The departed sequel: Should JAWS 3-D have left Amity Island?
Just when you thought it was safe to hop back into the water…..
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Hello Islanders,
While JAWS 3 featured familiar characters in the shape of the Brody boys, it lacked the feeling of the first two films because it was, quite literally, a fish out of (familiar) water(s). But was the move to Florida necessary? In my opinion, yes.
There really wasn’t a lot left to do on Amity Island as far as Universal was concerned. A THIRD shark shows up? That’s like continuing to have the Death Star featured in Star Wars sequels…oops. See what I mean?
When Roy Scheider made it clear he wanted nothing to do with a third film, it fell to the Brody boys to continue the story. I will give Universal credit by at least trying to give the films some continuity. They had learned their lesson with Halloween III – Season of the Witch – that just slapping a familiar title on the poster doesn’t guarantee that fans of the series will accept it.
I guess they could have moved the film to Australia or somewhere on the Florida coast but, again, shark versus town had already been played out. People go to these films to see a shark so maybe Bruce in Miami could have worked but, still, it’s the same story in a different place.
Placing the film at Sea World not only solved the location question, but it also allowed the characters of Mike and Sean Brody to age enough where they are now young adults on their own.
What I know about the inception of JAWS 3 is that Joe Alves suggested that Universal take advantage of the sudden popularity of the 3D film process, suggesting the number “3” with a “D” after it would bring in fans. I’ll have to wait until Joe finishes his “JAWS 3D Log” to see what the initial story pitch was. Was it set back on Amity Island? Hopefully that pitch, if made, was immediately dismissed as “been there, done that…twice.”
Creature and MU FX Designer Alec Gillis sculpting one of the sharks in JAWS 3-D
Oddly, like Halloween III – Season of the Witch, Jaws 3D is not accepted by JAWS fans as part of the official time line, perhaps because of the change in location which, once 3D was seen as the way to go, lent itself to some fun set pieces. So sit back and enjoy Orlando. Because the return to Amity Island four years later didn’t go as well as Universal thought.
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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