Peter Benchley-An In-Depth Interview with Your Host, V.C.

The v.c. rumour mill has it that Peter Benchley was dazed and confused after penning his best seller. But he needed a name for the book. In a private interview ( circa 1974 in the "Fishwrapper," a magazine I invented ) he confided to me some of the names he had considered. They were ( if memory serves )

1) "Panic in Amity on the 4th of July;"

2) Captain Quint Gets Swallowed Whole ;"

3) "Ah, Boffo;"

4) "Amity: It's Only An Island When Viewing It From The Sea;"

5) "It Came From Under the Water But Is Not An Alien;" ( I liked this title and told Peter that )

6) "The U.S.S. Indianapolis and Herbie Robinson;"

7) "Smile, You Son of a Bitch;"

8) "Scooper Hooper, Marine Biologist and Rich College City Boy Who Won't Admit When He's Wrong."

9) "Damn Straight We Need A Bigger Boat!"

10) "Whiskers." When he briefly considered changing the shark to a carcarodon carcarias catfish.

Alas, Peter chose "Jaws."