Jaws star Scheider to return to big screen via AI a decade after his death
ROY Scheider is set to return to the big screen in thriller Beautiful Blue Eyes and a rerelease of Jaws, more than a decade after his death.
The American actor died in February 2008 during the filming of Beautiful Blue Eyes, which follows a New York police officer seeking revenge on a Nazi who he believes murdered his family during the Second World War.
Despite the filming of Beautiful Blue Eyes commencing more than 14 years ago, filmmakers had to wait for artificial intelligence (AI) technology advances in order to release the movie as it was originally envisioned after Scheider’s death.
The Academy Award-winner, known for his roles in Jaws and The French Connection, died after suffering from multiple myeloma, a type of bone marrow cancer.
The 1975 action thriller Jaws, directed by Steven Spielberg, is also being rereleased in RealD 3D and Imax, giving fans the chance to see Scheider in action as police chief Martin Brody once again.
Beautiful Blue Eyes, directed by British filmmaker Joshua Newton, had the original working title of Iron Cross. However, the name was later changed after a special request from Scheider before his death.
Three days before his death, Scheider asked Newton to change the movie’s name to Beautiful Blue Eyes due to the meaning it holds in the film. Newton granted Scheider’s wish in the late actor’s honour.
The film follows an NYPD cop, played by Scheider, who has spent decades haunted by the murder of his family during the Second World War. When he believes he has found the Nazi responsible, he enlists his estranged son, portrayed by Scott Cohen, to help him carry out his revenge.
The cast of Beautiful Blue Eyes includes Sarah Bolger and Alexander Newton, who also wrote and performed the film’s title song.
A previous version of the film, which had the original title of Iron Cross, premiered at the Boston Film Festival in 2010 and had limited general release in March the following year but was never widely distributed.
The new film, which is being released in 4K, and the Jaws rerelease will be shown in the US from September 9, with its global premiere taking place at New York City’s Regal Union Square on September 8.