The Jaws Log

A behind-the-scenes account of the making of the 1975 classic film Jaws, from the movie’s co-screenwriter Carl Gottlieb.

“[An] artful, detailed, and very funny account of the making of this motion-picture phenomenon. It’s not only entertaining and insightful, but it also truly enhances one’s appreciation of remarkable filmmaker’s achievement.” —Rob Reiner

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 writer, was there throughout the production that starred Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss. After filming was over, with Spielberg’s cooperation, Gottlieb chronicled the extraordinary yearlong adventure in The Jaws Log, which was first published in 1975 and has sold more than two million copies. This expanded edition includes a photo section, an introduction by Benchley, and an afterword by Gottlieb that gives updates about the people and events involved in the film, ultimately providing a singular portrait of a famous movie and inspired moviemaking.

“Easily the greatest ‘making-of’ book ever written, with its combination of humor, insight, and suspense of a production gone haywire.” —Rod Lurie, director of The Contender and The Last Castle

“The ‘making-of’ of story is nearly as good as the film itself. . . . [Gottlieb’s] behind-the-scenes account of the production is riveting.” —Peter Biskind, author of Easy Riders, Raging Bulls