The great grandson of the Universal Studios founders continues to formulate plans for a 50th anniversary Jaws festival on the Island, although concrete details are sparse.
Michael Dakin Cochrane met with Aquinnah officials by Zoom Tuesday to discuss the event, with the proposed dates of June 15 to 25, 2025 to coincide with the release of Jaws by Universal Studios on June 20, 1975.
Mr. Cochrane has hired the Los Angeles-based firm Notion to help with planning and production. Principals of the company, Lester Perkins and Sean O’Connor, also attended the meeting by Zoom.
Details are still vague, however, including how the massive logistics would be addressed, something Aquinnah select board members repeatedly brought up during the meeting.
“This seems premature because you don’t know what you are asking for,” said select board chair Tom Murphy.
Mr. Perkins said he was focused on bringing together the Jaws community on the Island where it was filmed, with hopes that many of players involved in making the film would attend. But he stressed that discussions were in the very early stages and at this point his company was focused on learning what was possible from Vineyard officials.
“We are trying to understand what our options are,” Mr. Perkins said. “As you can imagine we have a lot to do. We have to nail down the size and scope of the event and want to do it in partnership with the community.”
“We can’t plan a series of events until we understand the limitations of what is appropriate,” he continued.
Some of those limitations, Aquinnah officials said, involve the fragile ecosystem of the area around the cliffs and the lack of parking in the area.
In a conversation earlier this year, Mr. Cochrane had suggested possible ways to honor the film would be to have the Boston Pops play the film’s famous score by John Williams at the cliffs.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Mr. Cochrane also stressed it was too early to talk about definite ideas.
“I have some grandiose ideas but don’t want to make promises about anything that we haven’t scoped out,” he said.
Select board member Juli Vanderhoop stressed that she and many in the community were excited about a potential event at the cliffs in June.
“I think that these days, throughout June, could be a significant attraction for the businesses on the circle,” she said. “It could be a positive time of year for Aquinnah.”
Aquinnah land bank commissioner Sara Thulin stressed the need for more details before anything could move forward.
“We would need to pin down specifics and numbers of people,” she said. “Traffic would be difficult, there’s no parking other than our town parking lot.”
Ms. Thulin also wanted to know if plans included down-Island locations, many of which were more prominently featured in the film.
“I’m interested in what contacts you have made down-Island?” she asked.
Mr. Perkins said the group wants to include other locations in the celebration but that was still in the planning stages. Mr. Cochrane added that he had previously spoken to Richard Paradise, executive director of the Martha’s Vineyard Film Society, about screenings at his theatre.
When asked about the financial aspects of the endeavor, in particular how the town would be compensated, Mr. Perkins said that was definitely part of the budget.
“Yes, every location, every venue will be compensated,” Mr. Perkins said. “Not a donation, but something we will negotiate with you. If we are to move forward, everyone will be paid.”
Mr. Murphy also posed the question of motivation.
“What’s in it for you?” he asked.
“I love the movie, and having the chance to work with new people on a project that means something is why we do this,” Mr. Perkins said.
Mr. Cochrane stressed his family ties to the movie.
“My family made this movie and I have an emotional connection to it, from when I was a child,” he said. “There’s only one 50th anniversary and we want to make sure it’s done the right way.”
Aquinnah officials said they were open to all ideas but they needed more information.
“The devil is in the details, and we don’t have any details yet,” Mr. Murphy said.
Mr. Perkins, Mr. O’Connor and Mr. Cochrane agreed, and suggested all parties get together again in a few months to continue discussions.
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