Jaws-revolutionised the movie industry

It is 25 years since Jaws scythed through the public imagination and changed movie-making forever, launching Steven Spielberg and creating the concept of Hollywood's summer blockbuster with one monstrous bite.

Yet the production almost sank before it left the dock. Indeed, it was hampered by second-rate special effects, an incomplete script, on-set tensions (including an often drunk Robert Shaw as seen-it-all sea dog Quint), a massive budget blow-out and a shoot that lasted three times its scheduled 55 days.

It all started in 1974 when Spielberg was hanging out in the office of producers Robert Zanuck and David Brown, looking for work while he finessed the script of his beloved Close Encounters project. He took on the Peter Benchley novel Jaws that the pair had just optioned, asking for a rewrite that provided sympathetic human characters. 

At least three rewrites later and just weeks before principal photography was due to start, Spielberg was having serious doubts about the production. Fearing the film would do nothing to further his ambition of becoming the next Antonioni, he even contemplated throwing himself down some stairs to get out of his contract. However, the execs at Universal persuaded him that, although it was by no means an art film, Jaws could make him a major player in movieland. 

Insisting that filming take place on the open sea rather than in a tank as was then common film practice, the shoot began at Martha's Vineyard on May 2, 1974, with a budget of US3.5 million dollars.

The project began taking in water almost immediately. The special effects were so limp they were laughable. Bruce, the mechanical shark Spielberg named after his lawyer, not only had a defective jaw and cross eyes, but it sank on the third day of shooting. Indeed, the production was shut down several times while Bruce and his two stand-ins were being repaired, the delays pushed the production well past the June 30 deadline, and the bemused crew began calling the film Flaws.

Worse, the fact that the shark could not dominate the film visually as the director had planned, revealed the weaknesses in the script and its unconvincing development of the three main characters. 

Control freak Spielberg was forced to collaborate with his protagonists. "Because we had nothing to shoot,"recalls Roy Scheider, who played Sheriff Brody, "Dreyfuss, Shaw, and myself would go up to Steven's house, have dinner, and improvise scenes." Scriptwriter Carl Gottlieb would write them down and they would shoot them the following day. 

Meanwhile, the executives at Universal were feeling more and more queasy about the boring rushes they were seeing. They wanted to know where the action was. Spielberg tried to reassure them it was coming. 

Finally, after 159 days, the shoot ended on September 17, 1974, and Spielberg - having pushed the budget up to about 10 million dollars, a blowout of almost 300 percent - knew he was swimming in doo-doo. The first cut of the film highlighted all of its shortcomings. Continuity was so bad that the weather conditions and light changed within the same scene. As for the shark, producer Rob Cohen was the first to admit that it 'resembled a big phony rubber thing.'

According to Cohen in Peter Biskind's chronicle of 1970s Hollywood, Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, the film was salvaged in the editing suite when Spielberg's editor Verna Fields decided to use the footage to suggest the shark rather than show it.

" It was much more electric," says Cohen.

"I had to think fast and make a movie that didn't rely on the effects to tell the story," said Spielberg later. "I threw out most of my storyboards and just suggested the shark."

Spielberg added a couple of new scenes, including the head popping out of the boat (which he apparently shot in Field's swimming pool). 

It worked. The editing heightened the tension, keeping the audience on tenterhooks with the shark's unseen presence and scaring the wits out of them each time it struck, literally, out of nowhere. 

But its entertainment value was not the only reason Jaws became a hit. The film also revolutionised movie marketing when Universal used it to test a new strategy of placing TV ads during primetime shows. It also released the film nationwide in hundreds of theatres at the same time - a tactic usually reserved for flops. Both approaches paid off. Jaws beat both The Godfather and The Exorcist at the box office when it opened in June, 1975, and eventually generated US129 million dollars, a record that was only broken by Star Wars two years later.

