The Daily Star - Stay Tuned
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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, August 10, 2012 2 coverstory By Andrew Sawyer TV Media shark. Although you're more likely to be killed by a falling coconut, that primal fear is a part of us, as demonstrated by an entire genre of shark at- tack movies. N othing conjures up the image of sheer terror quite like that of a Discovery's Shark Week dominates summerFeeding frenzy A healthy dose of fear is necessary when dealing with one of nature's top predators, but over the years the tide has turned in favor of more scien- tific study of these prolific hunters for a more balanced view. A great white shark, as seen during Discovery's Shark Week day, Aug. 12, with a series of documentaries, including "Air Jaws Apocalypse." Picking up where the chum trail left off from last year's Emmy-nomi- nated "Ultimate Air Jaws," Chris Fallows and Jeff Kurr continue their quest to study the incredible breaching be- havior of great white sharks off of Seal Island, South Afri- ca. The duo focuses on a 14- footer named Colossus, who dominates everything in his path. Team members risks their lives to get new angles and closeups, and they dis- cover dozens of great whites in one place feeding on pretty much anything smaller than them. On Monday, Aug. 13, the MythBusters dive head first into the action. Adam Savage Enter Shark Week. A main- stay of summer programming since its debut, the week-long programming event is cele- brating its 25th anniversary this year and is the longest- running cable television event in the country. Shark fin-atics of all kinds tune in each year for the captivating footage and up-to-date information on the very latest break- throughs in shark science. The event kicks off on Sun- and Jamie Hyneman tackle tall tales about sharks in the broadcast of "MythBusters' Jawsome Shark Special." They debunk common misconcep- tions about the graceful pred- ators by counting down the top 25 myths about sharks and reveal the No. 1 myth of all time. The "MythBusters" crew then brings back to life the largest shark to roam Earth's oceans in "Sharkzilla," a new addition this year to the Shark Week lineup. Kari Byron, Grant Imahara and Tori Belle- ci set out to build as life-like a model of the beast as they can, complete with hydraulic jaws that can rip through a car door like a can of tuna. The gargantuan megal- odon grew to lengths in ex- cess of 50 feet and could weigh more than 100,000 pounds. With teeth six inches long and jaws capable of swallowing a grown human whole, you can breathe a sigh of relief that this monstrous fish went extinct between one and two million years ago. While the megalodon may be the biggest shark to have ever lived, the hungry rogue from the classic mega-hit "Jaws" is certainly the most famous. The iconic movie made waves when it hit the- aters in 1975 and "How Jaws Changed the World" (airing Tuesday, Aug. 14) explores its impact -- not only in terms of redefining the power of film but in bringing sharks into the public consciousness. Unfortunately, this led to mass killings of great whites and other large sharks and nearly drove several species to extinction. On the flip side, the raised awareness and sci- entific inquiry into sharks has meant more conservation and protection in order to re- verse some of that damage. Based on his novel of the same name, Peter Benchley co-wrote the script for "Jaws" and has since dedi- cated much of his life to pro- tecting sharks and educating people about them, even act- ing as host for Shark Week back in 1994. There are plenty of addi- tional jaw-dropping specials throughout the week that will entertain, educate and some- times terrify as Shark Week aims to tear down the image of vengeful villain to assem- ble a more complete view of these predators, and how vi- tal they are to our ecosystem. Sadly, shark populations have been decimated by the global fin trade and it's esti- mated that up to 73 million sharks a year are killed for their fins. Studies have found that continued overfishing of this top predator in the U.S. may lead to a boom in the population of cownose rays, which are prime prey for sharks. The rays feed on shell- fish, but with no sharks to keep the rays in check, the shellfish population could plummet. Conservation efforts -- such as the Shark Conservation Act, which bans shark finning in U.S. waters, and the devel- opment of shark sanctuaries -- have saved species like the great white from the brink of extinction. Shark Week's high-quality programming also goes a long way in bring- ing sharks into the hearts and minds of viewers with hard science and breathtaking footage to help ensure they stalk the deep blue sea for millions of years to come. In the meantime, surf on over to SharkWeek.com for a frenzy of updates, videos, games and special live shark cams that offer a rare glimpse into their mysterious and wa- tery world. Chirstopher's Coins 2 x 2 hollywoodQ&A By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: My husband and I were watching "Spider-Man 3" the other night and a question came up about one of the actors. Who played the editor of the newspaper that Peter Parker worked for? Is he the same man who plays the chief in "The Closer" and also does an insur- ance commercial? A: That is indeed J.K. Simmons in all three cases. And you could've picked a lot more. He's rapidly emerged as a go-to character actor in Holly- wood these days, since he appeared on the scene with his recurring role as Dr. Emil Skoda on the original "Law & Or- der" series in 1997. He'd only done bit parts before that, such as a nameless federal marshal in "The First Wives Club" (1996) and a coach in the 1994 baseball movie "The Scout." Jameson in the 2000s Spider-Man franchise that started bringing him acclaim, and bigger roles. That said, he likely doesn't spend too much time hustling for jobs since he seems to be the kind of actor who directors want to work with. But it was his role as the famously cantankerous J. Jonah die hit, "Thank You for Smoking," as the lead character's un- scrupulous boss. That led to a part as the pregnant, smart- mouthed teen's supportive (and equally smart-mouthed, at times) father in Reitman's next surprise indie hit, 2007's "Juno," which won an Oscar and grossed hundreds of mil- lions worldwide (on a budget of just over $7 million). Reit- man called him again for his next film, 2009's "Up in the Air," which was also a hit, but less of a surprise. He's also beloved by Hollywood darlings the Coen broth- He had a sizable role in Jason Reitman's surprise 2005 in- ers, who've cast him in "Burn After Reading" (2008) and "The Ladykillers" (2004) -- as well as a brief, uncredited voi- ceover part in their 2010 remake of "True Grit." However, the roles have never gotten too big -- Simmons is still a supporting man through and through, and he's nev- er strayed from the small screen that made him a star. He is, of course, Assistant Police Chief Will Pope on "The Closer," but he's also a prolific voice actor with credits on the "Ultimate Spider-Man" cartoon (reprising his Jameson role), "The Legend of Korra," and "Generator Rex," among others. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. He also had a central role in "Oz," the ultra-gritty prison drama that turned HBO from just a movie channel into a producer of cutting-edge drama series.