florida, or Japan were cast from the original mold. The Bruce that used to be on display in the "boneyard" at Universal FL was from JAWS 3, and was cast from a completely different mold. So Junkyard Bruce is the only remaining "true" Bruce.
Seeing Jaws on opening day in the theater? With the state of special effects at the time? And not knowing much about the film other than it was about sharks?
It was a bigger roller coaster ride than Jurassic Park. It was more horrifying than Rosemary's Baby and the Exorcist. It was awesome.
Nobody gave a shit about it appearing fake or the special effects having seams. I miss those days.
My first Jaws viewing was on network television, and it still looked scary. When Quinn is getting chomping in that climactic scene, it looked like a shark eating a man to me.
Now it looks like Quinn rolling around inside a big dead, rubber shark.
Also, the 20,000 Leagues ride at Disney looked real when I was little.
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