Amity Island (Martha's Vineyard, Mass.) Amity Island, the small beach town terrorized by the world's most famous shark, first came to life in the pages of Peter Benchley's 1974 novel, Jaws, which the film is based on. But good news, surfers — Amity Island doesn't really exist!
The film is set in the fictional town of Amity Island, New York, which is seemingly a play on the actual New York location, Long Island. Long Island is even home to the town of Amityville, which raises questions about why filmmakers didn't take advantage of the New York area.
Steven Spielberg's 1975 smash-hit “Jaws” is usually what comes to mind when thinking of movies filmed on the Cape and Islands. Based on the best-selling novel by Peter Benchley, the movie was filmed on Martha's Vineyard but is set in the fictional New England town of Amity.
As far as New Jersey connections to “Jaws” goes, the story of the state and the shark intertwining ends there. According to Benchley's book “Shark Trouble,” published in 2002, his idea for “Jaws” came from two things: sharks and shark attacks in Massachusetts and New York.
Though the film takes place in the fictional town of Amity Island in New York, it was actually filmed throughout Martha's Vineyard, Mass. (Long Island was considered "too busy" — the filmmakers wanted an island that would feel eerily empty to filmgoers.)
Navarre Beach, located off Route 98, served as the setting for those particular scenes and most of the film's other exterior shots. The filmmakers chose the area between Destin and Fort Walton Beach simply because of the warm, pleasant climate and the depth of the water.
Martha's Vineyard was not the first choice to film Jaws. The location scout initially wanted to check out Nantucket, but a storm forced his ferry to detour to Martha's Vineyard.
Jaws was filmed in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, not the Long Island setting of the novel. Despite being a fictional island, Amity Island's location off the coast of Long Island is symbolic.
Homage to Spielberg's Lawyer: The decision to name the shark "Bruce" was a tongue-in-cheek homage to Steven Spielberg's lawyer, Bruce Ramer. Spielberg, known for injecting humor and personal touches into his work, playfully named the menacing antagonist after his legal counsel.
Most Of Jaws 2's Exteriors Were Filmed On Navarre Beach & Surrounding Florida Areas. While Jaws 2 is completely set on and around Amity Island, the production couldn't only use Martha's Vineyard as a filming location and had to also shoot many exterior scenes in Navarre Beach, Florida.
And it's gonna happen again, it happened before! The Jersey beach! ... 1916! Five people chewed up on the surf!" Richard Ellis, Richard Fernicola, and Michael Capuzzo all suggest that the 1916 Jersey Shore attacks, Coppleson's rogue shark theory, and the exploits of New York fisherman Frank Mundus inspired Benchley.
Jaws' largest and most iconic cast member, dubbed Bruce, was actually three different mechanical sharks—and for a couple scenes, was played by a real great white. Before filming started in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, a crew went to Australia to get some cage-diving close-ups with a great white.
Jaws, American suspense and horror film, released in 1975, that was directed by Steven Spielberg and is considered the first summer blockbuster. Based on the 1974 novel of the same name by author Peter Benchley, it tells the story of a great white shark that terrorizes a beach resort town.
Assuming he lied about his age, as many young men did in World War II, and using Robert Shaw as a template, Quint would have been 17 when the ship was sunk. Presumably once he was discharged from the Navy he moved to Amity and began his shark fishing days.
Awards. Jaws won three Academy Awards for Best Film Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score, and Best Sound. It was also nominated for Best Picture, losing to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Do they actually say we're gonna need a bigger boat?
In 2016, Gottlieb told THR that Scheider improvised the line, though it was based on a joke that had spread around the crew during filming. This was based on the producers buying a barge to hold all the production's lights and equipment which was supported by a boat that was far too small for the job.
Most Jaws aficionados might already know that the three different versions of the 1.2-ton, mechanically powered predator created for the film (this was long before computer-generated imagery, or CGI, remember) were all nicknamed “Bruce” by Spielberg after his lawyer, Bruce Ramer.
Why did the shark not work properly during the filming of Jaws?
Part of the reason why Bruce kept breaking down was because he had initially been tested in fresh water. But the ocean around Martha's Vineyard, where the movie was filmed, was salt water. That saltwater kept corroding both the inside and outside of the mechanism, causing the shark to sink.
The shark in Jaws is estimated by Quint to be 25 feet in length - you can tell by looking from the dorsal to the tale. Only female Great Whites reach a length of 20+ feet in reality, with males said to be 16-18 feet, making Bruce, who is said to be male, gigantic for one of his kind.
But good news, surfers — Amity Island doesn't really exist! Its stand-in, Martha's Vineyard (which is, yes, an island), was chosen for its East Coast locale, isolated feeling, and, perhaps most importantly, its wide, shallow beaches.
Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts is the locale used for Amity. It's a perfect location. Martha's Vineyard is an island too, and with its picturesque setting of sunny beaches, and a developed location with a wide array of beautiful buildings and busy city streets, it was the ideal epitome of safety.
Jaws shot on the Vineyard and at sea, with principal photography commencing on May 2, 1974 and, due to issues both technical and weather-related, didn't wrap until 159 days later.
It's simple. Peter Benchley, who penned the novel on which Jaws is based and co-wrote the screen treatment, says the book and film are works of fiction. Although Benchley was a resident of New Jersey, he has said he didn't take any inspiration from the New Jersey shark attacks of 1916.
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures installed the full scale model nicknamed "Bruce the Shark" to be a part of its permanent collection on November 20. "Bruce" has had a long journey since its appearance in the Oscar-winning film.
Steven Spielberg's 1975 smash-hit “Jaws” is usually what comes to mind when thinking of movies filmed on the Cape and Islands — or more generally, the summer blockbuster. Based on the best-selling novel by Peter Benchley, the movie was filmed on Martha's Vineyard but is set in the fictional New England town of Amity.
