Friday, July 29, 2022
Woody:
I did however crush over Woody, Woody Boyd that is, on Cheers. Woody Boyd was adorable, and it was Woody (and Lilith) that had me watching Cheers during it's later seasons. Now this post didn't really come about from thinking about old episodes of Cheers, it came about after seeing an image of the Cheers cast partying that someone posted on Twitter last week.
Feeding Ground:
'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.'
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.
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.
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!
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,
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:)