Deadline have reported that the filming in Malta for the upcoming Jurassic World: Dominion, set to begin at the end of this month, will be scaled back due to the island having received an increase in Covid-19 cases.
They report that Sam Neill, Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt will no longer be traveling to the country to film.
There were reports last week from sources in Malta claiming that four crew members set to work on Dominion when the production arrived have tested positive for the virus and are now self-isolating. A Universal Pictures spokesperson also confirmed the report in the New York Times article from last week that stated that four crew members in the UK have tested positive for the virus since early July. Those four were isolated and none became seriously ill.
The country has received a spike this month in cases, and arrivals from the UK will be required to quarantine for 14 days on arrival. Those 14 days can severely disrupt the filming schedule and while Universal have a cohesive plan for filming during this pandemic, they would naturally want to limit further delays to the production with mandatory quarantines and possible exposure to the virus.
Universal Pictures provided Deadline with this statement:
“Jurassic World: Dominion will have a significant presence in Malta with a second unit crew shooting there from the end of August through to September. Working with an abundance of caution as we have done throughout this production, first unit will no longer shoot in Malta to keep our presence on the ground to a minimum. We’d like to thank the Maltese Government and Film Commission for all their support and we look forward to a successful shoot in this beautiful country.”
The second unit shoot, while still large with roughly 200 crew members, is now at a 50% reduction from what had been planned. The crew will be made up of local professionals and some crew arriving from the UK.
In June, when filming was announced to be resuming, Universal Pictures reportedly had spent $5 million on safety precautions. That figure has reportedly jumped to $9 million, with the New York Times article revealing the studio rented a whole hotel for some of the cast and crew.
While this news may come as a disappointment to some, cast and crew safety is far more important than the film itself, and it seems the studio will continue to take necessary precautions as they arise. The Maltese Government have every right to halt filming if they believe it to be a safety risk.
And if the cast and crew are looking for masks to wear on set, we have a few available.
With the release of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous on the horizon, we have compiled everything we currently know about the animated Netflix series into the video down below!
In a recently discovered interview with Polish website FilmWeb, executive producer of the show Colin Trevorrow revealed more details about the series and what we can expect from both the animation and the tone of the show.
“The animation is amazing. Dinosaurs move like animals, the characters are persuasive and emotional. You can certainly feel an element of horror as well. I am sure that after the premiere of the series there will be comments that, contrary to all expectations, our animation is really scary. The stakes are high. As in the movies, some heroes will not survive.“
The show is aimed at children and young adults so it’s surprising to hear that some heroes will not survive. While we can safely say no children will succumb to the dinosaurs, that’s not to say the camp counselors or other park staff that we meet along the way may meet their demise at the claws of the dinosaurs, and that certainly means the show isn’t going to play everything safely.
Colin has been involved with the writing of the show and explained that he was able to join the writer’s room and be a part of that process, which not only ensures that Camp Cretaceous feels like the Jurassic World movies, but that the story itself fits within the canon of the franchise.
Between the release of the two Jurassic World movies many expected there to be content that expands that universe, be it a TV series, an animated show, a video game, but aside from the Lego tie-ins and The Evolution of Claire book, there hasn’t been a project that explored new ideas or pushed the wider story in any substantial way.
“Five years ago, I would have decided that we are not ready for this. I was very careful not to exploit this universe too much and go a step too far. The last two Jurassic World movies have captured the hearts of a new generation of dinosaur fans who expect more than one new movie every three years. They can, of course, play with toys and use their imaginations, but it’s worth giving them something to stimulate them to do so. I’m no longer a child myself, but I remember how it works.”
What are you most excited for in Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, and will be binge watching the show on September 18?
Let us know in the comments section down below, and if you liked the above video please consider giving it a like and commenting on there too!
The trailer for the upcoming animated Netflix show, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous is here! Released moments ago, the trailer also revealed the official release date for the show – September 18.
In just over a month’s time we will be able to dive into the much anticipated series and see what Camp Cretaceous has to offer.
Check out the trailer:
A new poster for the show has also landed, showing us the Indominus Rex and two of the main characters and giving us another look at the Camp Cretaceous gates that tower over the jungle.
