JAWS fan creates amazing modern trailer for Spielberg shark classic
You can catch The Shark Is Broken from 25th July 2023 at the Golden Theater, New York, NYC.
JAWS is regarded as one of the greatest movies ever made. We could go into excruiating detail about the infiinte reasons for this but t’is probably easier to just check out our website thedailyjaws.com. JAWS is a rare cinematic creature… it’s not just a great movie, it also has one of the all time great trailers.
Narrated by the legendary actor and voice artist Percy Rodriguez, the original 1975 trailer showcases all the things that make JAWS great… John Williams’ score, panic on the szaches and RobertShaw as Quint to name a few. However, one JAWS finatic has recut a new version of a JAWS trailer for the modern audience and we have to say…. it rocks! We caught up with the creator of the new trailer, Sean Elwood to learn more.
The Daily Jaws (TDJ): Tell us about the first time you watched JAWS.
Sean Elwood (SE): I was a kid, probably around 7-8 years old, and I was at my cousin’s house. My aunt let me watch it. I regret saying this, but I wasn’t so impressed by it the first few times around watching it. It was too dated for me after I had seen Deep Blue Sea and other movies with more updated special effects. I’d mainly watch it for Quint’s death since it was the most exciting part of the movie for me. Now that I’m old enough to appreciate the movie, it’s one of my favorite classics.
TDJ: What does JAWS mean to you?
SE: I’ve never thought about this. I’ve always seen it as mainly a horror adventure movie about a killer shark. Maybe that’s how I will always view it, as a piece of entertainment about a Great White shark appearing in uncharted waters, and the struggles of the new chief of police in town between defeating the killer shark, and the social backlash given by the islanders. I wish I had a deeper and more defined answer, but it’s a classic horror story of man versus animal, to me, and the animal is aware of the horror it’s creating. Much like the films Alligator or Anaconda, where humans happen to be in an animal’s territory, and the animal goes on a rampage killing everyone.
TDJ: Why do you think JAWS has such longevity?
SE: Definitely because of the fact that you don’t see the shark much in the movie, or at least the first half of the film. We all know what a shark looks like, so we don’t need to see it, right away at least. A fin here, teeth there, flashes of this and that of the shark, and our imagination does the rest. The fact that this shark is so BIG, makes it even scarier. We know that it’s a big shark, and only seeing bits and pieces of it allows us to make it even bigger in our imaginations. Until Quint is eaten, we don’t really get to see how large the shark truly is. The storytelling is spot-on, and the suspense built within the film allows us to be tense and on the edge of our seats throughout the entire movie. The characters are well-portrayed and memorable, along with many memorable lines in the movie (such as “You’re gonna need a bigger boat” and “Smile you son of a b—”). Lastly, the music score is one of the most iconic music scores out there since Psycho’s shower scene moment.
JAWS lover Sean Elwood
TDJ: Do you have a favorite character or moment?
SE: Favorite character is definitely Chief Brody, and not just because he’s the main character. He’s funny, smart, and I love some of his lines (“That’s some bad hat, Harry” and “You’re certifiable, Quint!” And of course his famous line just before he kills the shark).
Favorite moment is definitely the opening death of Chrissie. You know something bad is going to happen to her the moment she gets in the water, and when it finally happens, it is downright scary and vicious.
TDJ: What inspired you to re-cut the classic JAWS trailer?
SE: I’ve been wanting to re-cut the classic Jaws trailer for a long time now. I’d started remaking trailers a couple years ago, my first re-cut being for Alien. It was a lot of fun to make, so I made another for Final Destination, as well as my favorite horror movie of all time, the 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake. From then on, it’s been more of a series of projects to have fun with and share with other horror fans.
TDJ: How did you do it?
SE: A little bit of background, I went to school for filmmaking and have always loved editing videos. I love seeing the raw process of film turn into a cohesive story over the course of time. It’s fun to watch the progress, and I feel accomplished by the end of it. For this trailer, I used iMovie, but normally I would use Premiere Pro to edit my trailers. I find no-copyright music on YouTube to use for the trailers, and ultimately just match the music with the visuals to tell a basic story of the film without giving too much away.
TDJ: Any parts of your recut you are especially proud of?
SE: I am proud of the fact that I only showed the smallest bits of the shark as the film does with itself. The only time you see most of the shark is when the estuary victim (Ted Grossman) is pulled underwater, and you see the faintest image of the shark.
TDJ: Any plans for more movie trailer recuts?
SE: Plenty of plans for more movie trailer recuts! I would love to do trailers for other movies, such as Final Destination 4, Deep Blue Sea, Aliens, and Alien 3. It’s tough finding the right music to cut the trailers to, so until then, I’m always on the lookout for new ideas.
TDJ: What advice would you offer to anyone looking to do a similar project.
SE: Take your time with the edit. Sleep on the final cut overnight because you will always find something that will make the trailer even better the next day on a fresh mind. Tell the story, but don’t give too much away. Trailers these days often give away endings or twists, or make them obvious or apparent. Less is more, is what I’ve always been told. And most of the time it’s true!
Sean Elwood was interviewed by Ross Wiliams for The Daily Jaws
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