pages 37 -40

INT. MANSION
A party full of Hollywood’s movers and shakers. Steve, dick
and David engaged in intense discussion

dick
The studio’s pushing Charlton for
Chief Brody.

STEVE
Charlton just saved a jetliner in
Airport ‘75, and he’s about to save
Los Angeles in Earthquake. He’s a
goddamn superhero! I need Brody to
be relatable, an Everyman.

dick
They’ve got him under contract for
two more pictures. They think we
need a star to carry this thing.

STEVE
The shark’s the star.

DAVID
We’ll talk to them.

dick
Who’re you looking at for Hooper?

STEVE
My buddy George suggested Ricky
Dreyfuss, we’re meeting next week.
Quint’s proving a bigger problem.

DAVID
How about Robert Shaw? We used him
on The Sting, he’d make a great
Quint. And the timing’s perfect,
he’s finishing a run on Broadway.
The man’s one hell of an actor.

STEVE
Great, let’s set a meeting.

dick shoots David a look. David realizes his mistake.

dick
Just to forewarn you, kid. Robert’s
a little… intense.

STEVE
That’s exactly what I need, someone
the audience will buy as a worthy
opponent for the shark!

dick
No, you don’t understand —

ROY (O.S.)
What’s up, fellas?

Steve, dick and David turn to see ROY SCHEIDER (42). Roy’s
laid back, not an ounce of fat; the lean physique and natural
confidence of a former amateur boxer.

dick
Roy, you know Steve Spielberg?

ROY
Not personally. Great to meet you,
Steve. Loved Duel.

Steve and Roy shake hands. Something about Roy has Steve
perplexed, lost in deep thought.

ROY
So, what’s this about a shark?

dick, David and Steve say nothing. It’s an awkward silence
that makes Roy feel very self-conscious.

ROY
I’ll let you get back to it.

Steve watches Roy walk away… something clicks.

EXT. MANSION – CONTINUOUS
Steve tears out of the house. He glances around frantically,
sees Roy climbing into a car.

STEVE
Roy! Roy, wait up!

Steve runs to Roy’s car. Roy winds down the window, confused.

Steve catches his breath, then:

STEVE
Do you get seasick, Roy?

INT. HOTEL ROOM – NIGHT
Steve and Carl with RICKY DREYFUSS (26). Ricky’s short, fun-
loving, and full of kinetic energy. Without the beard or wire-
rim glasses, he looks nothing like Hooper.

RICKY
I hated the book.

STEVE
We all do. Carl’s gonna fix it.

RICKY
The character does nothing for me.
He’s boiler-plate exposition,
boring as hell. Shark-this, shark-
that, *beep*

STEVE
That’s all gonna change, Ricky. We
see Hooper as the voice of
scientific reason in a town that
cares more about tourist dollars
than protecting its own citizens.
Your character elevates this whole
picture from a formulaic monster
movie to something with a clearly
defined social perspective.

Ricky lowers his voice, almost conspiratorial.

RICKY
I just saw myself in Duddy Kravitz,
and I was awful. I need to choose
my next role very carefully, or my
career is well and truly *beep*

Ricky goes to leave. Reaches the door when Steve speaks.

STEVE
Growing up in Scottsdale, Arizona,
I felt like an alien. I was the
only Jewish kid in school, a skinny
runt with a big schnozz the other
kids used to call “Spielbug”. Spent
most of my days trying to keep my
face out of the drinking fountain.
I longed for Saturday, when my dad
would drop me at the Kiva Theater
on Main Street for the double-
header. I’d sit in the dark staring
up at that big screen, and feel…
connected. Then one day, I realized
something: I never saw myself in
those movies. There were no Jewish
heroes embodying our rich tradition
of intellectual enquiry, respect
for learning, intense involvement
with morality and law.

Ricky hangs by the door, listening intently. Steve turns to
look directly at him, delivers the killer line

STEVE
Those kids out there, the ones like
me? They need heroes too.

EXT. NEW YORK CITY – NIGHT
Skyscrapers reaching skyward to test God. In the streets
below, people fight over yellow cabs.

INT. VIVIAN BEAUMONT THEATER – CONTINUOUS

Steve and Carl sit in the AUDIENCE, watching ACTORS on stage.
Steve tracks one ACTOR in particular, analyzing every
movement, every gesture.

INT. DRESSING ROOM, VIVIAN BEAUMONT THEATER – LATER

Steve and Carl wait in the small dressing room, empty booze
bottles covering every available surface.

