45 years of 'Jaws': 'Finatics' celebrate with creative tribute 'Jaws WeMake' amid lockdown

A nighttime skinny dip turns tragic when a young woman is attacked by an unseen animal. The cuts between her relaxed and vulnerable dangling legs underwater with the surface-level view of the first violent jerk from beneath are burned into the minds of movie lovers. The then 27-year-old director Steven Spielberg was put on the map because of the 1975 blockbuster film Jaws which ushered in the era of summertime thrillers.

As the movie turns 45 on the celluloid on June 20 this year, 'The Daily Jaws', reportedly the world's number one Jaws fansite has reimagined the film though a fun tribute made entirely by fans under lockdown. The novel coronavirus outbreak didn't stop the almost 100 ardent 'Finatics' - as they call themselves - located in the UK, US and India from creating their own unique social distanced fan-made version of Jaws. 

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Dubbed as Jaws WeMake, the hour-plus long love letter to the classic trendsetter film, directed by Steven Spielberg, has been created using a mix of live-action, animation, action figures and stop motion to creatively conceptualize the 1975 shark thriller in the safety of their own home. The film is set to premiere on  at 4 pm EST. 

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As per reports, the WeMake, which includes more than 70 submissions from around the world, still has some ties to the classic summer blockbuster. Some scenes in the fan-made film have been shot on Martha’s Vineyard, the home of “Amity Island” in the original movie. The film also briefly features Marty Milner, who helped build the famous mechanical shark that scared millions.

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The fanmade film also features U.K. comedian Tim Vine, who has played Chief Brody, Mayor Vaughn, Ellen Brody, Harry Meadows, and the coroner — sometimes even in the same scene. Creativity has been of the utmost importance as fans have used different props in the film to bring the effect of the original one. The first trailer for the WeMake shows one fan crouching over a cardboard shark, knife in hand, with a printed photo of the original film’s main character, Chief Brody, taped to a step stool behind him.

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