Monday, June 07, 2010

"Jaws" Shark Found in Junkyard



From worstpreviews, An NPR reporter, Cory Turner, recently went on a journey to track down the mechanical shark used in Steven Spielberg's "Jaws" movie. Apparently three copies were created from the same mold and where named Bruce after Spielberg's lawyer Bruce Ramer.

Spielberg's spokesman explained that all three sharks were destroyed immediately after filming, but Turner learned on Facebook that a fourth was created (from the same mold) for display at Universal Studios Theme Park.

In 1990, the shark was taken down and shipped out to a junkyard in Southern California. The reporter tracked the junkyard down and brought Joe Alves and Roy Arbogast, who built the original shark, to verify its authenticity.

"It's the real one. Definitely. It's from the same mold," said Arbogast after examining the creature. "It's just kinda' nice to see it again after 25 or 30 years. It's amazing that it's still here."

The original shark was 25-feet long and weighed hundreds of pounds. The head alone was over 400 lbs, with a jaw the size of a human being.

4 comments:

Octopunk said...

I guess that's cool, but it would be cooler if there were a human skeleton wedged in the jaws.

Catfreeek said...

Somewhere I have a picture of that shark popping up from the water. I went to Universal Studios in CA when I was 15. Damn, is that really 30 years ago?

Octopunk said...

I get the impression that the mechanical sharks for the park ride aren't from the same mold.

We went on the Jaws ride in Universal Florida in the 90's. That thing scares the bejesus out of you.

Catfreeek said...

I think you're right. I believe the pop up shark is only half a shark.

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