It was also the first time that merchandising played a major role in publicising a picture and generating revenue for the studio (even if it was because Universal was terrified it wouldn't recoup its investment any other way). In the summer of 1975, the public could take home stuffed sharks, Jaws baseball caps, T-shirts, and relax to John Williams' edgy theme music.

So it was that Jaws spawned the summer blockbuster. Until the great white took a substantial chunk out of the box office, movie studios viewed the summer as their downtime, the seasonal doldrum in which they released their cheapest movies and surefire flops because audiences were in the great outdoors enjoying the sunshine.

Today, the film industry is still living with the consequences. 

"Jaws changed the business forever," writes Peter Biskind.

Not everything went Steven Spielberg's way, however. While the film critics generally praised Jaws for its tension and fright power, many felt the story itself was so predictable it lacked bite.

And, while Spielberg eventually became the king of movie merchandising, he did not enjoy immediate success. Indeed, his idea for a Jaws tie-in - a chocolate shark that squirted cherry juice when it was bitten - did not get past the dock.

Clothes Line

Let's think about it

The Lifco dictionary states the meaning as, 'exercise the mind to form opinions'. Though it merely states 'exercise the mind,' what do we exactly do when we 'think'? Don't we actually talk to ourselves when we think? 

For instance, when taking a decision, 'think hard' is the advice everybody gives, and what do we do? We consider all possibilities available for tackling the situation and the outcome of the decision and transfer it to the person who is inside us. Now let's call him/her Zumbo. In a more specific term Zumbo would be our conscience or, to be more precise, our mind. But anybody who doesn't realize the existence of Zumbo as a friend is going to lose a lot, since he/she will be the only pal who will stick with us where ever we go, till death or even after death. 

A person who has a faithful Zumbo will always live without guilty feelings for his/her actions. Zumbo would be faithful and follow him/her wherever he/she goes without questioning, and will justify its master's actions. Well I think one should always make Zumbo walk right next to one, rather than behind, and make him a friend, rather than be his master. That way one won't go astray. That is my humble opinion. 

Now coming back to the point, how do we actually converse with Zumbo or in other words 'think'? We usually use our mother tongue or the native language to converse, right? 

This is where a most important question arises. How did the ancient people 'think'? When languages were not invented to communicate. Without a language how did they 'think', is my most confusing question. How did the ancient people 'think' without a language? Does anybody out there know the answer? 

Anjana Mackeen 

My bosom friend

Nushrath Mansoor

Be in control

Remember when we were all kids, how we used to sit and dream about becoming a painter or a doctor one day? What happened to all those dreams? Some of us may have achieved all we set out to achieve. But have we really got what we dreamed of, or are we just pretending that we have? 

Well life is too short to let anything ruin it. Even if your life has changed, take it as a blessing because this is what you are supposed to be doing. But at the same time I feel that we should never let fate decide our future. Give fate a little push yourself and see how amazing the results can be. So everyone out there if you are feeling down pick yourself up and look straight ahead of you. Don't let the future surprise you but take a step to surprise 'future' for a change. 

Wiper 

Freedom of expression

Anuradhapura is known to have the highest rape victims, though this maybe due to frustration, it is nonetheless a place of culture and religion and where women dress 'decently'. Therefore it is not a woman's dress sense which ought to be condemned but men who cannot control their sexual urges. They should be blamed and not us!! 

Dressing in short skirts does not mean that women are divesting themselves of culture or heritage. It is only an articulation of one's fundamental right of speech and expression. If you are in a place of religious worship,you dress accordingly. But there is nothing sacred about Colombo, it is no different to New York or London . The problem of sex ,drugs and alcohol taking place in those cities, happen right here in Colombo, the only difference is we just don't want to admit it! We shield ourselves with this curtain we call tradition and culture , but the truth is our traditional values are virtually non existent and it is not the fault of teenage girls following fashion. However, it's not a fault to be condemned as it is merely an effort to keep pace with the fast changing times. 

navsdesj 

Which is the stronger sex?