As featured in the trailer, the show will focus on five main characters who are all part of a Summer Camp spent at Jurassic World.
The eight-episode CG animated series features a dynamic cast of campers, including Paul-Mikél Williams (Westworld) as resident dinosaur expert Darius; Jenna Ortega (You) as social media sensation Brooklynn; Ryan Potter (Big Hero 6: The Series) as self-appointed VIP Kenji; Raini Rodriguez (Bunk’d) as gregarious and enthusiastic Sammy; Sean Giambrone (The Goldbergs) as sensitive and bookish Ben; and Kausar Mohammed (Silicon Valley) as world-class athlete Yaz. Jameela Jamil (Legendary) and Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick) recur as camp counselors Roxie and Dave.
The series is executive produced by Scott Kreamer (Cleopatra in Space) and Aaron Hammersley (Star vs. the Forces of Evil) who serve as showrunners. Steven Spielberg, Colin Trevorrow, Frank Marshall and Lane Lueras (Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny) serve as executive producers. The series was developed by Zack Stentz, who also serves as consulting producer.
Season one of Camp Cretaceous takes place prior, during, and after the events of Jurassic World as the park is thrust into chaos when the Indominus Rex escapes. The show has been pitched as a canon continuation of the Jurassic films, and promises to expand the universe in exciting new ways, not dissimilar to the approach Star Wars has for its animated series.
Some of the exciting new additions can be seen in the trailer, and in the official images released alongside. One of those additions would be the bioluminescent Parasaurolophus seen in the image above, a trait first seen in Jurassic World Live Tour on the Stegosaurs. Other dinosaur species include Toro the Carnotaurus, Bumpy the baby Ankylosaurus, Sinoceratops, Stegosaurus (featuring new grey with dark stripe coloration), Brachiosaurus, Pteranodons, the ‘Raptor Squad’, Indominus Rex, Mosasaurus, and of course, the T. rex.
Check out the rest of the images below:
Be sure to check out our video breakdown and analysis of the teaser trailer:
Which is also available to listen to here:
What are you most looking forward to seeing in Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous? Let us know in the comments section below!
A new Kickstarter has launched for an upcoming dinosaur survival horror game known as Deathground. The game is described as a solo and co-op survival horror game that throws players into a desperate battle for survival against deadly AI dinosaurs.
The Jurassic Park franchise has unfortunately been a stranger to survival horror video games, with efforts in the past often being cancelled before completion. Jurassic Park: Survival was a cancelled Playstation 2 video game that was third person and similar to Tomb Raider in gameplay style. It was set on a mysterious third island and for its time appeared to be the horror survival game fans had wanted.
In more recent years, Universal Pictures had trademarked Jurassic World: Survivor, which was known to be an open world third or first person survival game taking place on Isla Nublar. It was being developed by Cryptic Studios but ceased development at some point in 2017.
This year, Universal Pictures trademarked Jurassic World: Aftermath, which we believe could be the same game, perhaps under a new developer. So far the game has not been officially discussed.
And that brings us to now. Five movies into the franchise and not a single, modern (we can’t forget Trespasser) survival adventure game. Nothing with a similar style to The Last of Us, or Alien: Isolation, which are arguably two of the most defining in that genre.
Based on the trailer, Deathground promises to be the survival game Jurassic fans have been looking for, mixing deep jungles with InGen looking facilities, it does appear to be heavily Jurassic Park inspired. Check out the video below:
The game already looks very promising and has strong Dino Crisis vibes, and it’s hard to argue with the beautiful imagery that it isn’t Jurassic inspired.
As huge dinosaur fanatics and experienced game developers, we’re building a game that we’re extremely passionate about and believe this is a game people would love to play. For years, we’ve spotted all types of requests and comments across the internet for this game type. We’ve heard your calls and this is our answer! We’re a collective of experienced game development professionals and specialists in Unreal Engine. Beyond this, we have a wide range of talented collaborators we frequently work with who can help us create something incredible. So we feel we’re in a great position to develop a game like this and we’ve come to Kickstarter for your support on this journey!
The game aims to fully immerse you in its world, using dynamic weather changes and unpredictable AI dinosaurs to create a suspenseful and challenging experience for the player.
