‘My Journey to Amity’

By Charles de Lauzirika

On Saturday, June 21, 1975, my Mom took me to the Mann Hastings Ranch Theatres in Pasadena, California to see a movie.

Previously, whenever we went to any movie, we’d simply get tickets, go inside and sit down. But for reasons my 7 year-old self couldn’t quite comprehend, we had to get to the theater an hour early, and wait in a long line to see this particular film.

Tired of this waiting nonsense, I left my mom in line so that I could sneak a peek at whatever movie we’d eventually be seeing midway through its current showing for another audience. I opened the auditorium door, and slowly peered inside to see…

A man’s bitten off leg drift downward into frame, and bounce onto the ocean floor.

I quickly darted out of the theater, and rejoined my mom in line. I was shocked, then terrified, then thrilled, then full-blown crazy-excited to get our chance to see the rest of this movie…

This movie called JAWS.

Over the last five decades, many people more articulate than I have expressed at length why JAWS is such a perfect cinematic experience. Steven Spielberg’s rousing fusion of horror, adventure, thriller, drama, and comedy is a master class in all things cinematic…from a then-27 year-old director, no less. But I think Steven Soderbergh said it best when he recently called it “the moviest movie.” I couldn’t agree more.

After seeing JAWS in a theater a few times that formative Summer of 1975, I wanted to absorb everything I could about it. This was long before home video in any form was a thing, so in trying to feed my memories of the film, I naturally wore out the 8-track tape my Mom had bought me of John Williams’ indelible rollercoaster of a score.

She next presented me with the paperback of Carl Gottlieb’s The JAWS Log, assuming I might be interested in learning how the film was made. She assumed correctly. This book would be my first step in not only learning about the basics of the filmmaking process, and the various roles involved in any production, but it would also be my first exposure to documenting the “making of” any movie, a task I would become intimately involved with many years in the future.

In reading Gottlieb’s enjoyable production journal, a new character captured my imagination. In addition to Brody, Hooper, Quint, The Shark, and the other supporting characters on Amity Island — as well as Spielberg and his collaborators behind the lens — it was the real world location itself that suddenly became a character of interest to me: Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

In the subsequent half-century, I often fantasized about visiting this intriguing place. In the movie, it seemed like a perfectly idyllic slice of white picket-fenced America, only with something darker and more disturbing lurking beneath the surface, both under water, and on land. But we’ll save the ongoing relevance of Mayor Vaughn’s catastrophically short-sighted political failures for another time.On a much lighter note, I’m very happy to report that my fantasy of visiting Martha’s Vineyard has finally come true, and on the film’s 50th Anniversary to boot. I was fortunate enough to travel there with friends from both U.S. coasts and share a gem of an Edgartown house, built in — no joke — 1776. I can’t fully convey how surreal it was to finally experience “Amity.”

So I decided to jot down a brief JAWS Log of my own each day.

Day One – June 19, 2025:

Hit the ground running. The “JAWS at 50: A Deeper Dive” Exhibition at Martha’s Vineyard Museum was fun, informative and beautifully presented. “Deputy Hendricks” actor Jeffrey Kramer and JAWS production designer Joe Alves were there to speak on a panel…as was Mr. Hooper himself, Richard Dreyfuss. Another “star” from the film had to wait outside though: “Marty,” a lovingly accurate recreation of Brody’s 1975 Amity Police Chevy Blazer brought to life by Gabe DiSaverio of The Spicy Shark.

Vintage artifacts and meticulously crafted replicas will likely become a common but always welcome occurrence on this trip…not the least of which is the “full size” Orca replica docked in Oaks Bluff just a few minutes away. I do admit this Orca seems smaller in person than Quint’s beat-up boat does in the film. As I later learned, it actually is a bit smaller than the two screen-used ships used in the filming of JAWS. But it’s still a gorgeous recreation, and a sight to behold.

Day Two – June 20, 2025:

50th Anniversary Day was mostly about location, location, location. My friends and I wandered around Edgartown where many of Amity’s establishing scenes were shot, and is also where the Old Sculpin Gallery that inspired the look of Quint’s “shack” (actually built on the other side of the island in Menemsha) still open for business today.

I then spent some more time with the Orca before joining another friend in doing the cliché touristy thing: a fun 3 hour bus tour of several JAWS locations all over the island…hosted by none other than “Alex Kintner” himself, the colorful and very much alive Jeffrey Voorhees. +It was during this tour that I realized how deceptively huge Martha’s Vineyard is. And it was also bittersweet realizing how many iconic locations — like the Brody Family House — understandably look virtually nothing like they did 50 years ago.

We followed that up with the premiere of the new “JAWS @ 50” documentary, which featured a heartfelt, crowd pleasing introduction by Mr. Spielberg. And this trip isn’t even halfway over yet!

Day Three – June 21, 2025:

A big one for me. The actual 50th anniversary of my first viewing of JAWS took me to the Edgartown Fire Department to pick up a commemorative Amity Fire T-shirt.

A few hours later, I attended the “finatic” packed JAWS 50th VIP Meet & Greet at Jeffrey Voorhees’s The Wharf pub with the likes of the aforementioned Dreyfuss, Kramer and Alves, as well as horror legend Greg Nicotero (who oversaw the restoration of the shark now on display at the Academy Museum in L.A.,) with many, many others in attendance. It all felt like a micro-Comic-Con. As crowded and sweaty too, relatively speaking.

