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The Jaws Log: Expanded Edition
by
Winner of three Oscars and the highest-grossing film of its time, Jaws was a phenomenon, and this is the only book on how twenty-six-year-old Steven Spielberg transformed Peter Benchley's number-one bestselling novel into the classic film it became.
Hired by Spielberg as a screenwriter to work with him on the set while the movie was being made, Carl Gottlieb, an actor and w ...more
Hired by Spielberg as a screenwriter to work with him on the set while the movie was being made, Carl Gottlieb, an actor and w ...more
Paperback, 224 pages
Published
August 7th 2012
by Dey Street Books
(first published 1975)
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One of the best movies of all time. Finally have my hands on this. Been on the wishlist forever - but it's now available on Unlimited as well.


A must for any Jaws fan; novel or film. I was grinning from ear to ear while reading this incredibly detailed rendition of the film making process. It's funny, clever and carries a deep insight into every step of the Jaws production - from getting the rights to novel, the difficulties overcome during shooting and all the way through to the premiere of what is now one of the most successful and famous blockbusters in the world.
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I like this kind of book, written from the viewpoint of someone who was actually there, and in this instance the actor and scriptwriter Carl Gottlieb. Like Bob Balaban's reflection on the making of Close Encounters, which I heartily recommend, this is a film that I really, deeply love. As I child of the 70's and a teen of the 80's of course I loved Star Wars and later Raiders, but it was these two films that had the larger, and more long term impact.
Back to the review. This is a really interest ...more
Back to the review. This is a really interest ...more

No, this is not about a ginormous shark turd, although Steven Spielberg and his cohorts worried ginormously that their trouble-plagued production of Jaws would never be finished, would look terrible, and would possibly lay a big shark turd at the box office. The results proved otherwise, and this book is one of the choicest examples of its type: a spirited behind-the-scenes "making-of" account about the vagaries of movie production. I remember quite well how much I enjoyed reading this more than
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I read this after rewatching Jaws recently. It's a movie I fell in love with as a kid and continue to enjoy whenever I see it. The Jaws Log is by one of the writers of the screenplay and actor in the movie, Carl Gottlieb. He worked on the movie from early in the process until its release. This book is a record of his experience. The making of Jaws and the struggles behind it are legendary. This book covers those experiences, the high-expectations the studios had for the adaptation of a very popu
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Aug 03, 2009
Laura Buechler
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
movies,
non-fiction
This is a great book about a great movie. The making of Jaws has become a famous story, and Gottlieb does an excellent job of taking us right behind the scenes and giving us enough movie-making context to understand the technicalities discussed. It's fun to read about how the producers originally thought they could just hire an animal trainer to teach a great white shark the needed stunts; it's eye-opening to understand how much this movie changed movie-making (not to mention swimming habits) fo
...more

This was fun, Goldman-esque but relating to only one movie - Jaws, of course. There´s plenty here for anyone interested in the movie, Spielberg, or Universal and the studio system in the early seventies. Of course, it was Jaws which launched the whole summer blockbuster syndrome which continues to this day and it´s fascinating to see just how controlled and planned the whole thing was - from before Benchley´s novel was even published. The fun, of course, was in how out of control everything got
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I really enjoyed this book, being a rabid fan of the original novel as well as Steven Spielberg's film. As a former film student, I loved the examination of the film-making process. The inventiveness which had to be put into play in order to push against the obstacles of time, budget, and constantly-malfunctioning special effects is a true testament to the talent involved in making "Jaws," and explains why this film has become such a success. Fans of this film never seem to get enough informatio
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Oct 13, 2015
Matthew Goodwin
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction
I consider Jaws to be one of the greatest American films, but I discovered Gottlieb's book later in life. I love reading about the creative process - often arduous - behind making movies, and I've come to the conclusion that some of the best and well-loved movies emerged from chaotic circumstances.
Gottlieb recounts his experiences with warmth and wry humour, and I recommend The Jaws Log to all fans of the film. ...more
Gottlieb recounts his experiences with warmth and wry humour, and I recommend The Jaws Log to all fans of the film. ...more

I read this book for a work program and really enjoyed the behind the scenes stories from the writing of the novel all the way through the wrapping of the film. The original book was written shortly after the movie debuted and this is the 25th anniversary edition, so I appreciated the updated footnotes. On the other hand, the book is still pretty out of date. Still, you literally feel like you are in the middle of the action during the filming of the movie.

This is a very detailed and entertaining account on the production of the masterpiece Jaws. The 30th anniversary expanded edition that I read contains long endnotes to comment upon something or update us about a certain person. I’m glad I read this on Kindle, it would have been horrible to flip back and forth in a physical book.
The author does a great job at giving us plenty of details without boring us with mere facts. There are a lot of funny anecdotes spliced between important events and eve ...more
The author does a great job at giving us plenty of details without boring us with mere facts. There are a lot of funny anecdotes spliced between important events and eve ...more

A must for any fan of the movie.
Carl Gottlieb not only played newspaperman Harry Meadows in "Jaws", he also wrote huge chunks of the script, stitching the final product together as the cameras rolled. He obviously can write clearly and well, and tells the story of the making of "Jaws" in a mostly low-key and humourous fashion. He is quick to praise his colleagues, does not indulge in self-aggrandizement, and keeps things interesting throughout.
There are a few pages of black and white photos, end ...more
Carl Gottlieb not only played newspaperman Harry Meadows in "Jaws", he also wrote huge chunks of the script, stitching the final product together as the cameras rolled. He obviously can write clearly and well, and tells the story of the making of "Jaws" in a mostly low-key and humourous fashion. He is quick to praise his colleagues, does not indulge in self-aggrandizement, and keeps things interesting throughout.
There are a few pages of black and white photos, end ...more

When Jaws was first released, I saw the film 3 times, over the 30+weeks it was showing at our first-run theater. Inbetween, I came across this book and read it so many times that my brother ended up teasing me about what chapter I was going over again, and again. It was my first glimpse of what it took to turn a book into a movie, which I found very interesting. This is my first time reading it in many years, and if this is a area of interest for you, I think you will find it to be as interestin
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First published in 1975 and revised in 2001, this is a short, but compelling read. Gottlieb was the primary scriptwriter on the movie and captures neatly how a novel, movie and blockbuster all interact in a movie phenomenon.
It's a short book but a very useful manual as well as great insight for any author or fan of the movies.
I'll be dipping into it again and again. ...more
It's a short book but a very useful manual as well as great insight for any author or fan of the movies.
I'll be dipping into it again and again. ...more

Very good oral history of Jaws written by one of the writers who was there on set almost every day. Written and published in 1975 so the shooting of the movie was still fresh in everyone’s minds.
Also includes updates added by the author for the 30th anniversary to add further detail to certain things like the USS Indianapolis speech and filming the severed head scene in a swimming pool which were not fully covered in the original edition.
Also includes updates added by the author for the 30th anniversary to add further detail to certain things like the USS Indianapolis speech and filming the severed head scene in a swimming pool which were not fully covered in the original edition.

Funny and harrowing, it's a proper account of the making of this classic that will have your jaw drop just as much as the movie did. Highly recommended!
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