'Rolling': Production Assistants create the ultimate JAWS love letter
In 2008, I was working as a set production assistant on Burn Notice, a hit TV series shooting in the wild heat and humidity of Miami. My best friend and roommate Carlos Vega was an office PA on the same show, and every day, we were the first ones in and the last ones out, working long hours for low pay but soaking up every second of it. We were young, driven, and dreaming of one day running our own show.
Somewhere between coffee runs, call sheets, and countless lock-ups, we started talking about how insane and circus-like the behind-the-scenes world of TV production really is. It was chaotic, hilarious, sometimes soul-crushing—but always full of colorful characters. We thought,
“This is the show.” Not some idealized Hollywood version of what it’s like to work in entertainment, but the real experience—starting from the absolute bottom and dreaming of getting to the top.
That idea became Rolling—a scrappy, no-budget pilot we shot over three weekends with our friends and fellow PAs. We decided that each episode should pay homage to a different movie we loved growing up and I insisted the pilot must pay tribute to my favorite film of all time: Jaws.
My obsession with Jaws goes way back to when I was 8 years old. One of my clearest memories as a kid is begging my dad to let me watch it. He finally gave in, and I was not ready. When Quint gets chomped in half and spits up blood, I absolutely lost it. I turned to my dad in horror. He looked at me, calm as ever, and said, “It’s okay. It’s not blood. It’s ketchup. It’s all fake.” That one line flipped a switch in my brain. Wait—it’s not real? Movies weren’t just magic, they were made. I had to know how.
After that, I was hooked. My parents fed the obsession—buying me “making of” books, a massive VHS collection, anything movie related that I could get my hands on. My mom even worked at the local Showcase Cinema tearing tickets, which meant I saw everything that came out. While other kids were hanging out at the mall, I was in the back row studying camera angles. I was obsessed, and it all began with Jaws.
Fast forward to Rolling. We had no money, no crew, no permits—but we had heart, and we had a vision. We begged friends to help, borrowed gear, shot gorilla-style all over Miami. We were working 60-70 hour weeks on Burn Notice and then somehow shooting Rolling on our weekends with no sleep on pure adrenaline! And by the grace of God we pulled together a pilot.
When it was done, we submitted it to festivals without much expectation. To our shock, it got in. Not just to one or two, but to festivals all over the world. I even won Best Director at the New York Television Festival, which jump-started my career. But no award, no job since has come close to the pure joy of making Rolling. There was something about that time—about the hunger, the camaraderie, the DIY madness of it all—that felt like lightning in a bottle, and it was the closest to Jaws I’ll ever come.
Looking back, Rolling wasn’t just a show. It was a time capsule. A love letter to the grind, to our friends, and to the movies that made us fall in love with storytelling in the first place. Some parts of it are rough around the edges (we were broke and figuring it out as we went), but the spirit is still there. And if you're a fellow Jaws lover, I think you’ll feel it too. Because at the end of the day, it’s not about the budget. It’s about the love of movies, or more importantly… the love of Jaws.
Words by Justin Dec
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