Jaws turns 50

This year is the 50th anniversary of the release of the one that started the "summer blockbuster", Jaws.

There are all kinds of celebrations and movie screenings, etc. There are also all kinds of toys and T shirts to celebrate as well. I think I am going to give it a few months, say just before Christmas, and start looking for some of the toys and Blu-Ray's to start going on sale. 

I'd love to get some Quint and Hooper action figures.

I kind of missed all the hoopla surrounding the anniversary, I suppose if you don't live on the East Coast around where the movie was filmed and takes place you aren't going to get much of the buzz.

I did watch it the other day on Netflix, or was it Prime? It is too hard to keep it all straight. And I will check out the documentary that I posted about below, this weekend. 

   

Hot Wheels Brings Spielberg’s Infamous Shark to Your Desktop in a 1:64 Die-Cast Miniature

Jaws celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and we’ve enjoyed seeing all the special-edition releases rolling out in the past months, ranging from water thermoses, popcorn buckets, and even an incredibly sleek Seiko dive watch. The latest addition to the jubilee celebration is none other than a toy from Mattel. Part of the Hot Wheels lineup, this diecast model recreates the famed Orca boat, owned by Robert Shaw’s Quint in the 1975 film, in miniature form. Let’s take a look.

When Toys Get Serious

Unlike, say, Star Wars or Back to the Future (which has also received some cool merch for its own 40th anniversary this year), Jaws has never been one to dabble much in the toy market. But this is 2025, and “toys for men” is a real thing. This year alone, we’ve seen some quality figures from NECA and a handful of Funko Pops. However, the new Hot Wheels Orca seems to veer away from kitsch and actually offers something you can display proudly atop your workbench or desktop.

The set distinguishes itself by focusing on one of cinema’s most memorable sequences, and Mattel doesn’t phone it in at all. This is a proper diorama that captures the tension of Chief Brody, Quint, and Hooper’s infamous confrontation with the titular great white, with impeccable attention to detail.

Weathered Perfection

With incredible attention to detail, the 1:64-scale Orca nails the weathered, lived-in appearance of Quint’s vessel. The boat doesn’t look like a pristine toy fresh off a production line but actually has a salt-stained, beaten-up character that made the original prop boat so believable as a working vessel. For this set, Mattel has also included a miniature Chief Brody figure positioned on the aft deck, mid-chum, which brings some authentic storytelling to the piece.

Oh yeah, we also get a miniature version of Bruce the shark for this set. Yet rather than going for cartoonish proportions, the die-cast great white maintains the menacing scale and positioning that made the monster so terrifying in the film. He’s frozen here mid-attack, launching himself at the boat’s stern in a way that recreates one of the movie’s most heart-stopping moments. 

Beneath the scene are molded plastic waves to encase both pieces together inside the box. But outside, you can position the shark in various attack poses or separate the elements entirely if you prefer a cleaner presentation.

Wrapped in a Thoughtful Package

Like most adult toys, the Jaws set is made for displaying, not playing. As such, the window box features period-correct 1970s graphics that transport you back to the era when the film dominated both the box office and the overall zeitgeist. When you open the outer flap of the box, it reveals a removable pop-up poster featuring iconic artwork and quotes from the film. The blister packaging uses sculpted and distortion-printed elements to simulate water as well, in order to enhance the diorama effect.

Pricing and Availability

Priced at $32, the Hot Wheels 50th Anniversary Jaws Set launches July 24 at noon EST exclusively through Mattel Creations’ website, with a limit of two units per customer. It will give an exclusive launch in person at San Diego Comic Con as well. Mattel has not said if this will have a limited edition size or not.

https://hiconsumption.com/gear/hot-wheels-jaws-50th-anniversary-set/

 

Steven Spielberg and Nat Geo celebrate 'Jaws' 50th with behind-the-scenes documentary feature

It's been almost 50 years since "Jaws" was released, and since then, cinema - and our relationship with sharks - has changed forever.

The Steven Spielberg blockbuster hit celebrates its 50th anniversary this year with the only authorized documentary made, "Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story," releasing this summer, July 10, on National Geographic.

The 90-minute documentary takes viewers on a "deep dive," going behind the scenes with never-before-seen footage and newly-filmed interviews. It looks at Peter Benchley's bestselling novel and even evaluates the "legacy that fueled a global shark obsession and inspired generations of scientists, storytellers and ocean defenders."

