“What If Jaws Were Made Today”
From Chud:
Once a year you should revisit Jaws and remind yourself of how it’s done. A perfect movie, Jaws is just as effective and amazing today — on my hundredth or so viewing — as it was when it was first released. There’s very little in Jaws that has really aged, but if the movie were made today it would be a completely and totally different beast.
What if Jaws were made today? Not a remake or a reboot, but what if Spielberg’s movie had never happened (but the world of cinema it inspired somehow still did), and somebody took a shot at Peter Benchley’s novel in 2010? This is what I think it might look like:
- There would be a new title. Jaws is too minimalist these days, so Universal would probably rename the film Jaws: Rise of the Great White.
- JJ Abrams directs from a script by Kurtzman and Orci. While the writers insist that they grew up on the novel, Abrams says that he always preferred The Deep.
- Sam Worthington stars as Chief Brody. He has an extensive backstory where we learn that during his time as an NYPD cop he killed a kid on the Staten Island Ferry. Since then he has been afraid of water, and unwilling to use a gun.
- Michael Cera stars as Matt Hooper. He has an extensive backstory where we learn that his connection to the shark is deeply personal.
- Samuel L. Jackson stars as Quint.
- Zoe Saldana is Ellen Brody. As in the book, she has an affair with Matt Hooper.
- Justin Bieber stars as Michael Brody, who stows away on the Orca before the main trio take off.
But perhaps the worst possibility:
- Producers announce that Jaws: Rise of the Great White is just the beginning of a trilogy. Coming in 2012 is Jaws 2: Red Waters of Vengeance, and in 2013 is the prequel, Jaws: Fall of the Indianapolis. TI is cast to play the young Quint in that film.
For the rest of Jaws re-imagined, go here.