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Trivia for
Jaws 3-D (1983)
David Brown and Richard D. Zanuck, producers of the first two films, originally pitched this as a spoof under the title of "National Lampoon's Jaws 3, People 0". This was based on a suggestion by Matty Simmons and John Hughes and was about a movie studio trying to make a second sequel to Jaws (1975). It opened with author Peter Benchley being eaten in his pool by a shark and included a naked Bo Derek and shark-costumed aliens. Joe Dante was attached as director. The idea was crushed by Steven Spielberg, who threatened to walk from his deal with Universal. As it was, when Zanuck and Brown learned that their comedy was halted, they quit the studio.
Director Joe Alves was suggested to helm the film by veteran editor Verna Fields, who won an Oscar for editing the first film.
This film features the largest of the sharks featured in the "Jaws" movies. It was 35 feet long compared with its predecessors which were about 25 feet.
Dennis Quaid would later refer to this movie in an interview as "I was in Jaws what?"
In later interviews, writer Richard Matheson claimed that the film was bedeviled with script doctors that ruined the central premise of a white shark swimming upstream and becoming trapped in a lake.
Although most scenes in this film were actually shot in Sea World, where the film takes place, some environments depicted in the film do not exist at the actual theme park.
Lea Thompson's feature film debut.
Dan Blasko who portrays Dan in the film is actually one of the animal trainers who helped train the dolphins, whales etc.
>>> WARNING: Here Be Spoilers <<<
Trivia items below here contain information that may give away important plot points. You may not want to read any further if you've not already seen this title.
SPOILER: In 1982 Universal won the suit against the makers of L'ultimo squalo (1981) (a.k.a The Last Shark, Italy 1981. U. S. A. title Great White) for stealing ideas from the previous Jaws films (the film was withdrawn from theaters). Jaws 3 borrows these ideas from it: the shark roaring; the length of the shark at 35 feet plus the shark hunter in the mouth with bombs attached and someone else detonating them.