Feeding Ground:

Artwork by GWA Art & Design

'There is a creature alive today which has survived millions of years of evolution...without change, without passion, without logic. It lives to kill. A mindless eating machine, it will attack and devour anything. Try to imagine meeting the Devil...with JAWS.'

I've written before about my love for the movie Jaws.  Jaws was one of my dad's favorite movies and was one of the few movies (on VHS) that he owned himself.  I remember watching it for the first time as a kid in the eighties. My dad stuck in that VHS tape one Saturday night but I didn't last very long. I watched for the first few minutes then ran off to bed terrified by Chrissie's doomed late night swim and the loud screams and gurgles as her life came to a brutal end. 

That scene, and her screams stuck with me and led to many nightmares and sleepless nights.  It also led to my obsession to finish watching the movie.   I did so a few weeks later, by myself this time, but not at night, but on a sunny Saturday afternoon.  I'm glad I did as the film has become one that I pull out ever summer or two to re-watch and enjoy.  The story, the music, the dialogue is always breathtaking and enjoyed, even with repeated viewings.  

My enjoyment may in part have to do with that first five minute viewing with my father.  It also has to do with the way the movie was filmed.  I am not a fan of green screen, and love watching, and loved reading about, the making of the film.  If you're a Jaws fan, I highly recommend reading Jaws Memories from Martha's Vineyard, an amazing behind the scenes book by Matt Taylor.

Jaws (1975)

Given it's shark week, I thought it the perfect time to take another look at the film, this time, with a focus on The Brody Boys.  Mike and Sean, the sons of Ellen and Chief Martin Brody were a part of all four of the Jaws films.  The brothers begin as children in Jaws with Sean being about 5 or 6 and Michael being about 12.  In the twelve years between the first and last movie, the boys are aged quickly with Michael being in his late 30's or even early 40's in Jaws: The Revenge. 

I began this piece by looking for some artwork, and as usual, I conducted some strange searching on Google.  The original posters for the movies mostly focused on female victims.  Poor Chrissie was skinning dipping in the original movie poster and a bikini clad water skier was front and center in the Jaws 2 poster.  Given I was focusing on the Brody's, and because it's FH, I was looking for a hot guy in the water.  

Various searches for 'nude male shark attacks' and 'hot men with sharks' didn't really lead to much....  It wasn't until I added searched for 'gay shark attack' that I found the movie the poster featured at the top of this piece. I immeateatly headed to IMDB to look for the movie and how I might watch.  I quickly learned the poster was an art piece and movie parody by GWA Art & Design, who generously supported my using the artwork.   Someone should though.. make that movie!

Roy Scheider

Back to the Brody's, I began searching for a bit of info for the 4 actors who played Sean and the 4 actors who played Michael.  Two were quite famous and went on to long careers, but for several of the young actors, playing one a Brody came with costs. In the original film, the sons of Roy Scheider were played by Chris Rebello (Michael) and Jay Mello (Sean).  

Steven Spielberg & Bruce the shark

Neither boy had ever acted before and like many of the supporting cast of the original film, were locals, with little to no acting experience, hired for the film. While both had little screen time, Michael's scene in 'the pond' was for me, one of the films most powerful moments.  In addition to being incredibly terrifying, it also made it personal for Chief Brody to hunt down and kill the shark, 

Jaws was the only film and only credit for both Rebello and Mello.  Although both went on to appear at various fan and autograph events, neither worked in the business again. Sadly, Rebello, who went on to marry have three children, died in 2000 from a heart attack while deer hunting with friends.  He was just 37 at the time.  Mello, although still alive, has had several brushes with the law including being charged with lewd contact with a child, and later for breaching behaviour for behavior described as 'creepy' by students at the college where Mello was working as a janitor. 

In the Pond

'Aw, dad, the pond's for old ladies.'

Michael Brody

Although the sequels were not generally well received, I actually enjoyed Jaws 2 with a recent reviewing of the film.  Many of the actors from the first film return with actors Mark Gruner and Marc Gilpin taking on the roles of Michael and Sean.  I was crushing over Gruner after first seeing the film and did a small post on him on the site back in 2015. (HERE:)

Mark Gruner

Sean was given little to do in Jaws 2, but Gruner as Michael was heavily featured.  As adorable as Gruner was, Jaws 2 sadly marked both his only feature film, and last professional acting credit.  Although he appeared in several television shows prior to getting the role of Michael, it didn't prove to have any positive impact on future role. Gilpin continued to act, mostly with television guest appearances, but he too left acting in the late 1980's. 

Check out more 2 more Michael's & 2 more Sean's, including actors Dennis Quaid and Lance Guest from Jaws 3 & Jaws 4, on the NEXT PAGE HERE: