Category: Interviews

Behind the Scenes Look at Designing Jurassic World Dinosaur Toys with Mattel’s Kristen Sanzari

Posted on by Chris Pugh

Since their release in 2018 alongside Fallen Kingdom, Mattel’s Jurassic World line have taken over the toy aisle, and captured the attention of fans and collectors alike. Recently, we spoke to Kristen Sanzari – one of the designers on the Jurassic World toy line – about her work, and how she came to design dinosaurs for this continuously evolving range of action figures.

Kristen provided numerous design sheet images, that document part of the process that designing these toys undergo. In the images you can see reference photos, design change notes, and how things like action features are created.

Read on to learn about Kristen’s work directly from her, and of course, check out the images!

“I have been designing Jurassic World toys at Mattel for almost 3 years now, and people often ask how I got into toy design. So, I will give you a little background. I grew up with a love of drawing animals and my favorite animation characters. I loved my toys and loved animation. When it came time to go to college, I went to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where I studied graphic design and ran on the track team. I loved graphic design but knew I still wanted to study animation, so after graduating from Cal Poly, I moved to San Francisco, where I attended the Academy of Art University to get my master’s in visual development for animation.

After graduating, I got a job as a graphic designer/illustrator at a toy and publishing company called Artistic Studios (now Bendon Publishing). I worked on licensed craft sets and toys and loved it, but I was still mostly doing graphic design and package design, with only a little bit of illustration here and there. Wanting to do more concept art, I began applying to jobs at animation studios and toy companies in LA. I interviewed with Mattel for the Jurassic World product design position with a portfolio full of concept art for animation. Although similar in a lot of ways, I had no toy designs to show. So, after the interview I drew up some toy concepts focused on Jurassic, and luckily my now boss had faith I could design toys and I got the job.

Was I a dinosaur expert or a Jurassic park fanatic prior to getting the job? No, but I liked dinosaurs, I had seen some of the movies, and most of all I loved drawing and learning about animals. So, I made it my mission to learn as much as I could about dinosaurs and the Jurassic Park franchise when I began working on the brand. I watched all the movies a bunch of times, took several paleontology courses online, listened to the Jurassic Outpost Podcast, bought and read multiple dinosaur books and made it a point to learn about and know every dinosaur we designed.

When designing our toys, we begin by brainstorming about what we want that toy to do. Is it a T. Rex that roars and has a massive chomp? Or is it a Pachycephalosaurus that rams its head? There are usually so many great and crazy ideas that come up in brainstorms, but we always do our best to make sure the function of our toys are realistic, on brand, and accentuate what the dinosaur would have done in real life. Something we also focus on is our scale, we do our best to make all our dinosaurs in scale to a 3¾” human action figure, which really allows you to imagine how massive some of these dinosaurs were in real life.

As you can see from many of these design sheets, we start off with an initial drawing of the dinosaur concept and what the feature will be. Sometimes these are based on assets from Universal, for dinosaurs from the films, and sometimes we are able to create the dinosaur designs ourselves. We spend a lot of time creating the patterns and textures, picking the colors of the dinos, and making sure they fit into the look and feel of the dinosaurs in Jurassic World. In the Carnotaurus example you can see that the drawing and the original sculpt are different from the final sculpt and product. This is because we often know what dinosaurs are going to be in the film before knowing exactly what the dinosaurs are going to look like in the film. The toy production timeline is longer than the time it takes to make a film and so often we need to begin our design process before we have all the information. We frequently have to figure out the feature of the toy prior to knowing exactly what the dinosaur will look like, and we just have to be nimble and adjust our designs to fit the look of the movie as soon as we do get the actual assets. Our partners at Universal always do their best to get us the assets and information we need as soon as they can.

Once we have a sculpt we are happy with, and the mechanism is figured out, we can make our first model. The first model is never perfect, but we use it to see if we need to change anything about the sculpt and details, the mechanism function, the articulation, and the color choices. We then take notes on any revisions and make adjustments to improve this model. After all the changes have been accounted for we make a new and improved model. During the entire process there are multiple check points with Universal to make sure they approve the look and function of the dinosaurs.

