Joe Alves

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Joe Alves
Joe Alves in San Francisco, 2013.jpg
Born Joseph M. Alves
(1936-05-21) 21 May 1936 (age 87)
Flag of the United States.svg San Leandro, California, U.S.
Occupation Film director and production designer
Years active 1956-2000

Joe Alves (born 21 May 1936, San Leandro, California) is an American film production designer, perhaps best known for his work on three of the Jaws films. He directed Jaws 3-D.

Alves has designed three features for Steven Spielberg, firstly for The Sugarland Express. He designed the three mechanical sharks for the movie Jaws (1975) with mechanical effects man Bob Mattey supervising their physical construction in Sun Valley CA. After the sharks were completed, they were trucked to the shooting location, but unfortunately they had not been tested in water causing a series of delays that have become quite legendary over time.[1]

He was nominated for the Academy Award and won the BAFTA for Best Art Direction for his work on Close Encounters of the Third Kind.[2]

Alves worked on Jaws 2 (1978) in the capacity of both production designer and as second unit director. After John D. Hancock, the initial director of Jaws 2, was sacked, it was suggested that Alves co-direct it with Verna Fields (who edited the original Jaws). Jeannot Szwarc was hired, however, to complete the film.[3]

The model of New York he created for John Carpenter's Escape from New York (1981) has been described as "memorably derelict",[4] and he was visual consultant on Carpenter's Starman (1984).[5]

He directed Jaws 3-D (1983), which took advantage of the revival in popularity of 3-D at the time. The film received generally weak critical reception, with Variety criticising Alves for failing "to linger long enough on the Great White."[6] He was nominated as 'worst director' in the 1983 Golden Raspberry Awards.[7] Jaws 3-D was his only film as director.

References

  1. Spotlight on Location: The Making of Jaws, Jaws 30th Anniversary DVD documentary, [2005]
  2. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  3. Loynd, Ray (1978) The Jaws 2 Log. London: W.H. Allen. ISBN 0-426-18868-3 pg74
  4. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links