She Likes to Watch

Just days before the 4th of July, business owners are worried that shark sightings will hurt sales on their busiest week of the summer.

Sound like recent news from Avila Beach and Pismo? Well, yeah. But it was also an integral part of the plot for “Jaws,” Steven Spielberg’s first really big movie, which ironically will be shown locally on the big screen July 10.

If I were a conspiracy theorist, I might accuse the Fremont of staging the recent sightings to promote the movie. But I have a feeling the movie will do just fine without shark sightings. (It has grossed about $475 million, after all.)

“Jaws” starred Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw and a large and menacing mechanical fish named Bruce. The script was adapted from a book by Peter Benchley, who later admitted his novel helped fuel erroneous beliefs about the great white shark.

“We knew so little back then and have learned so much since, that I couldn’t possibly write the same story today,” he wrote in his 2002 book “Shark Trouble.”

The most common misperception about sharks, Benchley said in one interview, is that they are man-eaters that target humans for consumption. Most human great white victims, Benchley said, are mistaken for typical shark prey.

“Jaws” is, of course, often quoted by movie geeks. A few of the best lines (thanks to IMDB.com):

From Quint: “I’ll find him for three, but I’ll catch him, and kill him, for ten.”

From the mayor: “Martin, it’s all psychological. You yell barracuda, everybody says, “Huh? What?” You yell shark, we’ve got a panic on our hands on the Fourth of July.”

From Brody: “You’re gonna need a bigger boat!”

–Pat P.