When the final model is approved we move on to make a “first shot,” which is the first run of the product in plastic. First shots are made in the factories with any leftover or extra plastic they have, so they usually are really crazy colors. For example, we could get a raptor first shot with a pink body, black left leg, blue right leg, green head, and neon yellow arms. We make comments on the first shot and make sure the toy can stand and that the detents and articulations function properly. Next we get our first painted plastic toy sample. At this point the toy is almost complete, but we make sure the plastic and paint colors match, we make sure the mechanism and any electronic features are functioning the way they should, and make sure all the packaging information is aligned with the product. After all these comments are captured we pass them along to make sure our final product is the best it can be. Then, finally we receive the final product!

As a whole the toy design process takes an entire team and I have to say that team Jurassic is made up of some of the most passionate and hard-working people I know. Our design team couldn’t make the toys we do without the enormous help of our awesome marketing team, packaging team, and engineering team. It is truly a team effort and an awesome brand to be a part of.”

Thanks so much to Kristen for taking the time out to speak with us, and to share many of these images! For more from Kristen, you can check out her website here and her Instagram here. With the 2020 Primal Attack line coming soon (which the Sarcosuchus belongs to) , there will surely be more toys to learn about in the future!

What toy do you like the most from Mattel’s line, and what would you like to see more of? Sound off in the comments below, and as always, stay tuned to Jurassic Outpost!


Exclusive: Colin Trevorrow Shares His Experiences with ‘Fallen Kingdom’ + Talks Hopes for ‘Jurassic World 3’!

Posted on by Jack

“My instinct is to break the classical language of these films a bit and plunge us into a world that feels real and naturalistic. I want to go outside into environments we’ve never seen these animals in. I’m watching a lot of Planet Earth.”

The excitement for a new Jurassic Park movie is a feeling that cannot be shaken by fans, and with Fallen Kingdom still fresh in everyone’s minds, we spoke with Jurassic World 3 director Colin Trevorrow who teased his plans for the upcoming sequel!

Along with those teases we speak about the fandom and the interactivity that Twitter can provide, Colin discusses his writing partner Emily Carmichael and what brought them together as co-writers, we talk the dinosaurs of the franchise, and Colin hints at a wealth of expanded universe content to follow in the future.

Grab your soda from the vending machine and enjoy the read, this is a good one!


When you were first approached for Jurassic Park 4, did you ever think you would be here today in the position you have with Jurassic? What lessons have you learned along the way?

It’s been a ride. Something happens around 40—you’ve lived long enough to look back and identify things about yourself that you realize are embedded pretty deep. I’ve seen patterns in my own work that have helped me understand myself a bit more. All of my films tend to be about a character who gets better, someone who is approaching life in a way that doesn’t represent their best self and then changes dramatically. Darius in Safety Not Guaranteed, Claire in Jurassic World, Susan in The Book of Henry. They’re all characters who have fallen into a pattern that needs to change, and through extraordinary circumstances they find a path to the better versions of themselves. If I’ve learned one lesson, it’s that I share something with the characters and stories I’m attracted to. I want to be the best version of myself, both as a filmmaker and as a person.

How did you meet your new writing partner on the next movie, Emily Carmichael, and what do you believe she will bring to the Jurassic franchise?

I saw a short of Emily’s called “The Hunter and the Swan Discuss Their Meeting”. I just knew immediately that I loved her brain. It’s different. Like a child who went to Harvard but still plays with toys. I brought a script of hers to Steven and we offered her a job writing a script she’s going to direct. She started going to meetings and her career took off. She worked on Pacific Rim 2 with a few other writers, then wrote The Black Hole for Disney on her own. It wasn’t hard to make the case that she should join the family. Her enthusiasm has been pretty infectious. She’s also an excellent Dungeon Master, as my kids will attest.

How involved are you with designing and choosing the dinosaurs, old and new, for each film? What is that process like, and what informs your choices? By design and definition, are there certain key elements you feel set Jurassic dinosaurs apart from others?

I’ve been lucky enough to be able to choose the dinosaurs, but Derek Connolly and JA Bayona and now Emily Carmichael will have each made contributions when it’s all said and done. It’s just a bunch of kids sitting on the floor with their toys. It’s the best part of my job, but also the hardest. You have to keep some great ones in the tank. I love the Carnotaurus and the Baryonyx, but I didn’t want to just see them in the background in Jurassic World. They deserve an entrance. So we put them on the park map, but held the reveal for the second film. The next film is even more fun because the opportunities have really opened up.

You’ve said Jurassic World 3 will have the most accurate dinosaurs yet. What exactly does that mean for a Jurassic film, feathers or otherwise, and what – if any – lessons have you learned from designing dinosaurs on the past two films?

We’re not looking to alter the dinosaurs from the previous movies. Those are established characters to me—they were made with reptilian DNA bridging the gaps in the genome and they have their own identity. But now we’re headed into a world in which the ability to clone a dinosaur is no longer exclusive to Dr. Henry Wu. That leads to innovation, and new opportunities for us to introduce species that represent the full spectrum of our knowledge.


Artwork by Simon Stålenhag – not related to Jurassic World 3

Many assume Jurassic World 3 will feature dinosaurs terrorizing cities and suburbs, and fans are often referring to properties like Godzilla and Planet of the Apes. Are these connections a fair assumption, or do you plan to keep the dinosaurs in the wilder, more untamed landscapes?

I just have no idea what would motivate dinosaurs to terrorize a city. They can’t organize. Right now we’ve got lethal predators in wild areas surrounding cities all over the world. They don’t go pack hunting for humans in urban areas. The world I get excited about is the one where it’s possible that a dinosaur might run out in front of your car on a foggy backroad, or invade your campground looking for food. A world where dinosaur interaction is unlikely but possible—the same way we watch out for bears or sharks. We hunt animals, we traffic them, we herd them, we breed them, we invade their territory and pay the price, but we don’t go to war with them. If that was the case, we’d have lost that war a long time ago.

“Jurassic World 3” or “Jurassic Park 6”? Ultimately a subtitle will replace the numbers, but is there a chance the ‘Park’ branding will return?

Emily and I call it Jurassic Park 6 because it’s fun, and that’s what it is to us. This is the conclusion of a story that began 25 years ago, and I think fans will be fired up when they see how much we’re connecting it to the source material. I know Jurassic World didn’t feel like a sequel in a traditional sense—the title change probably contributed to that—but it was. And so is this.

Will the visual style of Jurassic World 3 be influenced at all by what JA Bayona and Oscar Faura brought to the table?

JA and Oscar shot a beautiful film. If I’m being honest, I’d say they shot such a beautiful film, I’m not even looking to try and match it. They achieved something so gorgeous to look at, my instinct is to break the classical language of these films a bit and plunge us into a world that feels real and naturalistic. I want to go outside into environments we’ve never seen these animals in. I’m watching a lot of Planet Earth.

Jurassic as a brand handles itself quite differently than other mega- franchises out there – from your direct interactions with the community, to the inclusion of fans to create content like Masrani Global and the Dinosaur Protection Group. How important is that to you, and how would you say it helps Jurassic excel?

Our collaboration with the fans was something I first asked for back in 2015, and Universal was really open to it. The team delivered such a great experience with Masrani Global, we gave them a new assignment on Fallen Kingdom, and they crushed that, so we’re really going to be able to expand on that relationship with the third film. It always seemed obvious to me—who knows more about this lore than the fans? Why not just give them the keys and let them drive?

Did any fan and/or critical feedback to Jurassic World help shape your approach to writing Fallen Kingdom?

