'Jaws' Shark Arrives at Motion Picture Museum

 

The frightening creature from the 1975 American film "Jaws¹" has found a permanent home at a museum in Los Angeles.

Bruce the 45-year-old shark is 7.6 meters long and weighs 547 kilograms. He is famous for being hard to work with on the set of the classic² film by director Steven Spielberg. Now, visitors to the Academy³ Museum of Motion⁴ Pictures will be able to see him for years to come.

Bruce was recently brought to the museum, his new home. But getting him ready to show was not easy. It took years of planning, including a seven-month restoration by special effects and makeup⁵ artist Greg Nicotero. The museum plans to open its doors to the public on April 30, 2021.

How Bruce got his name

Fans know that the "Jaws" crew started calling the shark Bruce after Spielberg's lawyer Bruce Ramer. They will also know that the Bruce that museum-goers will see was technically⁶ not in the movie "Jaws." He is a remake and is the last of his kind.

The three mechanical⁷ great white sharks designed by art director Joe Alves were destroyed when production for "Jaws" ended. But when the film proved to be a hit, a fourth shark was made. For 15 years he hung at Universal Studios Hollywood so visitors could take pictures with him. Then, he spent 25 years at the Sun Valley junkyard. Nathan Adlan, who took over his father's junkyard business, donated the shark to the museum in 2016.

"One of the great things about being the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is that we have access to Academy members" with many skills, said Bill Kramer. He is director of the museum.

These members and other people in the film industry helped restore⁸ creatures like Bruce, he said.

But Bruce was not exactly ready to face cameras. Twenty-five years in the California sun combined with years of being re-painted at Universal Studios had serious effects. He was badly in need of care and attention. Greg Nicotero said he joined the film business because of "Jaws" and volunteered to bring him back to life.

The restoration was not easy. Getting Bruce into the museum proved to be another problem. Bruce is the museum's biggest object to date. But, everyone soon realized that he would not be able to get into the building with his fins¹⁰ attached.

Recently, Bruce was transported from a storage building on a special 21-meter bed to the museum. There, engineers, builders and art workers removed two large pieces of glass from the museum to get him into the building. Once inside, his fins were reattached.

Shraddha Aryal supervises¹¹ design and production at the museum. She talked about the years of careful, detailed¹² modeling and work that went into preparation. It included full-sized mock-ups and light tests to make sure that all of Bruce's 116 teeth could be seen by visitors.

Seeing him lifted into the building was a wonderful experience, she said.

Because the museum expects Bruce to bring many visitors, he will hang in a place where the public can see him without paying. Almost 50 years after Bruce made children and adults afraid of getting into the water, he is now bringing film lovers¹³ to a museum.

"We plan on having Bruce greet our visitors for as long as we can keep him up there," Kramer said. He hopes the creature will make people want to learn about the history of visual effects and how the shark was made.

"There are so many stories that can take you places just through this one object," Kramer said.

Words in This Story

shark –n. a large and often dangerous fish with sharp teeth

restoration –n. the process of returning something to its earliest condition by repairing and cleaning it

junkyard –n. a place where you can buy, sell or leave things that have been thrown away

access –n. the ability to use something or to meet with someone

fin⁹ -–n. a thin, flat extension¹⁴ from the body of a fish that it uses to control its movement in the water

mock-up –n. a full-sized model of something

greet –v. to meet with someone, or a group, that has just arrived; to welcome

1 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

2 classic   

n.经典作品；adj.经典的，一流的；古典的

参考例句：

• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。
• The football match was a classic.那场足球比赛堪称典范。

3 academy   

n.(高等)专科院校；学术社团，协会，研究院

参考例句：

• This is an academy of music.这是一所音乐专科学院。
• I visited Chinese Academy of Sciences yesterday.我昨天去访问了中国科学院。

4 motion   

n.打手势，示意，移动，动作，提议，大便；v.运动，向...打手势，示意

参考例句：

• She could feel the rolling motion of the ship under her feet.她能感觉到脚下船在晃动。
• Don't open the door while the train is in motion.列车运行时，请勿打开车门。

5 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

6 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

7 mechanical   

adj.机械(学)的；力学的；机械似的；手工操作的

参考例句：

• He borrowed a mechanical book from me.他从我这儿借了一本力学方面的书。
• He looks very mechanical.他看上去非常呆板。

8 restore   

vt.把…恢复原状；归还，交还

参考例句：

• A good rest will restore you to health.好好休息一下可使你恢复健康。
• His recent success has helped to restore his faith in his own ability.他最近取得的成功使他恢复了对自己能力的信任。

9 fin   

n.鳍；(飞机的)安定翼

参考例句：

• They swim using a small fin on their back.它们用背上的小鳍游动。
• The aircraft has a long tail fin.那架飞机有一个长长的尾翼。

10 fins   

[医]散热片；鱼鳍；飞边；鸭掌

参考例句：

• The level of TNF-α positively correlated with BMI,FPG,HbA1C,TG,FINS and IRI,but not with SBP and DBP. TNF-α水平与BMI、FPG、HbA1C、TG、FINS和IRI呈显著正相关，与SBP、DBP无相关。 来自互联网
• Fins are a feature specific to fish. 鱼鳍是鱼类特有的特征。 来自辞典例句

11 supervises   

v.监督，管理( supervise的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The group leader supervises a dozen workers. 组长管十二个工人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He makes the wines and supervises the vineyards. 他酿酒并管理葡萄园。 来自辞典例句

12 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

13 lovers   

爱好者( lover的名词复数 )； 情人； 情夫； 情侣

参考例句：

• They were off-screen lovers. 他们是真实生活中的情侣。
• Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet 罗密欧和朱丽叶这一对莎士比亚笔下命运多舛的恋人

14 extension   

n.伸长，扩大，伸展；延长，延期；延长部分，扩大部分；电话分机

参考例句：

• The pupils disliked the extension of the term.小学生们不愿延长学期。
• Our extension is nearly finished.我们的扩建部分已接近完工。