They are using Unreal Engine 4 to create beautiful environments that scream Isla Nublar/Isla Sorna, and currently there are four main dinosaurs in the game, with more to be added.
The team behind the game are looking for £80,000, and with their experience of 10 plus years working in the industry, they believe reaching that figure will allow them to get the game into early access.
Jaw Drop Games have worked on a number of AAA games, including Alien Isolation, Lego Star Wars, Dirt 5, and more. They share a lot of experience in various forms of gameplay which, when put together, will help make this ‘independent’ game feel as real as it can.
With Universal showing no signs of filling this gap in the video game market, Deathground is worth looking at, and if you’re impressed with what you see then please consider donating to this game. Even a small donation goes a long way, and personally I’m excited to see what the team can really do once they reach their Kickstarter goal.
The campaign ends on August 7 and there are many rewards that come with your pledge, so be sure to go check it out and if you like what you see, donate what you can!
Let us know what you think of this game, and what Jurassic Park game you’d like to see in the comments section below!
In an exclusive interview with Empire, director Colin Trevorrow discusses how the lockdown has affected Jurassic World: Dominion’s shooting schedule, and gives detail into the process of getting the movie filming again.
Colin also confirmed that the scenes filmed earlier this year in British Columbia, Canada were mostly dinosaur sequences, meaning those scenes could still be worked on remotely during the lockdown.
“For many of us, Dominion was already the biggest creative challenge of our lives, before the lockdown. The shooting schedule really worked to our advantage – the first four weeks we put to film were mostly sequences with dinosaurs in them. So that allowed us to get a head start on VFX and workshop some of the newer elements without the pressure of a looming deadline,”
Last month we reported that filming would resume on July 6 and that various safety measures had been put into place to ensure cast and crew protection while returning to work.
Despite those new guidelines ensuring safety for those working on the film, Colin noted the challenge of actually establishing a world that is separate from the current social distancing world we live in.
“I’m confident our guidelines will keep us safe. The hard part will be constructing a creative environment within all the precautions. Once the cameras roll, we have to forget our world and live in the world of the movie. That may take some practice.”
At the beginning of the crisis Colin reassured the cast and crew that they would continue making the movie soon.
“I’ve been really moved by the way everyone has shown support for each other. We’re all fired up to get back to work. This is what we do, and we’re all eager to get back out there and do it.”
Jurassic World: Dominion is the first major production to resume filming since the lockdown began, and begun filming yesterday at Pinewood Studios. Universal and Pinewood are abiding by strict guidelines to ensure the maximum safety of those involved with the production.
The full interview with Colin Trevorrow can be found in this week’s edition of Empire Magazine, available on July 9.
How do you think Jurassic World: Dominion will be affected by the new safety measures? Let us know in the comments section below!
Jurassic Park’s groundbreaking special effects are often the topic of conversation when the movie is discussed. So often in fact, that sometimes it can overshadow many other elements of the production that were fundamental in their own way, to creating the movie we know and love.
The production of Jurassic Park began with an adaptation of Michael Crichton’s novel, and those involved with the production considered many different ideas and concepts before landing on the final screenplay. This exploratory phase of development and pre-production has been skimmed over in the movie’s official ‘behind the scenes’ documentaries and books…
Until now. Jurassic Time have launched a new project, one to showcase all of the myriad of ideas that could have been realised if they survived the development stage of Jurassic Park. Jurassic Memoirs dives into these un-seen concepts, sometimes with the aid of personal recollections from those involved with the production.
The first release, Michael Crichton’s Adaptation of Jurassic Park, is a 5-part audio analysis series that explores the variations in Crichton’s own screenplay drafts, and the first part is available to listen to now:
And to follow the above, Jurassic Time will then release Rick Carter’s Adaptation of Jurassic Park, which will be an audio drama with visuals.
Jurassic Time is known for it’s audiobook-style memoir of John Parker Hammond, featuring audio recordings of Richard Attenborough extracted from the video game Trespasser. The audio recordings unveil details about InGen and the islands, which Jurassic Time wanted to preserve. The ‘Definitive Edition’ of that is available in audio, video and book programs.