And finally, Rolling Roadshow’s epic “JAWS in Concert” outdoor screening of the film with live accompaniment from the Cape Cod Orchestra.

Fun to see JAWS get the theatrical roadshow treatment with an intermission and entr’acte. I also got to have a fun chat with Gregory Dole, the visored “Jesus Christ! Fin! Shark, 3-5-0!” guy in the film. Deep cuts a’plenty on this trip.

There were also three kids in the audience cosplaying as Brody, Hooper and Quint. Any time one of those characters had a big scene, the appropriate costumed kid jumped up and danced in celebration. Silly, but also kind of hilarious given that these kids sported prop cigarettes as part of their costumes.

Day Four – June 22, 2025:

Where to begin? Started the day by sitting down for a quite pleasant interview with Jamie Benning of @filmumentaries fame for his upcoming documentary about Joe Alves, NOT YOUR AVERAGE JOE, which will explore Joe’s career beyond JAWS as well.

My housemates and I then went to an amusingly creaky JAWS Escape Room, and checked out a few more Edgartown locations — which is all we really had planned for a mellow Sunday. But then Jamie texted me, asking if he could again use our rental house as a location, this time for a last minute interview with someone. That “someone” was…Richard Dreyfuss.

We raced home so Jamie could set up. Dreyfuss arrived a little later, and following his interview, he and I chatted a bit about — if you can believe it — David Lynch. (He asked me about my work, and my making-of documentaries about TWIN PEAKS came up, if you were wondering.) Apparently Dreyfuss and Lynch were smoking buddies early on in their careers. Dreyfuss kindly posed for a few pics with me, Jamie and his crew before departing.

Later, after a much-needed lobster roll dinner at Lookout Tavern, the housemates and I wandered back to the Orca at magic hour for one final visit. But the real magic was in discovering Dreyfuss was there too, onboard the ship, and singing “Show Me the Way to Go Home.” Witnessing that moment in person alone made this whole trip worth it.

Day Five – June 23, 2025:

First, a little In Memoriam:

Who doesn’t love Pipit the Dog in JAWS? When she goes missing after frolicking on the beach, we feel a sense of both sadness and sudden dread, imagining what’s about to happen next. As The Shark’s second known cinematic victim, but who in real life lived a few more happy years beyond the film’s release, I wanted to pay my respects to this beloved Black Labrador.

I reached out to Adam R. Moore, President of the Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation, and who oversees Pimpneymouse Farm on Chappaquiddick Island where Pipit is buried. As the area is currently closed to the public (but will likely open later this year,) Adam was kind enough to drive me out to the site of Pipit’s final resting place yesterday, while filling me in on some local history and conservation efforts in the area. Thank you for your friendly enthusiasm and knowledge, Adam. And may you continue to rest well, sweet Pipit, chasing sticks in safer waters.

More locations to check out on our last full day in Amity. Most of us went to Edgartown Town Hall, which was about 50/50 in terms of still being screen accurate or significantly remodeled in the five decades since. But it still had the same big council desk, and that long hallway with the hanging office door signs has barely changed since 1974.

We then took the free VTA bus up to “Jaws Bridge” where the terrifying estuary scene was filmed. Most of my friends bravely flaunted the “no jumping” sign by diving off the bridge, while I even more bravely captured it all from the safety of shore to preserve it all on video.

Then we were off to Menemsha, the legit fishing village where Quint’s shack was built, filmed, and quickly torn down to avoid costly local penalties. We had lunch at The Galley which is immediately next door to the still empty plot of land where Quint’s lair once stood. Spoke with a weathered-looking fisherman who was prepping lobster bait on a nearby dock, and who wowed me with his impressive awareness of…the Georgia film industry.

Our final location stop took us to South Beach, where it all began with the first shark attack on poor Chrissie Watkins. We had a silly vision to be there at sunset so that we could attempt to recreate that “day for night” look JAWS pulled off so memorably. Just good geeky fun, don’t mind us.

So that’s it, friends. My journey to Martha’s Vineyard, the real world Amity Island, is in the books. The head, the tail, the whole damned thing.

I’m so thankful to have had close friends from both Georgia and California join me on this movie pilgrimage. Unlike some fandoms out there, JAWS Finatics seem to be a truly joyful bunch. After all, what is there to complain about when it comes to JAWS? Exploring “Amity Island” in person, meeting kind, supportive locals, and enjoying some thoughtfully created JAWS tributes, was everything I could’ve asked for on this journey to Amity.

But more than that, my appreciation for not just JAWS, but for filmmaking in general, has been renewed on a far deeper level than I ever would’ve imagined. I feel like I’ve been re-introduced to my wide-eyed 7 year-old self, watching in wonder as the magic of movies — and this masterpiece, in particular — enveloped my imagination.

JAWS isn’t just a movie to me anymore. It’s an old friend I’ll always look forward to spending more time with.

ABOUT CHARLES de LAUZIRIKA
Charles de Lauzirika has produced and directed several acclaimed film documentaries for titles such as BLADE RUNNER, TWIN PEAKS, the ALIEN Anthology, CIVIL WAR, and many others. In addition to producing the restorations of BLADE RUNNER: The Final Cut and ALIEN 3: Assembly Cut, he has also directed a number of award-winning narrative films, with several more currently in development.

LINKS
More about Charles de Lauzirika
More about NOT YOUR AVERAGE JOE
More about Pimpneymouse Farm (Pipit’s Gravesite)