Actress Blake Lively talks woman-vs.-shark film 'The Shallows'

NEW YORK (WABC) -- There is a new twist on the classic "man versus shark" tale hitting theaters, with actress Blake Lively starring in the summer thriller "The Shallows."

The era of the Hollywood blockbuster began when "Jaws" was released in late June of 1975, and now, four decades later, comes a movie that is just as scary. But for Lively, making the movie so soon as giving birth was more intimidating than anything in the ocean.

There are better surfers in the world and bigger stars, but only a handful of performers are skilled enough to go solo like she does in "The Shallows," carrying the entire movie by herself.

"There's a sexiness to the movie," she said. "The environment, the surf, the beach. There's an allure to it that makes it a very appealing summer movie. And, there's a thrill."

She plays a med student is dropped on a remote beach, and then, it's just her versus the big beast for the rest of the film.

"Performing like that, underwater, above water, was an athletic event," she said. "So I had to train just to pull off the role and not become very injured."

Filming took place just 10 months after Lively had her first baby with husband Ryan Reynolds.

"It's incredibly daunting for vanity sake, because you're supposed to be in a bikini, and you know how ripped apart women are and how judged they are, especially after having a baby," she said, "And so there's all of that fear, and as much as you don't want to play into that, you don't want to be picked on."

There's not much danger of that given how great she looks, but Lively could have done without the paparazzi who traveled to the remote island in the south pacific to take pictures of her bikini body.

"And it's just the middle of nowhere, population of 300," she said. "There's no one there, and the next day you find out there are bikini photos of you all over the internet. Uh, that was strange, and they were like hiding in the bushes. So you almost feel more trapped in a situation like that. I'm more invisible in New York City than I am on an island like that."

Lively came to fame as a "Gossip Girl," and pictures of her can often be found in the tabloids. "The Shallows" is a quality thrill ride that is also good fun.