Jaws WeMake Star Shares Her Killer Shark Shirts Collection
Jaws-ome killer shark shirts collection
Today is International T-Shirt Day (who knew, right?) so we thought it was the perfect opportunity to catch up with Jaws and shark t-shirt collector Paige Schector from New Jersey.
Paige is a huge Jaws fan and has even got to meet Richard Deyfuss, whilst wearing a Jaws t-shirt, of course. Schector also got to play a couple of scenes as ‘Matt Hooper’ in the JawsWeMake. The Daily Jaws caught up with her and the contents of her wardrobe. You get the head hole, two arm sleeves, the whole damn thing.
The Daily Jaws (TDJ): How many Jaws or shark t-shirts do you own?
Paige: The current tally after my recent t-shirt challenge is 27, just short of a month's worth.
TDJ: What's the Jaws/shark split?
Paige: It's about 17-10, Jaws-related to shark-related.
TDJ: When did the t-shirt obsession start?
Paige: I'm a Jaws memorabilia collector so I haven't really thought of it as an "obsession," but when I
started going to pop-culture conventions with my sister, Leah, in 2011, that's when my collection really started to take off. I'll just see a shirt and go, yep, I need that one.
The funny thing is that I think I'm kind of picky -- my family and friends might not agree. I know there are people out there who must have much bigger t-shirt collections than I do, because I don't get every single one I see.
TDJ: Do people steer clear of buying you shark t-shirts through fear of buying dupes?
Paige: They probably do. What they do instead is point me to a shirt with a link or in person if we're shopping, saying, "What do you think of this one?" That's happened a bunch since Leah and I started
doing 10-word movie reviews as Sibling Cinema on social media. (I just had to do one for each of the Jaws movies).
I think only one of my 26 shirts was bought by someone else, my fiance, Mark picked up the
awesome Quint's Shark Fishing shirt for me.
TDJ: What's your current favourite and why?
That's such a tough question. The Fright Rags Jaws 1975 preview poster shirt is a fave, both in
aesthetic and practical terms. The imagery is beautiful and the shirt is very comfortable. But the Geeky Jerseys' Amity Island Sharks hockey jersey might be tops. I only bring that one out for special occasions - like meeting Richard Dreyfuss (Hooper)! So that one has a pretty significant memory attached to it.
TDJ: Any special occasions you've worn a particular shark or Jaws t-shirt?
Paige: I wore the Amity Island Sharks hockey jersey to the Chiller Theatre Expo in 2018, the second time I got to meet Richard. He seemed to like it and it was pretty popular with other fans walking around the event. But I don't think I go a week without wearing at least one Jaws shirt.
TDJ: Any designs missing from your collection that you'd love to get your hands on?
Paige: What I'd really like to get a hold of is a Jaws 3D crew jacket!
TDJ: In your opinion what makes a good shark t-shirt?
Paige: Practically speaking, I'm big on the softer shirts, but I appreciate any one that has a cool
image or a fun catch phrase like "Personally I think the size of your boat is just fine," "Come on in ... the water's great," or "Amity Swim Team."
TDJ: Have you had to retire any through age or have any been ruined whilst wearing or washing?
Paige: I don't wear my three oldest ones much anymore -the Amity Island billboard, Jawesome and chalk-shark rendering shirts, they've literally been through the ringer.
TDJ: What Jaws t-shirt did you wear yesterday, for its 45th year of release anniversary?
Paige: I settled on the most recent purchase, the dialogue from the movie trailer written out in
the shape of a fin. It’s cool to see the wide array of shirts available at places like Redbubble and Etsy. I love how creative people are with the movie we love so much.
TDJ: Do you think you'll ever stop?
Paige: Probably not, as fans' creativity seems to know no bounds and something always seems to pop up that catches my eye.
Paige effortlessly recited Hooper’s lines, a truly great performance in Jaws WeMake.
TDJ: When did you first see Jaws?
Paige: I strangely can't remember the very first time, but I have two distinctive early Jaws memories, one of which wasn't about actually seeing it. When the movie was in theaters, I was tasked with taking my brother to see some Disney film or other.
