Timehost: We are chatting today with
Peter Benchley, who has written an article about the seas for TIME
Magazine's Visions of the 21st Century-- www.pathfinder.com/time/reports/v21. In addition to
that piece, he wrote a little-noticed book called "Jaws", and is
also the host of the syndicated TV program, "Peter Benchley's
Amazon." You can read about it at www.benchleysamazon.com. Mr. Benchley has entered the
room and is ready to chat!
Timeguest: I'm sorry to be a few
minutes late. I was discussing shipwreck legislation in the Caribbean.
estherqueenofthejungle asks:
Did you do a lot of research for "Jaws" ?
Peter Benchley: It was almost all
academic research because back in those days; almost nobody had any
firsthand experience with great white sharks. "Blue Water, White Death"
and the book written about it were the best sources available
koolkat327 asks: Did you go to
school to study marine biology, and where?
Peter Benchley: No, I graduated
from Harvard with a major in English in 1961.
estherqueenofthejungle asks:
How did you become interested in the ocean?
Peter Benchley: I grew up during
the summers in Nantucket, and spent all my time in or on the water.
mooncryer2000 asks: What
inspired you to write "Jaws"?
dolphin_cutie asks: how long did
it take you to write the "Jaws" novel
Peter Benchley: I had been
thinking for almost ten years about telling the story because of a news
clip I read about a man who caught a two ton white shark off Long
Island. Once I got started, the book took about a year. But I was
working part-time to support a family so I could only devote a couple of
days a week to it.
shandy9 asks: Thank you for
scaring me so badly I gave wide berth to mud puddles for a long time . .
. do you feel that the great white shark is maligned?
Peter Benchley: The great white
shark is, more importantly, endangered as the apex predator among fish.
Nature makes very few of them, and when we interrupt the natural cycle
with longlines or lobster pots we interfere with their population.
Twenty-five years ago nobody knew much about white sharks. Today almost
all the killings are by accident.
fhfan03755 asks: Sharks don't
really attack people, do they?
Peter Benchley: Once in a while,
sharks make a dedicated assault on a human being. Still, when a two-ton
animal takes a taste of you, it doesn't do much good to apologize.
yousei_123 asks: Do you have
any new projects in works?
Peter Benchley: The television
series, "Amazon", is taking up most of my time, but I still try to
save time to do articles for the National Geographic, films for
aquariums on ocean conservation, and a daily radio spot on public radio
called "The Ocean Report."
rattanchairprint asks: Do you
write the screenplays for your show each week?
Peter Benchley: I wrote the
pilot, and I helped edit the other scripts every week, but there are
three full-time writers in addition to myself. It would be impossible
for me to write 22 one-hour shows in a year.
Hejira66 asks: Did you feel
that "Jaws" the movie represented your book well?<
Peter Benchley: I discovered in
the process that books and movies are completely different media. I was
very pleased with the movie in its incarnation, but I liked the book as
a book.
Hejira66 asks: Who or what has
the biggest influence on your writing?
Peter Benchley: I read very
widely, both non-fiction and fiction, so I don't think there's a single
writer who influences me. When I was growing up, I was very fond of
Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Steinbeck; all the usual suspects.
dinasut asks: Where would you
rate Hemingway in the list of great writers?
Peter Benchley: Reputations rise
and fall almost as regularly as the tides. These days Hemingway is
regarded almost as a cliche. But it took 100 years after Shakespeare's
death for people to recognize his greatness, so we'll have to wait a lot
longer to see whether Hemingway is really immortal.
tiiiimmmmmmyyyyy asks: In your
TIME Magazine article, you say that we might overfish the sea in 25
years. What can we do to prevent this?
Peter Benchley: I think I said,
or I meant to say, we are overfishing the sea already. The only way to
prevent it is to establish enforceable international agreements on
limiting catches and establishing marine preserves where fish have a
chance to grow up without being killed.
Timehost: Do you have any ideas
how to make treaty on fishing limits enforceable?
Peter Benchley: Like everything
else, it would take enormous amounts of international funding for
rangers, patrol boats, airplanes, etc. In the Galapagos Islands, for
example, a handful of rangers have only a couple of boats and no
airplanes to patrol thousands of square miles. So poachers have a huge
advantage. That's pretty much true everywhere in the world.
mindrecreation asks: There
seems to be a lot of speculation about the intelligence of dolphins,
whales, etc. If we could talk to them, what would they tell us that
would change things for the better?
Peter Benchley: I don't think
anybody knows the answer to that question. It's the source of constant
wonder and endless research. The fact that marine mammals seem to be
able to make contact with autistic children, for example, is just one of
the miracles waiting to be explored.
nicklangworthy asks: How much
influence did you have on developing of the "Jaws" film or
sequels?
Peter Benchley: I had no effect
or interest in any of the sequels. I never even saw them. In the
original, I wrote three drafts of the screenplay. I helped maintain the
consistency of the shark images. And who could forget my epic
performance as the reporter on the beach, on the Fourth of July.
MTBottle asks: Have you and
Bob Ballard ever worked together on a project or do you plan to work
with him ever?
Peter Benchley: I know Bob and
respect and admire him enormously, but I've never had the chance to work
with him.
dinasut asks: If you had to
give a writer one piece of advice what would it be?
