Short answers, pulled from the story.
Principal photography for Jaws began on the 2nd of May 1974 and wrapped finally on the 6th of October 1974. The production schedule stretched from a planned 55 days to 159 days due to mechanical failures with the life-sized sharks.
Peter Benchley wrote the first three drafts before handing control to other writers including Howard Sackler and Carl Gottlieb. Carl Gottlieb rewrote nearly the entire script during principal photography while dialogue often originated from actors' improvisations during meals.
Roy Scheider played Brody, Robert Shaw portrayed Quint, and Richard Dreyfuss appeared as Hooper. Lorraine Gary starred as Ellen Brody and Murray Hamilton played the mayor of Amity Island.
Universal spent $1.8 million marketing Jaws including an unprecedented $700,000 on national television spot advertising. The media blitz included about two dozen 30-second advertisements airing each night between the 18th of June 1975 and the film's opening.
Jaws opened in 409 theaters with a record $7 million weekend and grossed $260 million in United States and Canada across its various releases in the 1970s. It became the highest-grossing film worldwide by the 11th of January 1976 with rentals of $132 million.
Jaws won three Academy Awards for Best Film Editing Best Original Dramatic Score and Best Sound but lost Best Picture to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Steven Spielberg was not nominated for Best Director despite his role as director.