Kevin Smith talks relevancy, influence and Moose Jaws during Jaws watch party

Nearly five decades later and it's still not safe to go back into the water.

To celebrate the 45th anniversary of the release of Jaws, director Kevin Smith and Universal hosted a Twitter watch party of the film Saturday. Directed by Steven Spielberg, Jaws is lauded as the first "summer blockbuster." During the watch party, Smith revealed trivia about the film and talked about how it influenced his career and the relevance of keeping people out of the water in today's current climate.

Relevance

We'd be remiss if we didn't mention the eerie similarities Mayor Vaughn and his urgency to keep Amity's beaches open have with what's happening today. With states slowly starting to ease restrictions and business starting to reopen, the debate on whether they should or not is growing. Smith made sure to address it.

Influence

If you have been a fan of Kevin Smith for any period, you know the influence Jaws has had on him. In his second feature, Mallrats, the two main characters were named after Quint and Brody. Brody's last name is Bruce, which is the name given to the mechanical shark.

In Smith's first film, Clerks, Randall is "playing Jaws" with some chips and salsa. This scene opens the trailer for the movie. So the first thing anyone sees from a Kevin Smith film is an homage to Jaws. That says a lot right there.

Even though Smith is tweeting a movie from 1975, it doesn't mean he is opposed to giving out news on upcoming movies. The third movie in his "True North Trilogy," Moose Jaws, is still going to release. The title says it all. It's Jaws, but with a moose. Smith gave an update on this long-delayed film, revealing he is working with a streaming service.

Not only that, but in an original draft, it was Jay and Silent Bob who give their version of Quint's legendary "Indianapolis" monologue. Let's hope it still makes it into the finished product.

Trivia

The movie has been around for 45 years (and revered for just as long). It's hard to find anything jaw(s)-droppingly new about the making of the film. However, there are still some fun facts talked about during the watch party.

Charlton Heston, Robert Duvall, and Gene Hackman were among the actors looked at to play Sheriff Brody. Spielberg didn't go with Heston because "the shark wouldn't have made it through the first act."

The jump scare scene with Ben Gardner was a re-shoot to "get one more jump scare from the audience."

Robert Shaw's (Quint) grandson Ferdia recently made his feature film debut as the titular character in Disney's Artemis Fowl.

The 45th Anniversary Special Edition release of Jaws is now available for purchase.