But aside from those audio recordings, founder of Jurassic Time Derrick Davis has also unveiled never-before-seen concept art and storyboards from Jurassic Park which shed light on ‘The Many Deaths of John Hammond‘, this image below was recently uncovered to help illustrate one of the concepts:
The Jurassic Memoirs website also includes a number of interviews with key people associated with the franchise, including John Bell (Art Director), John Gurche (Concept Artist), Gary Goddard (creator of Jurassic Park: The Ride), and Austin Grossman – the writer of Trespasser.
The website really is filled with a heap of resources and content to further your love for the original movie, so be sure to go check it out, and follow Jurassic Time’s Facebook and Twitter pages for more!
Universal Brand Development, Amblin Entertainment, Ludia, and Google have partnered together to bring 10 dinosaurs from the Jurassic World franchise into your Google Search.
Searching for a dinosaur on Google while using a mobile device will now allow you hit ‘View in 3D’ which shows you a 3D model of the dinosaur, allowing you to rotate it and zoom in to see it close up.
From there you can add the dinosaur into the space around you, using AR technology to position the dinosaur in scale. If you’re on an Android device you can turn up the volume to hear footsteps and roars.
Ten dinosaurs are viewable in AR, including the T. rex, Velociraptor, Triceratops, Spinosaurus, Stegosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Dilophosaurus, Pternodon, and Parasaurolophus.
According to Google, the technology from Ludia’s ‘Jurassic World Alive’ game has been used to ensure that these dinosaurs have the most realistic models possible.
“To create the 3D dinosaurs, our concept artists first did preliminary research to discover information about each creature,” says Camilo Sanin, Ludia’s Lead on Character Creations. “Not only did we draw research from various forms of literature, our artists also worked with paleontologists and the ‘Jurassic World’ team to make the assets as accurate and realistic as possible. Even the smallest of details, such as irregularities of skin color and patterns, are important.”
You can see an example of how the Brachiosaurus was developed for ‘Jurassic World Alive’ below:
The dinosaurs available are a lot larger than your average dog or tiger which Google’s AR service also offers, so they have implemented an auto-scale feature that can calculate the distance between your phone and a surface in the area you’re in, and resize the dinosaur accordingly.
Using the Google app on both Android devices and iPhones, search ‘dinosaur’ or for the names of one of the ten dinosaurs listed above, and click ‘View in 3D’ to access.
The technology can also be used to create AR videos, recreating your favourite scenes from the Jurassic World franchise. Will you be checking out Google’s new feature? Let us know in the comments which dinosaur you’d like to see if not already featured.
And make sure you check out this important message from Jurassic World…
We’re excited to drop our new interview with the cinematographer of Jurassic Park 3, Shelly Johnson! I was lucky enough to speak with Shelly not too long ago about his time working on Jurassic Park 3, along with many other features he has shot.
Shelly was first brought onto the third Jurassic Park movie by Steven Spielberg himself, who had seen Shelly’s work on the Dreamworks Television series, The Others.
“I got a call from Larry Franco who’s the producer of Jurassic and said, Hey, you know, we were just in Steven’s office, and he showed us some footage from the show and said that we need to talk to you about doing Jurassic. And so why don’t you come down and you’ll get to meet Joe Johnston, and you guys can discuss it. He said, unfortunately, we can’t show you the script, but it’s Jurassic 3 and you get the idea.”
The collaboration with Joe Johnston led to a long and varied career, shooting films such as Captain America: The First Avenger, The Expendables 2, The Wolfman, and the upcoming Bill & Ted Face The Music and Greyhound.
Shelly went into detail about the role he plays in crafting a movie, and the complex lighting setups he used on Jurassic Park 3:
“My plan was to have this very kind of indirect light, filtered through the fog and as they got deeper in the canyon and got a little darker until it got to the bottom when there’s no sun at all. Maybe a little bit of that in the cliffs up there, but they would be in indirect light. Our largest set piece was a set of cliffs on the river at the bottom of the canyon that was all at Falls Lake, which is a permanent Lake on the Universal backlot, kind of a pathway up the hill there, and they’ve got a permanent green screen structure on one side of it.”
Along with sharing the technicalities of a shoot this large, we discussed the infamous and slightly troubled production the movie had, which stemmed from the original shooting script being thrown out weeks before filming was set to begin.