It did. We definitely took a turn into the darker side of Jurassic Park with that script. The first film was such a bright, colorful pop adventure. With Fallen Kingdom, we were looking to explore the uglier side of humanity and our cruel treatment of living creatures. But I think Bayona kept us from going too far—he embraced the darker elements, but also brought his own sense of playfulness and humor to the proceedings. When we initially wrote the dinosaur auction, we were imagining a dirty, unsavory bunch of animal traffickers huddled in a basement, trading lives for money. He turned it into the sequence you see in the film, which was more like a Sotheby’s auction for the super-wealthy. I think it played much better for kids, and was the right choice when balanced against the poor treatment of the animals we were seeing, which could have become irreparably sad. That’s the benefit of working with another director—you can see different sides of the story through their eyes.

Fan service has become a huge point of debate with larger franchise films. Striking a happy balance seems to be no easy task.

The fans keep my compass pointed in the right direction. Deep fans watch movies differently than the casual viewer, the same way critics watch films differently than the general audience. None of them are wrong. So I do a lot of listening. And every year, more dinosaur fans are born. These movies need to work simultaneously for those kids, for adults who love the old films, and for a diverse global audience—including some who didn’t even have American movies available to them when the first film came out. It’s a delicate balance. I feel like I’ve made a mix of bold choices and safe ones—hopefully once my tenure is done, the fans will look back and feel like I was a careful custodian.

Can you talk about your experience with social media? You directly engage with fans on various subjects. But amongst all that can come a lot of toxic trolling. How do you filter that?

You really can’t filter it. But when you dig deep enough into any fan’s anger, you’re going to find a deep love for the franchise they’re defending. To understand that level of passion—and sometimes furor—requires the same respect and tolerance you give to those with different belief systems than your own. But belief is no excuse for aggression toward those who don’t share your beliefs. It makes me sad to see the current state of the discourse, because the ugly rhetoric we’re throwing at each other is polarizing fandom the same way our politics is dividing us. I hope we find our balance again. I think we can.

It seems you are overseeing the greater Jurassic expanded universe, both in content and canon – is that correct? Can you talk a little about what your involvement is like with that?

Yeah, I’ve been involved since 2015, in collaboration with Steven and Frank. We’ve been working closely with Universal to build out the world and make sure that kids (and adults) who want to dig deeper have someplace to go. We’re really proud of the Mattel and LEGO toys, the console and mobile games from Frontier and Ludia, the VR experience from Felix and Paul, who are just brilliant. We just finished a two-part animated LEGO special that will air on NBC this week. All our creative partners have done awesome work. There’s a lot of things I can’t really talk about, I promise there will be no shortage of new developments in the next few years. But we’re being careful not to oversaturate. Some people just want to go see a dinosaur movie every three years, and that’s fine. Others want dinosaurs all the way down. We’re here for them, too.

Why do you think Jurassic has succeeded in making dinosaur movies work – something that would normally just become another creature feature, into something that is able to thrill and captivate audiences like the Jurassic franchise has done? Do you believe bringing that magic to life gets more difficult with each movie?

I think there’s something humbling about dinosaurs. They’re evidence that we’ve only occupied the earth for a tiny sliver of time. The line that encapsulates the whole series for me is Irrfan Khan’s moment at the beginning of Jurassic World. “Dinosaurs remind us how very small we are, how new.” Humans have only existed for 200,000 years. Dinosaurs were here in one form or another for 170 MILLION years. We act like this planet belongs to us, but we just got here. That’s the story I’m here to tell, and every choice we make is connected to it.

Now that certainly is a lot to digest! While ‘dinosaurs in war’ is an idea that’s been floated around for years, was featured in John Sayles’ Jurassic Park 4 script, and was even hinted at by a main character in Jurassic World, it’s great than Colin continues to shut this idea down in exchange for a much more realistic portrayal of wild animals in the ‘human’ world.

“The world I get excited about is the one where it’s possible that a dinosaur might run out in front of your car on a foggy backroad, or invade your campground looking for food. A world where dinosaur interaction is unlikely but possible—the same way we watch out for bears or sharks.”

