FWIW, I like the raisins in the carrot cake. Second, I read a Substack post from Jean Twenge about the death of book reading in Gen Z and she mentioned a generational statistical bump in reading between 2002-2010. She theorized that it might be solely due to the Harry Potter and Twilight series being released during that time. If nothing else, maybe that signals good news for the movie industry as well and provides a little hope that a well-told story can change the world.
related... guuitar sales have been on the decline for decades as guitar based rock has faded as a genre... lately though they've begun to tick up and mostly among young women. I've seen it theorized that this uptick is entirely due to Taylor Swift.
Jaws was my most watched film ever,I was 13 when it was released and enjoyed it for different reasons than I do now. There are many similarities to the Moby Dick Novel,Quint was a Captain Ahab type..Enjoyed your perspective can’t wait for Part Two!!
Jaws is a great example of the beauty of classical storytelling, internal and external dilemmas. Today it's been replaced too often by the political lecture, with empty characters spouting slogans. I think Godzilla: Minus One is also a bravura classical movie. Just loved it.
I'm excited to see that, I'm a little ashamed I haven't yet. But yeah I agree with you. Too often in modern filmmaking there is unearned sloganeering that the audience is simply supposed to go along with because it's "right."
The Jaws screenplay and movie itself was one of the few examples of a movie being superior to the novel; we can discuss Starship Troopers another time. Like Starship Troopers, I read the novel before I saw the movie, even though I was nine when I first saw Jaws. My grandma had the book at her house and they made the movie deal before publication.
I also read Star Wars before I saw the movie, but that’s another story (the movie is better than the book).
The screenwriter (Gottlieb) and the director (Spielberg) conspired to fix the problems in the novel for movie purposes. You can do things that work in a novel (soap opera sexual relationships) that would completely torpedo a movie, particularly with that third act. A novel is a different thing than a movie. And it turns out that Jaws is a better movie than it is a novel.
In the end, I agree that Ben MFF is absolutely on the mark that Jaws is eminently rewatchable. I put in in every other year and still love it. I tell people it’s one of the best written movies I know. I don’t feel the need to reread the novel. I would love to hear from Ben MFF again.
Even though I don’t aspire to write screenplays, that might be an interesting topic for future guest posts: Adaptations.
Thanks for your comments and suggestion! Adaptations is an interesting topic. I remember reading “Jurassic Park” when it first came out and wondered “how are they going to fit all that into a movie?” The answer: they didn’t but they chose the right elements to make an exciting film.
That's a good point. You don't have to do the whole nocel. Sometimes vignettes or a key storyline would make a good movie. I'll have to think about movies made from portions of novels instead of doing the whole thing. I look forward to future guest essays, Ben.
I know squadoosh about screenwriting or adaptation of novels for films, but isn’t the point of the adaptation of a novel knowing what to leave in or take out when the movie script is written?
I'll be curious to hear how Ben responds but for me I think "knowing" is maybe the wrong word because it suggests that there is always only one way to adapt a novel, which I don't think is necesarily the case. There are a million ways to approach it. World War Z, for example, hardly used any of the novel at all. Both Patriot Games and Hunt For Red October honored the source material but were VERY slimmed down versions of the story. It's a very unique job, which is why I think the WGA treats it so differently from an "original" screenplay.
Actually, I’ll zig when maybe I should zag but I think the word “knowing” does have value in this sense - you have to know what type of story you want to tell. There is a great chapter in William Goldman’s book “Adventures in the Screen Trade” where he talks about his experience adapting Tom Wolfe’s book “The Right Stuff.” The short version is he and the producers set out to make a movie about the 7 astronauts and that’s what his first draft encompassed. Then Phil Kaufman came on board to direct and his heart was with Chuck Yeager. That is a different movie. And knowing that it wasn’t a movie Goldman wanted to write or felt he could write, he left the project. So yes, you have to “know” what movie you want to write and then that will guide you in the decisions of what to take or leave from the source material.
Thank you, sir... I agree with everything you wrote and I'm thrilled to hear you want to hear more form Ben as he's anxious to produce more essays for us. I'll pass along your comments!
