Pitch Your Movie: Dan’s “Jaws 5″

Today, Dan from the blog Top 10 Films is pitching his movie in continuation of our month long blogathon (Check the schedule) following the Hollywood Fantasy Draft we conducted recently. Please share your thoughts and any insights you have in the comments and don’t forget to rate the pitch at the bottom!

Previous Pitches:

• Andrew Robinson’s “Untitled Joss Whedon Project“
• Anna’s “Truth and Lies”
• Novroz’s “Sunset Mystery“
• Kai’s “The Time Jumper“
• Peter’s “Untitled Hallstrӧm Project“
• Marc’s “Once Upon a Time in Z-West“
• Ruth’s “Hearts Want“
• Castor’s “Hλlf Life“
• Heather “Ambassador 51“
• Travis’ “Facedown Angels“
• Andrew K. “Putting it Together“
• Ripley’s “Untitled Project“
• Joel’s “Jagged Alliance“
• Corey’s “Rendezvous of Strangers“
• Next: Clara on Tuesday

Jaws 5

Steven Spielberg returns to the film that made him a star and a billionaire. Bringing back key character Matt Hooper with Richard Dreyfuss on board to act in the film, Jaws 5 is going to be the biggest hit of summer 2012.

Or is it?

The following is the outcome of when several movie fans got together here and started drafting film directors and actors as if they were part of a Fantasy Football League. Now that my director is in the hot seat and the actors have been auditioned, it’s time to stick them in a movie. With Steven Spielberg and Richard Dreyfuss drafted there could only be one cinematic adventure worth seeing.

Pitch: Jaws meets Aliens.

Cast and Crew

Director: Steven Spielberg | Screenplay: Dan Stephens Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Dustin Hoffman, Jeff Goldblum, Giovanni Ribisi, Catherine Keener, Elizabeth Banks | Composer: John Williams | Director of Photography: Mikael Salomon | Editor: Michael Kahn | Production Design: Norman Reynolds & Rick Carter

Logline

Jaws is back – bigger and hungrier than ever – on a planet in a galaxy, far, far away. There is only one man left alive who knows how to kill the big fish: Matt Hooper.

Plot Summary

Back story – The year is 2020. It is 45 years since ichthyologist Matt Hooper went out onto the ocean with police chief Martin Brody and fisherman Quint to kill the terrifying great white shark terrorising the beach community of Amity Island. He has become the leading figure in marine biology and the study of sharks. He has also become a minor celebrity after his exploits in 1975.

Set-up – Hooper has never lost his love of marine life but the scars of those fateful few days at sea have never gone away. Although he continues to study sharks he has never been back in the water. Begrudgingly, Hooper becomes a guest at a marine biology convention even though his health is deteriorating. One audience member – Terrence Bowser (Dustin Hoffman), a leading figure in the US government’s Other World’s Developments (OWD) (a terraform initiative set up to colonize other planets in and out of our solar system) – stands up and asks why Hooper has never been back in the water knowing full well it will evoke memories of Hooper’s encounter with the great white. Hooper has to leave the stage and refuses to answer.

Act 1 – Later, after the convention, Bowser comes back stage and begs to speak with Hooper. He apologizes to the old man and tells him it is very important that he listens to what he has to say.

Bowser explains that he has been using great white sharks to seek out and destroy dangerous and human life-threatening sea-dwelling entities on a planet set for colonization. But now the alien creatures are not the problem. He explains he has genetic control of all the sharks but one has managed to beat the ‘system’. It has grown larger than the great white Hooper first encountered and has begun to not only kill and eat the other sharks, it has killed five of the seven man team working on the planet. He asks Hooper to go with him to the planet to help seek out and destroy the beast because he is the only man alive to have dealt with such a fish.

Hooper flatly says ‘No’. But he is still haunted by memories of those days, the death of Quint, and his friendship with the late Martin Brody, whose son was also killed. He tells Bowser he will go on the expedition but “not to study, not to bring back, but to wipe it out!”

Act 2 – Bowser and Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) head to the planet with Bowser’s assistant Martha Jones (Catherine Keener) and marine terraformer Grace Collins (Elizabeth Banks). When they reach the planet they meet the only two team members who have survived the shark’s attacks – Head marine terraformer Dr. Quincy Lieberwicz (Jeff Goldblum) and ace fisherman and boat captain Franky Jeter (Giovanni Ribisi).

Cue some meet and greet pleasantries and the seven-strong team head out on a futuristic boat that also looks a little like an updated version of the Orca from Jaws. Hooper is astounded to see all manner of non-threatening alien sea creatures and his initial contempt for the mission is allayed. But then the attacks start.

Martha Jones is killed after falling into the water when Lieberwicz’s underwater cage is attacked.

Bowser doesn’t last too long, believing he can outsmart the shark in a show on one-upsmanship towards Hooper that ends up with him getting eaten.

Amidst all these attacks, Hooper, a weak heart and aging body, begins to lose his health. The others know he might die at any moment.

Act 3 – The shark attacks the boat and leaves it sinking miles from shore. The four remaining crew escape on a small lifeboat but know they won’t last long.

They devise a plan. Knowing the shark is too intelligent to shoot head on with their explosive tip plasma rifle, Lieberwicz will cause a diversion in order for Jeter to fire upon the shark while it is swimming away from the lifeboat.

Lieberwicz swims away from the boat. He throws a couple of explosives into the water to scare the shark away from him. The shark heads towards Jeter, Collins and Hooper in the boat but, with the explosives now long gone, sees easier prey in Lieberwicz. The shark swims away from the boat. Now it’s Jeter’s chance. It fails, the gun isn’t powerful enough to kill the shark. Lieberwicz is killed leaving only Jeter, Collins and Hooper (who is close to a natural death).

The ending – As the shark makes another attack they see that Lieberwicz’s dead body is still stuck in the fish’s jaw. Now only a few hundred meters from shore, Hooper, nearly dead, tells Jeter and Collins to make a swim for shore. He tells her as soon as the shark gets close enough for its assault on the boat, she must jump into the water. At which point Hooper will use the plasma rifle to shoot at Lieberwicz’s dead body – the rest of the explosives still wrapped around a belt on his stomach – hoping to set off the explosives and kill the shark. It will also end his own life.

The shark begins its attack. Hooper pushes Collins into the water at the other side of the boat and she starts swimming to shore.

Jeter doesn’t jump. “What you doing?” exclaims Hooper.

“You can’t even shoot that thing straight, old man,” he says.

“Sure I can, now go. I have a score to settle!”

Jeter does the hero thing. “I’m not going anywhere! Now hand me the gun!”

A frail Hooper looks like he’s about to concede to the younger man as the shark is nearly upon them. He reaches out to give the gun to Jeter. As Jeter leans over, Hooper rocks the small lifeboat forcing Jeter into the water at the same side Collins went in. He looks aghast but has no choice but to start swimming away.

The big fish arises from the water, jaw agape.

Hooper stares down the barrel. MEDIUM CLOSE-UP on his face. “SMILE, you son of a bitch!” He FIRES.

There is a huge explosion.

Collins reaches shore safely and looks back at the bloody carnage out at sea thinking Hooper and Jeter are dead. She thinks she’s all alone and closes her eyes. In one last jump-out-of-your-seat moment, she’s suddenly awakened by a hand that reaches from nowhere. It’s Jeter. He smiles at her and they look out to sea.