We were on a long line for tickets at the Sunrise Mall in Massapequa, New York. When I got to the box office, I said "two, please." The woman behind the counter said, "For Jaws?" I was so shocked, I replied, "No way, that's PG!" After that, I saw it A LOT on HBO. My family would watch the East Coast showing, and after that ended, we would watch it all over again for the West Coast airing. I saw it dozens of times that way.
TDJ: What's your favourite moment?
Paige: Every moment is perfect, isn't it? The sight of Ben Gardner's head popping up in the hull of his boat always makes me jump, especially after the score was remastered and it somehow became even scarier.
But I'd probably pick the moment when Charlie and Denherder are trying to catch the shark with the holiday roast. The shark takes it and runs and then it turns and comes back for Charlie. John Williams' score is so perfectly menacing, I'm literally scared for him and we're not seeing a thing, just a pier turning and heading toward shore.
TDJ: Who is your favourite character and why?
Paige: I'm a Hooper girl. The movie ramps up for me when the guy who is "in sharks" arrives on the scene. Even though he's apparently a rich guy, he's living his dream of studying sharks. Richard Dreyfuss makes a great early team with Roy Scheider, and I always side with Hooper in his tussles with Quint later. (It obviously was a game fish.)
One of my favorite scenes is when Hooper is trying to talk some sense into the mayor, he really
boils down the problem to its essence. It took a few years before I realized Richard was one of my first crushes -- the fact that he starred in all three of my favorite movies (Close Encounters of the
Third Kind, Jaws and The Goodbye Girl) probably should have been a tipoff.
TDJ: Have you a favourite scene? It's just a movie chock full of great scenes.
Paige: Quint's USS Indianapolis speech is the greatest monologue in movie history for me. Only later did I find out that, in addition to the mesmerizing performance Robert Shaw gave delivering it, that he also wrote that scene.
TDJ: How do you feel about the sequels?
Paige: Well, nothing comes anywhere close to the original film for me. I do love Jaws 3D. Yeah, the effects don't come across perfectly, but there are a couple of things I really appreciate about that film. First, the contest of wills between the characters concerned about nature and the environment (Kay and Mike) battling against money (Calvin) and fame (FitzRoyce) is really interesting to me and almost ahead of its time.
Second, I like the Mike and Kay relationship. They're two people who are respectful and
supportive of each other. That's just one of the reasons I can't take Jaws the Revenge, because it makes like their story never happened.
Jaws 2 ... I call that the screaming movie. Sometimes it gets to be a bit much. I've taken to turning down the volume when the teens get attacked, and now I'm able to enjoy that one again as much as I did when it originally came out.
You go in the cage. Cage goes in the den. Dog’s in the den. Our dog.
TDJ: What do you like about The Daily Jaws?
Paige: You guys do an absolutely awesome job. The Daily Jaws is one of the first things I look at on
social media every day. I enjoy all of it -- remembrances of the films, the parallels drawn between aspects of the film and the world we live in now and the things I wouldn't have otherwise known about (like Ian Shaw's play The Shark Is Broken). You even got me, my husky and my sister to film scenes for the #WeMake. Seriously, kudos for all the hard work. It's very much appreciated and enjoyed.
TDJ: How did you celebrate the 45th anniversary?
Paige: Another viewing of Jaws ... and then a West
Coast viewing too! And Jaws 2 and Jaws 3D. I substituted watching the WeMake instead of Jaws the Revenge.
TDJ: And what did you think of the Jaws WeMake?
Paige: It’s amazing!!! Really spectacularly put together and just wow!
TDJ: How it it feel to be part of it as a contributor and as a viewer?
Paige: It’s perfect. It’s amazing to be among that group of talented and creative fans. And I have to admit I got a particular thrill at hearing my husky Cayenne referred to as “the cutest Jaws ever.”
You can watch Paige and over 100 Jaws fans in our 45th Anniversary tribute ‘Jaws WeMake’.