Category - News
‘Jaws 2,’ ‘Supergirl’ Director Dies at 85
Jeannot Szwarc, the filmmaker responsible for Jaws 2 and Supergirl, has died at 85. Wedding Crashers actor Jane Seymour, who starred in Szwarc’s 1980 romantic fantasy Somewhere in Time, confirmed his death in a Facebook post.
“Today, we say goodbye to a true visionary. Jeannot Szwarc was not just a brilliant director but a kind and generous soul. He gifted us many timeless stories, including Somewhere in Time, a film that changed my life forever,” Seymour wrote. “May his memory be a blessing, and may his artistry live on in our hearts.” A cause of death has not been announced.
The French director got his start in the 1970s helming episodes of classic TV shows such as Columbo, Kojak, and The Rockford Files in addition to a myriad of made-for-TV movies, including Night of Terror (1972) and You’ll Never See Me Again (1973). Szwarc received rave reviews for his 1975 disaster-cum-monster movie Bug. That success led to Szwarc being chosen to direct Jaws 2, replacing director John Hancock who had already shot portions of the film.
The infamously ill-received sequel became something of an industry joke, but it raised Szwarc’s status immeasurably. After 1980’s Somewhere, Szwarc went on to work with Martin Sheen and Sam Neill in Enigma (1983). He then directed the 1983 cult-classic Supergirl, which is currently being remade by I, Tonya director Craig Gillespie.
Though he made his final feature in 1997 (the French-language comedy The Sun Sisters) Szwarc continued to work until late in his life, mostly in episodic television. He directed episodes of Ally McBeal, CSI: Miami, Heroes, Cold Case, Castle, and Bones. His final credit was a 2019 episode of Grey’s Anatomy.