There was never an ending written while they were shooting, but an ending sequence had been planned at one point in time which would have involved a rescue helicopter getting attacked by a Pteranodon – something Spielberg had been wanting to see with a passion. The scene ultimately ended up in Jurassic World, along with the motorcycle Raptor chase.
“At one point, I’m not sure if it was written or not, there was a big discussion and some illustrations of a Pteranodon attacking a helicopter, like a big helicopter, a black Hawk. And when they fly away at the end of it they were going to attack and pick their way through the windshield, kind of like they did with the little helicopter in part four.
We were kind of waiting for it because as they fly out, that’s where it was. The last thing was this attack and they had to get out of it. And it ended up getting cut because of the expense, everything, you’re at the end of the movie now. And that was the sequence we had least worked out, where everything else we had sets for and had worked it out and it just didn’t seem like it was going to be viable.”
We talked about some of the concept posters for Jurassic Park 3, that were seen on the Jurassic Park 3 DVD release, showing titles such as Extinction or Breakout, with one even showing a human fetus in the logo in exchange for the T. rex.
After Jurassic Park 3’s release, many ideas for the fourth Jurassic were thrown around and as we know Joe Johnston was attached to direct the movie for quite some time.
Shelly discussed some of the things he had heard about the fourth movie from Joe and the similarities between the concepts he had heard and what ended up in Jurassic World.
Jack: “Joe Johnson was attached to direct Jurassic Park 4 for quite some time after Jurassic Park 3 was released. After you and he had built that sort of solid working relationship on the third, were you automatically on that with him or did you discuss Jurassic Park 4 with him?”
Shelly: “We did discuss it, yes, I’m not sure I would have automatically been, nothing’s automatic with him. I sort of have to earn my way onto every project, but it was definitely in the discussion. He played so much of that close to the vest, I don’t think there was much he could talk about.
But he told me what was out there, he told me that there was a story of creating an army of Raptors as kind of this invincible army, which you kind of see in part four. You see Chris Pratt out there training the raptors and you see the military contractors realizing the profit potential
I know that four went through a whole slew of iterations, and I think that the finished version, what they ended up shooting was very different than the film that Joe was considering making way back then.”
Shelly also shared with me how he would have liked a new Jurassic to look, if he were shooting it.
Jack: “After your work on Jurassic Park 3 and the prospect of, of lighting and shooting another, had you had time to think about what direction you would have liked to take it in? Obviously, it depends on what Joe wants and what the script was like, but had you had an idea about the way you wanted it to kind of look or what you wanted to explore?”
Shelly: “Yes, if I could do it again, I think that the moodier stuff in that movie is where it starts to kind of hit a tone that makes the Island feel a lot more mysterious, less of a tropical paradise and much more of a mysterious and scary place. And I would have liked to have kind of gone for that tone, even with the Kirby story and that little nod to comedy that Alexander Payne put in there. You know, I think it’s still work in a very, a very more threatening environment. So, I would have loved for it to have gotten a little darker.”
An even moodier Jurassic Park is music to my ears, and it’s great to hear that from the cinematographer himself. Jurassic Park 3 has some of the most beautiful and well-shot sequences in the franchise, specifically the atmosphere that Shelly created in the aviary. It would have been great to see how far he could have pushed that in Jurassic Park 4.
Shelly was also kind enough to answer some fan questions submitted to us, including: ‘what attacked the boat in the opening sequence?’, ‘how late into production did the Spinosaurus replace the Baryonyx?’, ‘were the Velociraptors going to attack the Spinosaurus at any point?’
The interview is available to listen both on our YouTube and as an episode of Podcast which streams through iTunes, Google Podcasts, Podbean and other feeds.
I’d like to thank Shelly for taking the time to speak with me and for sharing such fantastic and detailed behind the scenes stories of his time working on the franchise!
Be sure to give Shelly a follow on Instagram and head to his website for some detailed breakdowns of his lighting setups.
27 years after the original release Jurassic Park has dominated the weekend box office in the US, hitting the number 1 spot for the fourth time since 1993.
Movie theaters have begun to gradually open up again, with some outdoor drive-ins across the country showcasing movies to eager film buffs. Jurassic Park was one of the movies shown, and earned a whopping $517.6K across 230 sites!
