The Shark Is Still Working - Martha's Vineyard screening on Tuesday, July 13

The Vineyard Gazette has published a great article to publicize the forthcoming Martha's Vineyard premiere of The Shark Is Still Working, Erik Hollander's documentary love letter to Jaws.

The film is currently doing the rounds around the country (last week there was a frankly awesome sounding screening for fans in the middle of Lake Travis in Texas) so check it out if you can. I haven't yet, but I've been dying to since I first heard about its creation a few years back.

Anyway, back to the Martha's Vineyard newspaper article. As well as promoting the screening of the documentary it also interviews some of the locals who took part in the film, including islander Carol Fligor, whose home movies are featured in The Shark Is Still Working.

“They’re strictly home movies. Nothing professional,” said Mrs. Fligor humbly from her home in Edgartown this week. In the early 1970s, she lived with her family next door to the Kelley House, where many members of the cast and crew lived during filming. When her children were asked to be movie extras, she tagged along, packing a video camera for her amateur recordings. She ended up taking such good care of all the young extras on the set that the film crew volunteered to pay her for her participation. “So it was $20 a day. No big deal. But I had fun being a part of it, and my kids enjoyed it too,” Mrs. Fligor said.

In the years that have followed, her kids also enjoyed revisiting her live footage of the experience. She remembered one “awfully cute” shot she caught down in Edgartown. “I was taking a picture of the back of Richard Dreyfuss, and he happened to turn around and spotted me. So he presented himself with a big bow,” Mrs. Fligor said.

The footage has been well-loved over the years, to put it mildly. “Let me tell you, it has been torn apart,” she said. But she’s thrilled that the people behind the documentary found a way to restore it for the film and preserve the legacy of a memorable experience in her life.

“When we knew that The Shark Is Still Working was going to be in New York this winter, my husband and I went to see it. It was interesting, and it was fun. I continue to be enthusiastic about keeping the spirit alive,” Mrs. Fligor said.

Skip across and read the full article, and let me know if you're planning on going to the screening on Tuesday.