JAWS 2 45th anniversary interview series
JAWS 2 is 45 years old and to celebrate this incredible milestone for the first JAWS sequel, we recorded a series of interviews with the cast and crew who helped bring JAWS back to the cinema. We discuss the initial vision for the movie with original director John D Hancock… how the changing of director and script impacted the production and the lasting legacy of one of the all time great Hollywood sequels. Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water…..
The Crew
Jeannot Szwarc, Director of JAWS 2
Jeannot Szwarc is a French director of film and television, known for such films as Jaws 2, Somewhere in Time, Supergirl and Santa Claus: The Movie. He has also produced and written for TV.
Joe Alves: Production Designer / Associate Producer
An American film production designer, perhaps best known for his work on Close Encounters of the Third Kind and the first three films of the Jaws. He directed the third installment Jaws 3-D.
John D Hancock: Original Director of JAWS 2
A stage and film director, producer and writer, John is perhaps best known for his work on Bang the Drum Slowly. Hancock's theatrical work includes direction of both classic and contemporary plays, from Shakespeare to Saul Bellow.
The Cast
Jeffrey Kramer: ‘Deputy Hendricks’ (JAWS & JAWS 2)
Jeffrey was born in New York City and grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, graduating from Teaneck High School with the Class of 1963, before attending Ithaca College.
Gary Springer: aka ‘Andy’
Gary Springer is an entertainment publicist representing film, theatre and events. His company represents independent and foreign films at festivals in the US and abroad, and for release in NY and nationally as well as serving as sales, distribution and awards consultant.
Gigi Vorgan: aka ‘Brooke’
Gigi is a writer and producer who appeared in numerous feature films and television projects before joining her husband Dr. Gary Small to cowrite iBrain, The Memory Prescription, The Longevity Bible, and The Memory Bible. She worked as a child actress, then she made an hiatus, and when she was 18 years old she got a call from her agent to go down to Universal and meet the producer and director of Jaws 2. She also worked in Rain Man (1988) and Red Dawn (1984).
Billy Van Zandt: aka ‘Bob’
Billy Van Zandt was born in Red Bank, New Jersey, to Mary H. Lento and William Brewster Van Zandt. He is of Italian and Dutch descent. He grew up in Middletown Township, New Jersey.
Ann Dusenberry: aka Tina Wilcox
Ann Dusenberry was born on September 13, 1953 in Tucson, Arizona, USA. She is an actress, known for Life with Lucy (1986), Cutter's Way (1981) and Heart Beat (1980). She has been married to Brad Fiedel since May 8, 1993. They have two children.
John Dukakis: aka ‘Polo’
Dukakis was born John Chaffetz Jr. in San Jose, California but reared in the Boston area. He is the son of Kitty Dukakis and John Chaffetz, a businessman, and the adoptive son of former Massachusetts Governor and 1988 Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis whom his mother married when he was five. His half-brother, through his biological father, is Jason Chaffetz who was a U.S. Representative from Utah from 2009 to 2017.
Jean Coulter: aka water ski boat driver
Jean Coulter was born on 13 March 1944 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress also known for The Blues Brothers (1980), and Better Off Dead... (1985).
Interview Credits
Guests were interviewed by Ross Williams
Questions by: Dean Newman, Ross Williams,
Additional questions from Phil Clayton and Sebastion/Seb.
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