‘Jaws’ actor on his own shark attack death scene off Martha’s Vineyard
Jeffrey Voorhees played Alex Kintner in the original ‘Jaws’ movie, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. He was 12 years old at the time.
- The Chatham Orpheum will be showing “Jaws” and related shark-themed content during the last week of June.
- A new documentary, “Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story,” will premiere at the Orpheum for free before its release on National Geographic, Hulu, and Disney+.
- A sold-out fundraiser screening of the documentary for the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy will feature a panel with Wendy Benchley, Greg Skomal, and Justin Falvey.
The Chatham Orpheum is having its very own shark week.
“It’s like the week of things that can eat you in the water,” said Kevin McLain, executive director of the Chatham Orpheum.
“Jaws,” the 1975 blockbuster film, is the clear headliner of the week, however, there is an exciting and special inside scoop the Orpheum is able to share.
After 50 years, many questions about the making of “Jaws,” from the novel by Peter Benchley to the adaptation by Steven Spielberg, will be answered in an in-depth documentary, “Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story,” created by National Geographic and Amblin Entertainment.
The documentary will be premiering on National Geographic on July 10, and streaming later on Hulu and Disney+, but before all of that, the Orpheum will be having special 5 p.m. showings from June 27 to July 1, for free.
McLain felt that this was a once-in-a-life-time opportunity for the community of Chatham to have something special related to “Jaws.”
The documentary is fresh out of the water, making it extra special for the Orpheum to screen it.
“We had a call a week or two ago, and they were just finishing it,” McLain said, about a meeting with Amblin Entertainment and National Geographic.
Starting June 27, the Orpheum will be playing the original “Jaws” at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. until July 1, and then at 9 p.m. from July 2 to 9. Also playing at the Orpheum the week of June 27 to July 1 is “Great White Shark” and “In The Whale.”
The documentary will be shown on June 26 at a sold out fundraiser for the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy. Following the screening of the documentary is a panel Q&A with Wendy Benchley, wife of Peter Benchley and ocean conservation advocate, and Marine Biologist Greg Skomal. The panel will be hosted by Justin Falvey, president of Amblin Entertainment.
“Providing quality entertainment, unique to Chatham, to my community is part of my mission,” said McLain.
Desiree Nikfardjam is a reporter covering breaking and trending news. She graduated from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. You can reach her at DNikfardjam@gannett.com.
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