Surviving JAWS 50th Anniversary Panel at San Diego Comic Con, 2025
In Ballroom C of the San Diego Convention Center last night, my wife and I patiently sat through several events (over several hours) to see the “JAWS 50th Anniversary Panel,” which began at 7:15 pm. Guests included Chris Gore (writer/announcer “Attack of the Show”), Steph Cannon (film critic and columnist for Fangoria magazine and Creepy Kingdom), author Patrick Jankiewicz (“The Jaws Companion”), and JAWS über-fan Chris Kiszka; a literal world record holder for his JAWS memorabilia collection. Kiszka displayed some of his latest acquisitions from this week's Comic Con, as well.
Moderator/actor Mark Atkinson (“Wedding Crashers”) came last to the stage, dressed in full “Quint” cosplay, crushing a can as he took to the podium.
Moderator/actor Mark Atkinson (“Wedding Crashers”) came last to the stage, dressed in full “Quint” cosplay, crushing a can as he took to the podium.
The guests told their various stories of how they first saw the film, either as Gen Xers in theaters and drive-ins (as was my case), or for millennials like Cannon, watching it on TV as a child (four years old, in her case). As they spoke, a slideshow played on the auditorium monitors showing highlights of Kiszka’s many JAWS encounters; including meeting legendary director Steven Spielberg, the late Roy Scheider(“Chief Brody”), Richard Dreyfuss (“Matt Hooper”), actor Jeffrey Kramer (“Deputy Hendricks”) production designer/director Joe Alves (“JAWS 3D”), and makeup maestro/producer and JAWS fan Greg Nicotero (“The Walking Dead”), who restored the “Bruce” shark prop for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. Kiszka’s collection also includes his own life-size mannequin of the late Robert Shaw as “Quint”—complete with crushed can of Narragansett Lager in hand.
There was also a prerecorded video from famed JAWS screenwriter Carl Gottlieb, who was unable to attend the convention because, as he said, he’s “too old and frail,” though he wished the attendees well. Sadly, due to technical issues, Gottlieb’s video glitched out twice (I murmured to my wife, “He ate the light”), but moderator Atkinson summed up the rest of it for the crowd. Speaking of crowds, Ballroom 6 of the San Diego Convention center (the third largest on-site venue for the convention) was packed. Many attendees—like myself—wore JAWS t-shirts, and there were a handful of cosplayers, including a gentlemen dressed in a near-perfect Amity Island Police Chief’s uniform.
After the sadly glitchy Gottlieb video, Aktinson played a video from his recent tour of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, which doubled for the fictional Amity Island in several of the JAWS movies. In the video, Atkinson and his friends excitedly pointed out the various locations used for filming, including the famous bridge where “Bruce” the shark (named after Spielberg’s then-lawyer, Bruce Ramer) entered the estuary on the 4th of July and ‘de-legged’ stuntman/actor Ted Grossman (“You guys okay over there?”). Fans, including Atkinson, were seen jumping from that same bridge in a splashy ritualistic tribute to JAWS.
During the final moments of the panel, which ended with an audience Q & A session, a very devoted mother came to the mic on behalf of her too-shy younger son, who became a JAWS fan while hospitalized for heart surgery. Collector Kiszka advised her son to never stop collecting JAWS memorabilia; a hobby which he boasted kept him from drinking or using drugs. Other other fans queried the panelists on the movie’s staying power and other reasons for JAWS’ legendary standing, 50 years later. All fans at the Q & A were given “I Survived the JAWS 50th Anniversary Panel” t-shirts for their questions.
Panelists also cited young director Spielberg’s brilliant—and unintentional—minimalism, which was necessitated by the malfunctioning shark prop, but which also enhanced the movie’s suspense and staying power. Jankiewicz pointed out how a lone stick floating on the water after the dog Pipit goes missing emulates a shot from Fritz Lang’s “M” (1931), where an unattended ball is used to symbolize an abducted little girl.
All in all, the panel was a heartfelt fandom salute to “JAWS”; which has survived the test of a half century to become, in the words of critic Leonard Maltin, “the greatest movie of all time.” Not the greatest film, but the greatest movie—for its accessibility and near-universal appeal across so many varied demographics.
~ Sebastian S.