For National Geographic, "Jaws @ 50" is produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Documentaries and Nedland Films, in partnership with Wendy Benchley and Laura Bowling. Laurent Bouzereau ("Music by John Williams") directs, with Spielberg diving back into the work that launched his career.

According to National Geographic, "Through candid new reflections, Spielberg recounts the high-stakes production, from battling a malfunctioning mechanical shark and relentless weather delays to his own post-production PTSD and fears the film would end his career."

The documentary also includes exclusive interviews with the original cast and crew, including Joe Alves (production designer), Jonathan Filley (Cassidy), Lorraine Gary (Ellen Brody), Carl Gottlieb (Meadows, screenwriter), Jeffrey Kramer (Hendricks), Ian Shaw (son of Robert Shaw, who played Quint), Jeffrey Voorhees (Alex Kintner) and composer John Williams.

Celebrity filmmakers and actors including J.J. Abrams, Emily Blunt, James Cameron, Cameron Crowe, George Lucas, Greg Nicotero, Jordan Peele, Steven Soderbergh, Guillermo del Toro, Robert Zemeckis and more are also featured in the film, discussing how "Jaws" impacted their work and cinema thereafter.

Interviews are accompanied by never-before-seen footage from Spielberg and Benchley's personal archives.

And more than just a behind-the-scenes look at the film, "Jaws @ 50" also features meaningful conversations with "leading marine advocates and scientists-including Philippe Cousteau, Candace Fields, Austin Gallagher, Gibbs Kuguru, Dr. John Mandelman (New England Aquarium), National Geographic Explorer and photographer Brian Skerry, Dr. Greg Skomal and others."

It also offers a glimpse into the real-life inspiration behind the "Jaws" novel, with "insights from Peter Benchley's wife, renowned voice for sharks and ocean policy advocate Wendy Benchley; their children, Tracy Benchley Turner and Clayton Benchley; and his brother, Nat Benchley."

"Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story" premieres July 10 at 9/8c on National Geographic and streams the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.

Sea People

(from Amazon.com)

For more than a millennium, Polynesians have occupied the remotest islands in the Pacific Ocean, a vast triangle stretching from Hawaii to New Zealand to Easter Island. Until the arrival of European explorers they were the only people to have ever lived there. Both the most closely related and the most widely dispersed people in the world before the era of mass migration, Polynesians can trace their roots to a group of epic voyagers who ventured out into the unknown in one of the greatest adventures in human history.

How did the earliest Polynesians find and colonize these far-flung islands? How did a people without writing or metal tools conquer the largest ocean in the world? This conundrum, which came to be known as the Problem of Polynesian Origins, emerged in the eighteenth century as one of the great geographical mysteries of mankind.

For Christina Thompson, this mystery is personal: her Maori husband and their sons descend directly from these ancient navigators. In Sea People, Thompson explores the fascinating story of these ancestors, as well as those of the many sailors, linguists, archaeologists, folklorists, biologists, and geographers who have puzzled over this history for three hundred years. A masterful mix of history, geography, anthropology, and the science of navigation, Sea People combines the thrill of exploration with the drama of discovery in a vivid tour of one of the most captivating regions in the world.

Sea People includes an 8-page photo insert, illustrations throughout, and 2 endpaper maps.

https://www.amazon.com/Sea-People-Polynesia-Christina-Thompson/dp/0062060880/ref=asc_df_0062060880?mcid=5e194841a652325793518b17f6df88b0&hvocijid=943220808197925301-0062060880-&hvexpln=73&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=721245378154&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=943220808197925301&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9029671&hvtargid=pla-2281435178818&psc=1

About the author

Christina Thompson is the author of two books: SEA PEOPLE: THE PUZZLE OF POLYNESIA, winner of the Australian Prime Minister's Award, the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award, and the NSW Premier’s General History Award, and COME ON SHORE AND WE WILL KILL AND EAT YOU ALL, finalist for the NSW Premier’s Literary Award and the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. She works at Harvard University, where she edits the literary journal HARVARD REVIEW and teaches writing at Harvard University Extension. She is married to a New Zealander with whom she has three sons.

I could handle living here, walking out my front door and see these palms