How JAWS movie directors started in TV
Hello, Islanders!
Today I thought I’d take a look at both the similarities and differences of the directors of the four films in the JAWSfranchise. With the exception of Joe Alves, the director of JAWS 3-D, they all had an extensive background in episodic television, an experience that proved to be invaluable to them. Let’s take a look.
Steven Spielberg (JAWS, 1975)
You really can’t go anywhere in the world and say the name Steven Spielberg without someone knowing who you are talking about. Such is the impact he has had on film fans the world over. JAWS was Spielberg’s second feature, following the critically well received Sugarland Express. But he was well known for his television work, including acclaimed episodes of “Marcus Welby, M.D.” “Columbo,” and the premier episode of “Night Gallery.” Spielberg shared an office at Universal with two other directors who went on to successful careers, John Badham and JAWS 2 director Jeannot Szwarc.
It was Spielberg’s made-for-television movie Duel that first caught the interest of producers Richard Zanuck and David Brown. The film was a hit with critics everywhere, so much so that the film was released in theatres outside the United States. A chance viewing of the JAWS script on David Brown’s desk led him to the project and the rest, as they say, is history. He is, and probably will always be, the most successful director in the history of Hollywood.
Jeannot Szwarc (JAWS 2, 1978)
As noted above, Frenchman Jeannot Szwarc once shared an office with Steven Spielberg. Like Spielberg, he pulled directing duties on popular television shows as “Ironsides,” “It Takes a Thief” and, like Spielberg, “Night Gallery,” where he helmed an amazing (19) episodes, which is more than one-third of the series total run of (52) episodes. His early work was credited to Jean Szwarc.
I once asked him why he was later billed as Jeannot and he explained that, when he started directing, there were very few women directors. One day he was contacted by a local woman’s rights organization who wanted him to address their group, mistakenly thinking that “Jean” was a woman. To avoid any more confusion, he used his full first name, Jeannot. Like Spielberg, Szwarc had one feature film, Bug, under his belt when, on Joe Alves recommendation, he was hired to replace John Hancock on JAWS 2.
Joe Alves (JAWS 3-D, 1983)
Though he had worked extensively in both film and television, Joe Alves’ only directing credit is JAWS 3-D. This doesn’t mean he was untrained behind the camera. He shot second unit footage on both JAWS and JAWS 2. In fact, when John Hancock was dismissed it was suggested that Alves or Verna Fields, who had won an Oscar for her editing of JAWS, take over in the director’s chair. Unfortunately, a DGA (Director’s Guild of America) rule, known as the Eastwood Rule, prevented this from happening.
The rule was created after star Clint Eastwood replaced director Phillip Kauffman as the director of The Outlaw Josie Wales. The rule states that, if a director is fired, no one currently working on the production can take over the film. Alves finally got his chance in the big chair when he was hired to helm the third film in the series. Though JAWS 3-D became the highest grossing 3-D film of the 20th Century, Alves never directed another feature.
Joseph Sargent (JAWS The Revenge, 1987)
At age 61 at the time of filming, Joseph Sargent was not only the most experienced director but also the oldest to sit in the director’s chair in the JAWS series. The four-time Emmy Award already had (60) directing stints in film and television behind him when he signed to direct JAWS the Revenge, among them the original Taking of Pelham One Two Three and the acclaimed television film Playing for Time.
Words by Michael A Smith. Michael is co-author of Jaws 2: The Making Of The Hollywood Sequel. You can order the book by contacting Michael at OsFanMike@aol.com.
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