Peter Benchley

Writing

Peter Benchley

Born May 8, 1940 · New York City, New York, USA

Died February 11, 2006 · aged 65

Peter Bradford Benchley (May 8, 1940 – February 12, 2006) was an American author, best known for his novel Jaws and its subsequent film adaptation, the latter co-written by Benchley (with Carl Gottlieb) and directed by Steven Spielberg. Several more of his works were also adapted for cinema, including The Deep, The Island, Beast, and White Shark.

Known For

JawsJaws · 1975
Jaws
7.71975
MovieHorrorThriller
When the seaside community of Amity finds itself under attack by a dangerous great white shark, the town's chief of police, a young marine biologist, and a grizzled shark hunter embark on a desperate quest to kill the beast before it strikes again.
Jaws 2Jaws 2 · 1978
Jaws 2
6.01978
MovieHorrorThriller
Police chief Brody must protect the citizens of Amity after a second monstrous shark begins terrorizing the waters.
Jaws 3-DJaws 3-D · 1983
Jaws 3-D
4.51983
MovieThrillerHorror
A giant thirty-five-foot shark becomes trapped in a SeaWorld theme park and it's up to the sons of police chief Brody to rescue everyone.
Jaws: The RevengeJaws: The Revenge · 1987
Jaws: The Revenge
4.11987
MovieAdventureThriller
After another deadly shark attack, Ellen Brody decides she has had enough of New England's Amity Island and moves to the Caribbean to join her son, Michael, and his family. But a great white shark has followed her there, hungry for more lives.
The DeepThe Deep · 1977
The Deep
6.11977
MovieMysteryThriller
A pair of young vacationers are involved in a dangerous conflict with treasure hunters when they discover a way into a deadly wreck in Bermuda waters.
The IslandThe Island · 1980
The Island
5.31980
MovieThrillerMystery
David Nau leads a band of modern day pirates who raid yachts and sail boats of people on vacation in the Caribbean. When reporter Blair Maynard and his son arrive to investigate the mystery of the disappearing boats, Nau and his band of raiders decide to induct them into their tribe.
Cruel JawsCruel Jaws · 1995
Cruel Jaws
4.31995
MovieHorrorThriller
A tiger shark bred by the Navy as a killing machine is wreaking havoc in the sleepy tourist town of Hampton Bay.
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious CircleMrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle · 1994
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle
5.91994
MovieDrama
Dorothy Parker remembers the heyday of the Algonquin Round Table, a circle of friends whose barbed wit, like hers, was fueled by alcohol and flirted with despair.

Filmography

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AmazonAmazon · 1999
Amazon
7.81999
SeriesDrama
Amazon was a syndicated television show created by Peter Benchley. It was developed by Canadian production companies Alliance Atlantis Communications & WIC Entertainment and German company Beta Film GmbH. The 22 episodes of the series were in first-run syndication between 1999 and 2000. The drama series focused on the six survivors of a crashed airline flight in the Brazilian Amazon jungle. The group soon comes into contact with a Native American tribe, and relations are anything but friendly. The group is taken in by a mysterious tribe, who descended from 16th century British colonists who were lost in Amazon. Relations with the Chosen are tenuous at best. Most of the group escapes the Chosen only to stir up a hornets nest with a tribe of cannibals, led by an insane American woman bent on domination of all the local tribes. The first season ended in a cliff-hanger, and a second season was never produced. The series retained sufficient interest that it was released on DVD in 2011. A novelization of the 2-hour pilot was written by Rob MacGregor, and a mass-market paperback was released by Harper on 8 Aug 2000. The German title was Amazonas - Gefangene des Dschungels.

Executive Producer