Peter Benchley
American authorWikipedia
54
MENTIONS
30
EPISODES
26
PODCASTS
Search complete. 54 mentions across 30 episodes found for "Peter Benchley".
Sep 11, 2026
Nadia ShireenHOST
I was like, is this for kids? It's not, but it is.
Nadia ShireenHOST
I also remember picking up Jaws by Peter Benchley when I was far too young to read it because there are some naughty bits in that.
Frank Cottrell BoyceHOST
Yeah, that's definitely been behind the curtain, isn't it?
Nadia ShireenHOST
A little bit, yeah.
On BashawHOST
I think I know what you're talking about.
Jen JonesHOST
Have you read Jaws by Peter Benchley?
On BashawHOST
Do you know I haven't?
Jen JonesHOST
Oh, haven't you?
On BashawHOST
No.
Jen JonesHOST
Hey, there's a whole subplot in Jaws by Peter Benchley, which is-
On BashawHOST
Yeah
Jen JonesHOST
... amazing.
Ryan DackoHOST
And that's why I think Jaws has some of the best writing, if you look at it, some of the best writing.
Ryan DackoHOST
And, and you have to credit St- uh, not only Peter Benchley for starting the screenplay, but also Howard Sackler for coming in there and doing a quick re-- uh, a rewrite.
Ryan DackoHOST
But, but Carl Gottlieb coming in with his work with the Smothers Brothers, with the comedy routine, and all that ad-libbing that went on, he-- it just, it just creates this environment for such a natural dialogue.
Ryan DackoHOST
So for th-- just that one line, "How come the sun isn't shining in here? How come the sun didn't use to shine in here?" And Ellen just answers, "We bought the house in the fall.
19 MINS LATER
Ryan DackoHOST
If we go back, we're gonna start.
Ryan DackoHOST
We're gonna go back to the two screenplays.
Ryan DackoHOST
Now, why is this n-- why is this his early birthday party and not his actual birthday party, okay? When we go to the screenplays, in Peter Benchley's screenplay, Peter Benchley and the Howard Sackler.
Ryan DackoHOST
So all I have-- What I have for this entire series of the Jaws obsession, I have the Carl Gottlieb screenplay, the, the Carl Gottlieb, which is what's considered the final draft, and then we have the, uh, the Peter Benchley Howard Sackler screenplay.
Ryan DackoHOST
What, what was it Jaws that attracted everybody? And the thing was is that it came down to one man.
Ryan DackoHOST
Why-- When we talk about, uh, Jaws with Peter Benchley's novel, the Indianapolis is not mentioned in this book.
Ryan DackoHOST
Peter Benchley, to his credit, always said, "I never, I never put Indianapolis in that book." So Quint is just a maniacal fisherman that hates sharks on Amity.
Ryan DackoHOST
What happened was is that there was a, uh, he, in his contract, he was said, "I could, uh, I wanna dra- draft the first draft of the screenplay." In 1973, so they said, "Okay." They ga- they got a screenplay.
Ryan DackoHOST
Richard Zanuck and David Brown, the producers, basically said, uh, "There's this young guy named Steven Spielberg who really wants to make this movie, but it's got a horrible screenplay by this author, Peter Benchley." And so, and, and Steven Spielberg says, "I really need a new writer to come in and help me with a rewrite." And that's why wherever I go, I carry around this picture of Howard Sackler.
Ryan DackoHOST
Howard Sackler is a Pulitzer Prize running-- He was a Pulitzer Prize-winning, uh, playwright.
Ryan DackoHOST
He wrote The Great White Hope that became a movie with James Earl Jones back in nine-- in the '70s.
Jim Belcher Jr.GUEST
Mm-hmm.
Jim Belcher Jr.GUEST
[laughs]
Ryan DackoHOST
... by Peter Benchley, who ne-
Jim Belcher Jr.GUEST
It wasn't popular then [laughs]
Ryan DackoHOST
... who never wrote... who wrote, this was his first book.
Ryan DackoHOST
Peter Benchley's debut novel was Jaws.
Jim Belcher Jr.GUEST
Mm-hmm.
Ryan DackoHOST
And, uh, published in 1974, but at the time it wasn't published.
Ryan DackoHOST
They held the publishing back, so Peter Benchley's contract said, "I get first shot at having a screenplay." And Spielberg was like, "I gotta, I gotta rework this."
speaker_6HOST
And then she casually drops an absolute bomb to start a debate.
speaker_6HOST
She calls the original Peter Benchley novel a poorly written snooze fest.
speaker_7HOST
Incredibly strong words for a book that sold millions of copies.
speaker_6HOST
Very strong.
Maya DunphyGUEST
And up to 270 million sharks are killed every year.
Maya DunphyGUEST
And actually, he also said, I didn't know this, Peter Benchley, who wrote the book, the novel that movie was based on, he's actively helped with the conservation of sharks over the years because he must feel so bad for it.
Maya DunphyGUEST
But, you know, so that's what I learned this weekend, that sharks are not to be feared.
Maya DunphyGUEST
Right.
Maya DunphyGUEST
And up to 270 million sharks are killed every year.
Maya DunphyGUEST
And actually, he also said, I didn't know this, Peter Benchley, who wrote the book, the novel that movie was based on, he's actively helped with the conservation of sharks over the years because he must feel so bad for it.
Maya DunphyGUEST
So that's what I learned this weekend, that sharks are not to be feared.
Maya DunphyGUEST
Right.
Jay ShepardHOST
Correct, yeah.
Jay ShepardHOST
Peter Benchley's novel was a New York Times bestseller.
Joshua StolteHOST
Yeah, so it was well-known, and so people, I think, that was part of it.
Joshua StolteHOST
They kind of anticipated that.
ChadwickGUEST
One, the whole law enforcement officer sitting there reading a pulpy book while the phone rings and everything.
ChadwickGUEST
That also happened in Chapter 2 of Jaws by Peter Benchley.
ChadwickGUEST
So when I read that, I was like, I've seen this before.
ChadwickGUEST
Although this predates it.
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