Posted in: Interview, Movies | Tagged: Great White, Martin Wilson
Great White Sidesteps Jaws with Winking and Survival
In this episode, Jason chats with Martin Wilson, director of Great White in theaters, On Demand and Digital July 16th. The producers describe it thus:
In Great White, a blissful tourist trip turns into a nightmare when five seaplane passengers are stranded miles from shore. In a desperate bid for survival, the group try to make it to land before they either run out of supplies or are taken by a menacing terror lurking just beneath the surface.
The film is written by Michael Boughen and stars Katrina Bowden, Aaron Jakubenko, Tatjana Marjanovic, and Kimie Tsukakoshi.
The director spends time discussing the challenges of making a movie about people on the water facing sharks, knowing that there exists one of the greatest films of all time, jaws, on just that topic. The answer lies in making a film that is one zone and touches on different themes. Whereas Jaws is essentially an adventure film, Great White is a survival horror.
The film is shot in the beautiful Northern Australian waters, and Wilson sheds light on some of the challenges involved. Traditionally, making a film on the water is considered one of the most dangerous tasks, making it all the more impressive that Wilson chose to do it on his debut feature.
He also reveals that we have not yet reached the point where it's not necessary to employ a sometimes-demanding animatronic shark. Whereas Jaws' shark was "Bruce," Great White's shark was named "Brenda."
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Jason Henderson is the host of the Castle of Horror and Castle Talk Podcasts, the editor of the "Castle of Horror Anthology" series, of which the newest Volume is Thinly Veiled: the '70s, a collection of horror stories based on 70s TV and movies. He is the author of The Serpent's Nest: Young Captain Nemo from Macmillan Children's Books. His next book is 18 Miles from Town: a Midlife Crisis Thriller.