Deadline also reported that Spielberg’s Jaws was shown at 187 locations, earning $516.3K, making both Universal movies take the number 1 and number 2 spot!
Back in 1993 when Jurassic Park was released it held the number 1 spot at the box office for three weekends in a row, and with this weekends ticket sales the movie now sits on a total domestic intake of $404.3M.
This movie continues to entertain audiences and with the sixth Jurassic Park movie now back in production, it’s safe to say this franchise isn’t going away anytime soon!
We hope you’re enjoying Jurassic June so far and if you haven’t already make sure to follow Stan Winston School on Twitter who have been dropping some incredible behind the scenes content from the original trilogy.
And along with videos and photos of the dinosaurs we already know, the team at Stan Winston School shared with us never-before-seen photos of the Mamenchisaurus from The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
Such a beautiful sculpt! The dinosaur was unfortunately only seen in computer-generated form in the game trail sequence.
Did you catch Jurassic Park this weekend? Will it be coming to a theater near you? Do let us know in the comments section below, and be sure to check out some of our merchandise and Jurassic shirts now available in the Store!
Universal Pictures have confirmed that Jurassic World Dominion is set to resume filming at Pinewood Studios on July 6, making it the first major studio movie to re-start filming after the Covid-19 pandemic shut productions down worldwide.
Deadline have reported that the studio and filmmakers have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to get the production back underway, and the production team have been implementing rigorous safety protocols for when the cast and crew return to the set.
A two week pre-production period will begin next week, leading up to the cameras rolling on July 6.
A production executive detailed the situation:
“The plan is for us to be shooting early-mid July,”
“Anyone with symptoms will be isolated immediately before being sent home, we want to make sure that we are going above and beyond the national protocols to create a safe environment. Cost isn’t our main concern now: it’s safety. We will take direction from our medical team, but we’re confident that with the staggered scheduling and zones of talent and crew, along with a system of contact tracing, we can move forward with limited delay in production.”
Universal Pictures have worked with the British Film Council and U.S. unions to ensure the production of Dominion meets the required safety standards, and they are believed to be spending around $5 million to ensure thousands of tests for the remainder of filming, with all cast and crew required to be tested before returning to the set, and then multiple times during filming.
Dominion’s set will have on-site doctors and nurses with isolation booths, 150 hand sanitizer stations, anti-viral ‘fogs’ used at night, endless safety signs and all cast and crew will be trained. Masks will be mandatory to wear other than when the actor is performing.
Actors attached to the project who aren’t UK based will be travelling back to the UK soon in time for the production to restart, and director Colin Trevorrow has been ‘instrumental in planning and getting buy-in from the cast and crew’, who obviously were a little concerned about returning to a country that has been hit hard by the Covid virus, but spirits remain positive.
The main question we have is will there be a release date delay to make up for the three or so months of lost time? The Universal production executive noted that they can move forward with a “limited delay in production” but we are uncertain how that will affect the film.
Many large-scale animatronics were mid-development when the production shut down and those animatronics require crews in close proximity to operate. Will Dominion re-work scenes to be more reliant on visual effects than practical? We certainly hope this isn’t the case and would rather the studio delayed the film’s release date to provide accurate time for the production to catch up.
Further, sticking to the release date after months of delay means a tight schedule, which could lead to these animatronics never being finished and entirely replaced with a VFX option.
We’ve spoken to numerous visual effects artists who all say the same thing: meeting the demands of this film means massive compromise – sets, actors, extras, dinosaurs and more will go VFX wherever possible, even if it would have been previously unwarranted and unwanted. The looming deadline means massive crunch with long hours, and realistically cannot be achieved with the quality expected out of Jurassic without massively expanding the films budged and bringing in more effects houses to collaborate. Ultimately, this is untested territory and unfortunately will effect the films original vision in unique ways, something we will be looking to understand further in the future.
Will the production be able to use the footage shot in Vancouver, BC for the couple of weeks earlier in the year, or will they need to re-shoot those scenes?
Either way this is exciting news and hopefully we will hear more soon! Head to Deadline to read the specific details of Universal’s protocols for filming, and be sure to let us know in the comments section below what you’re most excited to see in Jurassic World Dominion.
