A relative of Universal Studios co-founders has approached Island officials with an idea to hold a two-week long festival to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the blockbuster Jaws.
Michael Dakin Cochrane, the great grandson of Philip Dakin Cochrane, who helped found Universal Studios in 1912 with his brother Robert, reached out to Aquinnah town hall about the potential of hosting the event between June 15 and 30, 2025.
Universal Studios released Jaws on June 20, 1975, and the film has been woven into the Island’s fabric ever since.
Mr. Cochrane raised the idea of having the Boston Pops orchestra at the Len Butler memorial park at the cliffs to play the music from Jaws, which was largely filmed on the Island.
“Basically it would take over the lighthouse park… and the land surrounding the cultural center for two weeks,” Aquinnah town administrator Jeff Madison told the select board at its meeting Wednesday.
Mr. Cochrane also hoped to erect the movie’s famed Amity Island sign for the event. The scene with the sign was one of the only ones shot in Aquinnah.
“We’ve got some pretty lofty plans,” said Mr. Cochrane in an interview with the Gazette Friday.
He declined to go too deep into details about the festival, but Mr. Cochrane said he was working with Universal Studios and had talked to Richard Paradise at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Society about screening the movie on the same day it was released in 1975.
“We plan on hopefully re-screening Jaws on the same night it did 50 years ago,” Mr. Cochrane said. “We want to make sure we screen it in all its glory.”
Aquinnah officials seemed intrigued by the idea but wanted to sit down with Mr. Cochrane to learn more about his plan.
Select board chair Tom Murphy said Mr. Cochrane raised the potential of having composer John Williams, who won a Grammy for his Jaws’ score, and actor Richard Dreyfus at the event. The Vanderhoop Homestead was also envisioned as a VIP section.
“They’re expecting to host an event that highlights this historic work,” said Mr. Murphy. “It could be a wonderful event for our community; there’s a lot of details that have to be worked out.”
Mr. Murphy suggested talking to an event planner to better understand the ramifications of a large-scale event on the town’s resources. The board agreed to have Mr. Madison reach back out to Mr. Cochrane to learn more.
Mr. Cochrane, a self-described “Jaws-fanatic,” lives in Norwalk, Conn. He did said that the festival was still in its infancy, and the hurdle of funding still needs to be cleared before anything is nailed down.
“We’re still working through a couple things,” he said.