FWIW, I like the raisins in the carrot cake. Second, I read a Substack post from Jean Twenge about the death of book reading in Gen Z and she mentioned a generational statistical bump in reading between 2002-2010. She theorized that it might be solely due to the Harry Potter and Twilight series being released during that time. If nothing else, maybe that signals good news for the movie industry as well and provides a little hope that a well-told story can change the world.
I bet that's exactly right.... good note
related... guuitar sales have been on the decline for decades as guitar based rock has faded as a genre... lately though they've begun to tick up and mostly among young women. I've seen it theorized that this uptick is entirely due to Taylor Swift.
Jaws was my most watched film ever,I was 13 when it was released and enjoyed it for different reasons than I do now. There are many similarities to the Moby Dick Novel,Quint was a Captain Ahab type..Enjoyed your perspective can’t wait for Part Two!!
Jaws is a great example of the beauty of classical storytelling, internal and external dilemmas. Today it's been replaced too often by the political lecture, with empty characters spouting slogans. I think Godzilla: Minus One is also a bravura classical movie. Just loved it.
I'm excited to see that, I'm a little ashamed I haven't yet. But yeah I agree with you. Too often in modern filmmaking there is unearned sloganeering that the audience is simply supposed to go along with because it's "right."
Yes, weak character development.
The Jaws screenplay and movie itself was one of the few examples of a movie being superior to the novel; we can discuss Starship Troopers another time. Like Starship Troopers, I read the novel before I saw the movie, even though I was nine when I first saw Jaws. My grandma had the book at her house and they made the movie deal before publication.
I also read Star Wars before I saw the movie, but that’s another story (the movie is better than the book).
The screenwriter (Gottlieb) and the director (Spielberg) conspired to fix the problems in the novel for movie purposes. You can do things that work in a novel (soap opera sexual relationships) that would completely torpedo a movie, particularly with that third act. A novel is a different thing than a movie. And it turns out that Jaws is a better movie than it is a novel.
In the end, I agree that Ben MFF is absolutely on the mark that Jaws is eminently rewatchable. I put in in every other year and still love it. I tell people it’s one of the best written movies I know. I don’t feel the need to reread the novel. I would love to hear from Ben MFF again.
Even though I don’t aspire to write screenplays, that might be an interesting topic for future guest posts: Adaptations.
Thanks for your comments and suggestion! Adaptations is an interesting topic. I remember reading “Jurassic Park” when it first came out and wondered “how are they going to fit all that into a movie?” The answer: they didn’t but they chose the right elements to make an exciting film.
That's a good point. You don't have to do the whole nocel. Sometimes vignettes or a key storyline would make a good movie. I'll have to think about movies made from portions of novels instead of doing the whole thing. I look forward to future guest essays, Ben.
I know squadoosh about screenwriting or adaptation of novels for films, but isn’t the point of the adaptation of a novel knowing what to leave in or take out when the movie script is written?
I'll be curious to hear how Ben responds but for me I think "knowing" is maybe the wrong word because it suggests that there is always only one way to adapt a novel, which I don't think is necesarily the case. There are a million ways to approach it. World War Z, for example, hardly used any of the novel at all. Both Patriot Games and Hunt For Red October honored the source material but were VERY slimmed down versions of the story. It's a very unique job, which is why I think the WGA treats it so differently from an "original" screenplay.
No argument from me. I agree that “knowing “ was a poor word choice
Actually, I’ll zig when maybe I should zag but I think the word “knowing” does have value in this sense - you have to know what type of story you want to tell. There is a great chapter in William Goldman’s book “Adventures in the Screen Trade” where he talks about his experience adapting Tom Wolfe’s book “The Right Stuff.” The short version is he and the producers set out to make a movie about the 7 astronauts and that’s what his first draft encompassed. Then Phil Kaufman came on board to direct and his heart was with Chuck Yeager. That is a different movie. And knowing that it wasn’t a movie Goldman wanted to write or felt he could write, he left the project. So yes, you have to “know” what movie you want to write and then that will guide you in the decisions of what to take or leave from the source material.
Thank you, sir... I agree with everything you wrote and I'm thrilled to hear you want to hear more form Ben as he's anxious to produce more essays for us. I'll pass along your comments!