By MICHAEL GINGOLD
And it’s coming from a filmmaker with experience chronicling the shark saga.
Deadline reports that National Geographic is backing a feature-length documentary with the working title JAWS@50, in partnership with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Documentaries and Nedland Media. The exploration of the troubled production of Spielberg’s film and its legacy will be directed by Laurent Bouzereau, whose two-hour-plus THE MAKING OF “JAWS” for the movie’s 1995 laserdisc edition was a landmark for in-depth special features on disc releases. The new project will include all-new interviews with the creators of JAWS and others from the film, literature and pop culture worlds, along with ocean conservationists, plus footage and photos from the archives of Spielberg and author Peter Benchley. JAWS@50 will premiere on Nat Geo next summer for the 50th anniversary of the film’s release in June 1975, and will stream on Disney+ and Hulu as part of Sharkfest.
“National Geographic has celebrated sharks for over two decades with our annual summer event Sharkfest, so we naturally jumped at the chance to partner with Amblin Documentaries and Nedland Media on JAWS@50,” says Janet Vissering, Nat Geo’s senior vice president, Production and Development. “JAWS not only became a massive pop culture phenomenon, but the initial fear it elicited propelled the world’s fascination with sharks, opening the door to our understanding of these apex predators and stressing the urgency in protecting our oceans.”
“JAWS, the novel by Peter Benchley and the film by Steven Spielberg, defined both popular literature and cinema,” say Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey, Presidents of Amblin Documentaries Amblin Television. “The idea of diving into the past, present and future legacy of JAWS, combined with an informed and inspiring discussion about sharks and the ocean in one documentary, is a unique opportunity to explore the perfect union between art and science.”
