Paul runs the excellent horror site Bloody Flicks and is also proving a dab hand in publishing must-have, deep dive books on films; after the success of It’s Me, Billy: Black Christmas Revisited he is back with The Shark Is Roaring which is all about the infamous 3rd sequel to Spielberg’s classic (the one with the roaring shark, hence the title!)
He was kind enough to answer some questions about his latest opus, enjoy!
What can you tell us about the book?
It’s very much been a passion project, which came a bit out of nowhere. Whilst researching my previous book (with co-author Dave Hastings), It’s Me Billy: Black Christmas Revisited i saw that there wasn’t a full chronicle of Jaws: The Revenge, which has always been a guilty pleasure of mine.
As a child, it had one of the only scenes which truly terrified me, the death of Sean Brody at the beginning and from then it’s been a strange fascination for me.
I tracked down the actor who played Sean Brody in 2017 for an interview for the film’s 30th anniversary, and from there I saw that the film also had a cult following that may be interested in knowing more about the film.
Why did you want to write this book?
As I say, it’s very much been a labour of love, plus once I decided in my head the structure and told the world, via social media about it, the support was truly overwhelming.
What do you hope audiences get from the book?
I am a bit of a film history geek, and I found the production of Jaws: The Revenge fascinating, so I hope this will provide a fairly comprehensive chronicle of its inception to release plus its legacy within cinema. We also have some exclusive interviews including the first ever interview with star Lorraine Gary in over 30 years about the film, which was a nice exclusive to get plus the original idea for Jaws 4…
Do you have a favourite book from this genre, taking a deep look at one film or films in particular?
Tough question. I really enjoyed the Cannon Film Guide by Austin Trunick, which is a mammoth dissection of the cult movie studio Cannon Films. Keeping on topic, The Jaws Log is an essential read for any aquatic horror too. Also the recent Tremors retrospective from Jonathan Melville and of course the Taking Shape books from Dustin McNeill are just fantastic.
What’s your favourite shark movie not called Jaws, and why?
I have to say The Reef, as I find it truly terrifying every time I watch it. It has the perfect blend real shark footage with some unbearable tension. Andrew Traucki’s direction really puts you in the water with the stranded people who are being hunted. The other shark movie I really enjoyed was The Shallows, as it played so well on the big screen, and we finally got a decent CGI shark!
What have you got coming up next?
I am looking to get The Shark is Roaring into some independent book stores and visit some other cities plus I’d love to screen the film in the near future. Then, it’s on to judging my short film festival The Bloody Flicks Awards, which takes place in February 2023 in Stoke-on-Trent.
A massive thanks to Paul for indulging The Reaper’s questions, and he’s been kind enough to offer a signed copy for us to give away!
All you need to do is answer this question;
What Peter Benchley adaptation did Michael Caine star in before appearing in Jaws: The Revenge?
Send your answers to sean@grimmfest.com with the subject “I’m a shark, roar!” and the winner will be chosen at random.
Competition closes 25th August, good luck!