CARL
The guy sure likes a drink.

The door blows open and in walks ROBERT SHAW (46), a steel-
gazed mass of wiry muscle who seems to be fighting a constant
urge to give you a severe beating, then buy you a frothy
drink in a dented tankard, then give you another beating.
Unlike the character we’ll remember him by, Shaw’s clean-
shaven and speaks with a cut-glass English accent. He marches
past Steve and Carl, grabs a bottle of whiskey, pours a large
measure into a chipped cup, drains it. Beat, then:

SHAW
I hate the book.

STEVE
We all do, sir. Carl’s the writer,
he’s gonna fix it.

Shaw turns on Carl.

SHAW
Oh? And what have you written?

CARL
(flustered)
Well, I’ve mostly worked in TV —

SHAW
I’ve written for Lawrence Olivier

THE SHARK IS NOT WORKING
a blacklist script about the making of Jaws

page 109

INT. SOUND STAGE – CONTINUOUS
Lights, cameras, ACTORS, CREW.
Steve enters, walks through the darkness to get a better look…

ALFRED HITCHc*ck, sits in the director’s chair: older,heavier, looking tired, yet still with a magnetic quality; a poignancy in every fiber of his being.

Steve watches every move, analyzing every detail.
And then, almost as if he can feel the eyes on the back of his bulbous
head, Hitchc*ck begins to slowly turn around…

A SECURITY GUARD spots Steve, approaches.

SECURITY GUARD
Closed set, sir. I’m gonna have to ask you to leave.

Just before their eyes meet, Hitchc*ck is interrupted by a
question from his ASSISTANT DIRECTOR.

SECURITY GUARD
Sir?

Steve smiles.

STEVE
Sure. No problem.

Steve turns around and walks off the sound stage,
into the blinding light outside.
The assistant director sees what just happened
and rushes over to the security guard, ashen-faced.

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
What the hell are you doing? Don’t you who that was?!

The security guard shrugs as we…

FADE TO BLACK,

And the following text scrolls over the screen:

Jaws opened on 20 June, 1975.
Sixty-four days later,
it surpassed The Godfather to become
the most successful film in motion picture history

page 10

THE SHARK IS NOT WORKING
a blacklist script about the making of JAWS

EXT. BEACH HOUSE – DAY

A lopsided A-frame on Nicholas Beach, down the road from
trendy Malibu.
YOUNG FILMMAKERS grill steaks, drink wine and
smoke joints as they stare at TOPLESS SUNBATHERS.

Amongst those present are
four young lions taking Hollywood by storm:
BRIAN DE PALMA (34), JOHN MILIUS (30),
MARTIN SCORSESE (32), and GEORGE LUCAS (30).
And then there’s Steve, the youngest, sipping a Coke, listening intently.

DE PALMA
I’m telling you, this town’s got no
idea what audiences want anymore.
This is the great unknown, they’re
looking to us for guidance.

MILIUS
For now, maybe.

DE PALMA
You’re paranoid, John!

MILIUS
You think they’re just gonna give
up, play golf? The gates have swung
open, the citadel may look empty —
but it’s just an illusion. Soon as
they figure out how to make money
without us, we’re *beep*

SCORSESE
The inherent dichotomy between the
economic imperatives of capitalism
and the bravery of true artistic
endeavor. It’s a dichotomy, is what
it is. We’re facing a dichotomy.

DE PALMA
The studios need us more than we
need them. All they know is movies,
they’ve got no idea how to make
films. This is our time.

STEVE
What if people want movies?

They all turn, look at Steve.

STEVE
Artistic expression’s all well and good,
but don’t you wanna reach normal, everyday folks —
the kind of people you grew up with?

DE PALMA
No offense, Steve, but you’re part of the system.

STEVE
What’s that supposed to mean?

DE PALMA
You’re a studio guy, always talking about grosses and *beep*

MILIUS
Hell, Stevie’s more conservative than the *beep* suits!
Didn’t they have to talk you out of giving Sugarland a happy ending?

Steve’s clearly offended, but nobody seems to notice except
George Lucas. De Palma drains his wine.

DE PALMA
Screw this, let’s go swimming.
They all set off down the beach towards the ocean,
except for Steve, who hangs back.
George sees.

GEORGE
You coming, Stevie?

STEVE
I don’t like the water.

George nods, understands.

GEORGE
Never know what’s down there, huh?

George runs off to catch up with the others.
Steve sits down in the sand alone, deep in thought