"Jaws" 50 Year Anniversary
Jul 08, 2025 12:29PM ● By Kelsey Swire
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Fifty years ago, a monumental movie premiered that forever changed Hollywood: Steve Spielberg's "Jaws," adapted from Peter Benchley's bestselling novel, which became the highest-grossing film of its time. In the video below, Richard Dreyfuss returned to Martha's Vineyard, which hosted the film production in 1974, and talked with Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz about the notoriously difficult shoot that nonetheless birthed a blockbuster. Mankiewicz also talks with actress Lorraine Gary and screenwriter Carl Gottlieb about their experiences working with Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and a young director making his first big-budget studio film.
In the web exclusive, extended interview video below, actor Richard Dreyfuss talks with Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz about fighting for the role that would launch his career into the stratosphere: the shark expert Matt Hooper in Steven Spielberg's "Jaws." He also discusses the notoriously problem-plagued production; his awe of co-star Robert Shaw; and the most valuable lesson he learned during the film's 159-day shoot on Martha's Vineyard.
The scariest word at any beach has to be the warning: "SHARK!" Although attacks by the sea predator are rare, they nonetheless create fear among beachgoers. In the final video below, Correspondent Anna Werner looked back at a fateful string of shark encounters along the New Jersey shore a century ago that stirred the public imagination, and inspired Peter Benchley's bestselling novel "Jaws," in a "Sunday Morning" report that originally aired June 12, 2016.
Fifty years ago, a monumental movie premiered that forever changed Hollywood: Steve Spielberg's "Jaws," adapted from Peter Benchley's bestselling novel, which became the highest-grossing film of its time. In the video below, Richard Dreyfuss returned to Martha's Vineyard, which hosted the film production in 1974, and talked with Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz about the notoriously difficult shoot that nonetheless birthed a blockbuster. Mankiewicz also talks with actress Lorraine Gary and screenwriter Carl Gottlieb about their experiences working with Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and a young director making his first big-budget studio film.
In the web exclusive, extended interview video below, actor Richard Dreyfuss talks with Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz about fighting for the role that would launch his career into the stratosphere: the shark expert Matt Hooper in Steven Spielberg's "Jaws." He also discusses the notoriously problem-plagued production; his awe of co-star Robert Shaw; and the most valuable lesson he learned during the film's 159-day shoot on Martha's Vineyard.
The scariest word at any beach has to be the warning: "SHARK!" Although attacks by the sea predator are rare, they nonetheless create fear among beachgoers. In the final video below, Correspondent Anna Werner looked back at a fateful string of shark encounters along the New Jersey shore a century ago that stirred the public imagination, and inspired Peter Benchley's bestselling novel "Jaws," in a "Sunday Morning" report that originally aired June 12, 2016.
Inside "Jaws": Making the film classic
Extended Interview: Richard Dreyfuss on filming "Jaws"
From the archives: The infamous 1916 shark attacks that inspired "Jaws"