SPOTLIGHT
Bruce, the last ‘Jaws’ shark, docks at the Academy Museum
LOS ANGELES » Bruce, the fiberglass shark made from the “Jaws” mold, is ready for his close-up. The 1,208 pound, 25-footlong, 45-year-old shark, famous for being difficult to work with on the set of Steven Spielberg’s classic thriller, was hoisted up in the air above the main escalator of the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, where he will greet guests for the foreseeable future. And this time, he cooperated.
It is the culmination of years of planning, including a seven-month restoration by special effects and makeup artist Greg Nicotero. The shark is expected to be a major draw for the museum, which plans to open its doors to the public on April 30, 2021.
Super fans know that the “Jaws” crew started calling the shark Bruce after Spielberg’s lawyer, Bruce Ramer. They’ll also know that the Bruce that will greet guests in the museum wasn’t technically in “Jaws.” He’s a replica, and it’s the last of his kind. The three mechanical great whites designed by art director Joe Alves were destroyed when production wrapped. But once the film proved to be a box office phenomenon, a fourth shark was made from the original mold. For 15 years he hung at Universal Studios Hollywood as a photo opportunity for visitors until he wound up at the Sun Valley junk yard he would call home for the next 25. Nathan Adlan, who inherited his father’s junk yard business, donated him to the museum in 2016.
But Bruce wasn’t quite camera-ready. A quarter century in the California sun, plus all the years of being repainted at Universal, had taken its toll on the poor creature, who badly needed care and attention. Nicotero, who has worked on “Day of the Dead” and “The Walking Dead,” said
he got into the business because of “Jaws” and volunteered for the task of bringing him back to life.
“One of the great things about being the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is that we have access to Academy members in all craft areas of the industry,” said Academy Museum Director Bill Kramer. “We can call on our members and other members of the film industry who have either worked on the film that the artifact is from or know enough about the provenance and work that had been done to help us restore it. We’re in an incredibly privileged position.”
Restoration was one thing, but loading Bruce into the museum proved to be another ordeal. Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano made sure to account for large-scale objects in his restoration of the Saban Building, which was originally the May Company department store. But Bruce is their biggest piece to date and everyone soon realized that he wouldn’t be able to get into the building with his fins attached.
Last week Bruce was transported from a storage facility on a 70-foot flatbed to the museum.