Script to Screen: Jaws

Carl Gottlieb, co-screenwriter of the classic film Jaws (1975), has won numerous awards and worked with many talented individuals throughout his long and acclaimed career as a screenwriter, actor, director, and author.  In addition to screenwriting and acting in Jaws, Jaws 2, Jaws 3D, and Dr. Detroit (starring Dan Aykroyd), Gottlieb co-wrote The Jerk (1979), starring Steve Martin, who Gottlieb also directed in the Academy Award-nominated short, The Absent-Minded Writer.  Gottlieb also won an Independent Spirit Award in 2007 for a mini-short for which he coauthored the script, won an Emmy for his writing on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour for CBS, and was nominated for Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards for the Jaws screenplay. In 2010, the Writers Guild honored him with the Morgan Cox Award in recognition of his decades of service to the WGA and to the community of writers.

In addition to his work in the industry, Gottlieb has authored two bestselling books with iconic musician David Crosby, wrote The Jaws Log about making the film on-location, and co-wrote The Little Blue Book for Filmmakers: A Primer for Directors, Writers, Actors and Producers.  Gottlieb has also lectured internationally and taught screenwriting at Columbia University, the American Film Institute, the University of Miami, and the University of Southern California. Currently, Gottlieb continues to work on multiple screenplays to add to his long list of writing credits in both television and film.

Matthew Ryan is Director of the Pollock Theater where he pioneered the Pollock Theater Internship, which professionalizes students by developing production skills with hands-on experience. Ryan created and hosts the Script to Screen series, which has welcomed prestigious guests like Oscar® winning screenwriter John Ridley for 12 Years a Slave and Oscar® winning screenwriter Alan Ball for American Beauty.

Matthew Ryan began his career as a video librarian at the legendary Kaufman Astoria Studios. He became Associate Producer for Fox Movietone Newsreels putting together video packages for news stories. As Events Manager at New York University’s Cantor Film Center, he produced a series of film programs that included evenings with Martin Scorsese, Tim Robbins and Alec Baldwin. In 2008, he received an MFA in Screenwriting from Loyola Marymount University. His primary writing focus is science fiction and comedy.