The Shark That Ate Hollywood

Imaginary Worlds

Eric Molinsky

Arts, Science Fiction, Fiction, Society & Culture

4.8 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 27 August 2025

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

I didn't want the summer to end without joining in on the 50th anniversary celebrations of Jaws. I spent summers on Cape Cod as a kid, where I often heard that Jaws was filmed nearby on Martha's Vineyard. In fact, I recently went back and visited an exhibit on the 50th anniversary of Jaws at the Martha Vineyard Museum. So this week, I'm playing one of my favorite reflections on the 50th anniversary of Jaws -- an episode from the podcast Cautionary Tales. The host Tim Harford dives deep into the famously chaotic filming of Jaws, and he explores whether we can learn any lessons from the ordeal that young Steven Spielberg went through. This week’s episode is sponsored by Hims and The Perfect Jean. For simple, online access to personalized and affordable care for hair loss and more, visit Hims.com/IMAGINARY GET 15% off your first order plus Free Shipping, Free Returns and Free Exchanges at theperfectjean.nyc when you use code IMAGINARY15 at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to Imaginary Worlds, a show about how we create them, and why we suspend our
0:07.0	disbelief. I'm Eric Malinski. Growing up at Massachusetts, my family went to Cape Cod every summer.
0:14.4	If you don't know the geography of the area, Cape Cod is a peninsula. It's about 70 miles south of Boston.
0:22.1	And there are two major islands off the Cape, Nantucket and Martha Cod is a peninsula, it's about 70 miles south of Boston, and there are two major islands off the Cape, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.
0:26.9	Cape Cod and the islands have a long history, from the pilgrims to the Revolutionary War
0:32.6	to the opening chapters of Moby Dick.
0:36.0	But there's one piece of history that gets referenced the most.
0:39.3	Jaws was filmed on Martha's Vineyard.
0:43.3	I was too young to see Jaws when it came out in the summer of 1975,
0:48.3	but I did see Jaws 2 in the theaters on the Cape,
0:51.3	and I wasn't scared because there was so much local pride that these
0:55.5	movies were made there. They have also never stopped selling Jaws merchandise on Cape Cod
1:01.4	and the islands, and that increased exponentially the summer because it is the 50th anniversary
1:08.2	of Jaws. I went back to the Cape a few weeks ago,
1:12.9	and these trips are always steeped in nostalgia for me.
1:15.6	The sunlight has a pink and golden hue that feels warm and melancholy at the same time.
1:22.4	The air has a sea saltiness to it that I've never smelled anywhere else.
1:27.6	And I love going back to the old restaurants that I used to go to as a kid with my grandparents.
1:32.9	And I took a ferry to Martha's Vineyard.
1:35.9	When I got off the boat, I took a taxi to the Martha's Vineyard Museum.
1:40.4	They have a new exhibit on Jaws.
1:42.4	And we shared a taxi with a family from the UK who were interested in seeing locations where Jaws was filmed.
	...

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