Peter Benchley: That's a very
difficult question to answer without sounding flip or superficial.
Writing is sweat and drudgery most of the time. And you have to love it
in order to endure the solitude and the discipline.
koolkat327 asks: Ever have any
real encounters with sharks?
Peter Benchley: Yes, I've had
countless encounters with sharks. I have never, thank God, been bitten,
but I've had any number of close calls. And these days, I do my best to
gauge the risks before I even get in the water.
moose_241 asks: Have you ever
gone on any adventures with the late Jacques Cousteau?
Peter Benchley: I never met
Cousteau. He spent a lot of time and energy criticizing "Jaws" and
I wrote him once or twice, but he never wrote back.
Timehost: Next question relates
specifically to your TIME article .. technology has given us the tools
to extinguish entire fish populations.
mindrecreation asks: I define
"technology" as "a way of doing (something)". Every action which is
ordered reduces to a mechanized way of doing and creates "industry"
(becomes productive). Don't you think that blaming potentially horrible
future possibilities on technology is a bit misplaced?
Peter Benchley: I don't believe
in blaming inanimate objects for anything. But if we misuse the
technology and destroy the very resources we intend to harvest, I think
we deserve the blame.
rvanande asks: Do you think
people have actually been more sensitive to nature after reading some of
your books, or do they just see these as action stories?
Peter Benchley: I certainly hope
they become more sensitive. As far back as "Jaws", which was my
first novel, the voice of Hooper the scientist was my voice urging the
populace not to embark on some mad vendetta against an animal that was
just doing what nature programmed it to do. If there's an underlying
them in the books I've written about marine creatures, it's that man has
a responsibility to co-exist with his environment, not to try to
dominate it.
z_z_nip asks: Did you ever
realize that "Jaws" would become such a big hit?
Peter Benchley: No, I knew that
"Jaws" couldn't possibly be successful. It was a first novel, and
nobody reads first novels. It was a first novel about a fish, so who
cares?
Peter Benchley: And I knew they
couldn't make a movie because nobody could catch and train a great white
shark and the technology of the time wasn't up to creating a credible
animal. So much for what I knew.
EL_SKUDO asks: Is there a
United Nations sea protection statement?
Peter Benchley: There's a law of
the sea treaty. But at the moment, the most important work is being done
in specific forums such as the International Convention Regarding Tuna
and Endangered Species.
Timehost: The Coast Guard is
involved in protecting fishing grounds off Alaska. Do you expect to see
fishing wars -- with shots fired -- in the next century?
Peter Benchley: I wouldn't be
surprised. It has happened already, and as the resources dwindle, and
men's livelihoods are put at risks, they are likely to become desperate.
dokken_23 asks: What kind of
TV show do you do?
Peter Benchley: One of the things
that attracted me to "Amazon", which is a series currently in
syndication, was the chance to tell two classic stories: a survival
story, and a "land of the lost" story involving descendants of
shipwrecked sailors from the 17th century. I am a bulldog about
authenticity, both historical and natural, and one of the terrific
things we discovered in our research was that back in the 1600's people
were about to use repeating crossbows when firearms came in and made
them obsolete. It's these kinds of details that fascinate me and make
the show interesting. I always regretted that "The Deep" wasn't
recognized for its technical achievement. Nobody before or since has
done underwater photography that comes close to "The Deep" in terms
of authenticity.
MTBottle asks: Are you writing
any books currently?
Peter Benchley: No, at the
moment, I'm spending all my time on the TV series "Amazon",
environmental films, radio spots and work for the National Geographic.
jugador_22 asks: What do you
do in your spare time? Fishing? (just kidding)
Peter Benchley: I dive as much as
I can. I'm specifically interested in underwater archeology. I read
voraciously. And I study history, on-site wherever possible.
Stamm444 asks: Will the
Internet offer new opportunities for novelists? For example, research is
easier, you can get feedback on some plot ideas, etc.
Peter Benchley: I'm a babe in the
woods when it comes to the Internet. I'm just beginning to appreciate
the value of e-mail, and so I wouldn't presume to predict the next step.
The evening news tonight talked about developments in computer
technology so breathtaking that even computer experts can't fathom how
important they're going to be. So far be it from me to make any
grandiose predictions that will only underline my ignorance.
dolphin_cutie asks: What do
you think the future holds for the oceans and the rain forest?
Peter Benchley: I guess I'm a
hopeful optimist, because to be a pessimist is to be suicidal. If man
doesn't learn to treat the oceans and the rain forest with respect, man
will become extinct. I don't know about you, but I don't feel like being
extinct.
david_10606 asks: Is
oceanography a good career now?
Peter Benchley: Oceanography is a
terrific career because gradually we seem to be coming around to realize
that we had better become as acquainted with the seventy percent of our
planet that is covered by water as we are with the dark side of the
moon. If we can redirect our resources towards the oceans and away from
the stars for a couple of years, I think the future holds enormous
promise.
Timehost: That seems like a nice
note to end on. Thanks you very much, Mr. Benchley, for joining us in
the TIME Auditorium and chatting with our intrepid audience.
Peter Benchley: Thank you.
