Son of Robert Shaw Makes Surprise Appearance In 45th Anniversary 'Jaws WeMake'
When The Daily Jaws set out to produce a fan made recreation of Jaws, we wanted to make something truly special. The plan was to premiere a feature length film on the 20th June 2020, 45 years to the day ‘Jaws’ was first released in cinemas back in 1975.
We announced the plan in April and over 100 die-hard fans stepped up to produce 70 terrific pieces of content that we began the monumental task of editing. The initial cut was looking good but we felt there was something missing. Jaws WeMake needed an introduction and there was only one person that felt right, Ian Shaw.
Ian’s unannounced introduction to ‘Jaws WeMake’ surprised and delighted fans that tuned in for the premiere.
We had been lucky enough to meet Ian last year after a performance of the stage show he co-wrote ‘The Shark Is Broken’ , a play based on the making of Jaws where Ian plays his dad. Unfortunately, the show that was due to be playing this month at the Ambassador’s Theatre, London had to be postponed due to COVID-19.
Ian plays his father, actor Robert Shaw in ‘The Shark Is Broken’, a play he co-wrote about the making of Jaws.
Despite this set back, Ian - a self confessed cinephile and Jaws fan - kept in touch with The Daily Jaws and really understood the significance of the 45th anniversary. So when we explained our plan to ‘wemake’ Jaws and approached Ian with the idea for him to introduce the completed film, he graciously accepted.
Ian with the same brand can his dad crushed in the original Jaws.
With Ian now on board, we set to work on the message. We wrote a basic script which Ian tweaked and polished so it worked for him and would resonate with Jaws fans. Then we waited for the recording. And let me tell you, when we received the video of Ian’s intro… goosebumps. We knew we had something very special on our hands - the perfect introduction for our unique project.
Keeping Ian’s involvement a secret was soooo harrrrd. We wanted to tell everyone but knew the value of the surprise. Having the son of Jaws legend Robert Shaw introduce your first movie (we’ve never done anything like this before) added an extra level of excitement (we went up to 11).
Lights, camera, action!
When ‘Jaws WeMake’ premiered, the reaction to Ian’s introduction was exactly what we’d hoped for. It perfectly set the tone for a heart-felt, tongue-in-cheek love letter to the cast and crew of Jaws thanking them for giving us the greatest movie ever made.
Watch Ian’s introduction and the full length ‘Jaws WeMake’ feature below:
