“Jaws 2,” “Somewhere” Director Szwarc Has Died

French filmmaker Jeannot Szwarc has died at the age of 85. Actress Jane Seymour, who worked with the director, confirmed the news in a Facebook post.

In her post, she says: “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. May his memory be a blessing, and may his artistry live on in our hearts.”

Seymour worked with Szwarc and Christopher Reeve on the 1980 time travel romantic cult classic “Somewhere in Time” about a playwright’s infatuation with an older actress and his trip back in time to 1912 to meet her.

The Harvard-educated Szwarc first broke through with 1973’s “Extreme Close-Up” penned by Michael Crichton. He went on to direct 1978’s “Jaws 2” which scored mixed reviews at the time but was subsequently reassessed in the wake of the two further widely panned sequels.

He also directed 1984’s “Supergirl” which bombed but is still considered canon with the Christopher Reeve Superman films. Other film works included 1975’s “Bug,” 1982’s “Enigma,” and 1985’s “Santa Claus: The Movie”.

Though he didn’t have much success on film, Szwarc became a go to TV director and worked on multiple episodes of dozens of major U.S. series including “Boston Legal,” “Bones,” “Supernatural,” “Smallville,” “JAG,” “Fringe,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Castle,” “Scandal,” “Ally McBeal,” “CSI: Miami,” “Columbo,” “Rockford Files,” “Kojak” and more.

Source: Variety

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