But, what interested me the most was what he wrote about an Englishman's remark, that we are more British than the British, and we do not wear clothes that suit our climate as they do. Let me point out that our country is blessed with sunshine 365 days a year and therefore happens to have quite hot weather. In such a country wouldn't the best dress code be anything short? Of course, I myself don't agree with wearing micro minis, but if one feels comfortable in them, then why should someone else complain? As for the fact that more rape cases are reported today, well let me point out that most of these cases were reported in the rural areas where women wear long dresses, skirts and sarees. I am not trying to encourage anyone to wear the shortest clothes they can find, but one should at least have the freedom, the right to decide what clothes they want to wear,without having anyone comment on it. And they should not change that decision simply because the opposite sex can't control themselves. What happened to men's theory, 'men are better that women'? 

Sj

Care for your Hands

For many people, hand care is constantly necessary because their hands are expected to work so hard. Hair dressers, typists, normal workers of all kinds in all fields must be especially vigilant about caring for their hands. 

The physical structure of the hands is delicate and fascinating. Eighteen bones form the hand, fingers and thumb. 

Well-kept attractive hands will give great pleasure to others as well as yourself. It is never too late to care for your hands.

Fifteen tips on how to improve your nails

1. Always use a handcream after washing your hands. 
2. Use a soft sponge to soap your nails clean. 
3. Use rubber gloves when doing jobs involving water.
4. Eat a well-balanced diet.
5. Nourish your nails at night by using a hand lotion.
6. Remember that hands and nails age first and fast, so look after them.
7. Use the best quality nail files.
8. Use a pencil instead of your finger when dialing number on the phones. 
9. Your nails should not be allowed to grow too long because this weakens them. 
10. Use an emery board or file in one direction.
11. Give your feet and toe nails regular massage with a nourishing cream. 
12. Never cut or file the corners. 
13. Toe nails should not be shaped, cut them straight. 
14. Nail polish or fake nails should not be used if your own nails are weak and brittle.
15. Never bite your nails. 

Follow this step-by-step a treatment and give yourself a professional manicure. 

1. Clean your nails using a soft sponge which has been dipped in lukewarm soapy water. 
2. Clean the thumb separately to guarantee that it is given proper attention. 
3. Clip each nail to the length according to your choice.
4. Clip the sides of the nail by using the curved edges of the clippers. 
5. Do not clip too far down the side of each nail.
6. File in one direction only, or from the sides to the centre of the nail.
7. Use an emery board to give extra smoothness to the edges.
8. Cuticles should be softened by applying lukewarm water with an orange stick. Wrap cotton wool on the orange stick to cover its sharp end. 
9. Be careful while trimming your nails, do not tear off the cuticle. 
10. Hoof stick is to be used to push the cuticle back. 
11. To remove tiny pieces of rough skin use a small pair of clippers. 
12. Apply a nourishing cream to the cuticles, using an orange stick padded with cotton wool. Then apply cream. After a minute rub any excess cream towards the fingertips. 
13. Massage the fingers, using plenty of handcream, using a rotating movement to work towards the fingertips. Excess handcream should be wiped away with tissues. 
14. Using an orange stick with cottonwool, each nail should be cleaned so that there is no dirt left.
15. You should finally buff each nail to a healthy shine, you should save the nails and not let them crack. 

Bare facts about skin

You probably started life in a supple skin loaded with moisture. A little on, as a teen, your skin might have actually become too oily to suit you.

And still later, you probably began noticing that your skin had become drier than it once was. Even rough and scary.

To understand what happened to that baby-soft skin, let's look at how nature accomplishes moisturization, also called hydration, which takes place in the layer of skin, the epidermis.

New cells of your epidermis are born at the "epidermal/dermal junction". Each cell slowly rises through the epidermis to the surface of the skin (stratum corneum) carring a cargo of moisture up from a vast reservoir, the dermis, which is about 70% water.

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