Me too Colin, me too. This world would allow for the suspense and thriller aspects of Jurassic Park to return, and is going to allow us to see these dinosaurs interacting with new environments. Environments that aren’t restrained by the jungles of Isla Nublar and Isla Sorna, and instead feel much closer to home.

“My instinct is to break the classical language of these films a bit and plunge us into a world that feels real and naturalistic. I want to go outside into environments we’ve never seen these animals in.”

J.A. Bayona’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom ended with a number of shots showing the dinosaurs reaching cities and locations in and around California, and with the technology used to create these dinosaurs now out in the open world and potentially in the hands of large corporations that don’t have the animals best interests in mind, Jurassic World 3 could show us a much darker side to this story.

We want to say a huge thank you to Colin Trevorrow for this interview and for speaking with us! We hope you enjoyed the read and in case you missed our previous interview with the director back in 2016 you can find that here or listen to the podcast. There’s a surprise guest at the end. And that surprise guest is J.A. Bayona. Sorry to ruin the surprise. But it has been over two years since that interview, so that’s on you.

And be sure to take a listen to our brand new episode where we discuss this interview and go into detail on some of Colin’s answers:

Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more Jurassic content!

Colin Trevorrow interview: How Whitney and Vance evolved into Claire and Owen in Jurassic World

Posted on by Josh Evans

Colin Trevorrow, who wrote and directed Jurassic World and wrote Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom spoke to BDH Network in an exclusive interview in regards to Bryce Dallas Howard and her character Claire Dearing in the Jurassic World films. He talked about the process of evolving the female lead character from the original Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver script, the process of hiring Bryce for the role, how Claire got her name and even touched on what we can expect from Claire in Jurassic World 3, among other topics.

The very first question posed to Colin was about what the female lead character was like in the Jurassic Park 4 script that Universal Pictures had originally green-lighted for a June 2014 release. The original script was co-written by husband and wife writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver before Colin was even hired to direct the fourth installment of the franchise. Colin and writing partner Derek Connolly rewrote the script from scratch while incorporating some important story elements that Steven Spielberg had requested, such as an operational park. The movie was delayed one year to a June 2015 release to allow proper time to prepare for the finalized script and story. But had the Jaffa and Silver script been filmed, our leads would not have been Claire and Owen, but instead Whitney and Vance. It also seems like the idea of “training raptors” would have been taken a lot further than what we get on screen in Jurassic World or even Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

The lead character was a guy called Vance, who ultimately became Owen in our story. The film opened with Vance jumping out of a helicopter with a pack of raptors on a military raid of a drug dealer’s compound in Colombia. It was a different approach. But there was a character who had one or two scenes, the manager for the corporate side of the park. I think her name was Whitney. She was an antagonist to the hero, putting up red tape.

Colin goes on in the interview to describe the process of how casting director, John Papsidera, set up a Skype call between him and Bryce to discuss her joining the film. Also elaborating the relationship she had with Spielberg and that she was already part of the “Amblin Family”. Spielberg himself was also confident that she could “create this specific character better than anyone”.

As for how Claire Dearing got her name it turns out it was a bit of a group effort with Colin choosing “Claire” and Derek choosing “Dearing”. Colin felt the name of Claire was warm and loving and Derek chose Dearing as a reference to her character being very endearing.

I chose Claire, it felt hard on the surface but ultimately warm and loving. Derek chose Dearing, which is a very Derek thing to do. He loves those Dickensian names that suggest a bit about the character, push the viewer in the direction the author wants them to go. She may seem sharp-edged at first, but ultimately she’s very endearing.

Of course no one should be surprised that the characters of Claire and Owen will be returning for the final installment in the trilogy, which is set to hit theaters on June 11, 2021. Colin and newcomer Emily Carmichael are working on the script as we speak based on a story Colin created with Derek Connolly. While Colin couldn’t share much on the sixth installment of the franchise, he did reiterate that Claire and Owen will have a lot on their plate now that dinosaurs are loose on the mainland and that other dinosaurs and DNA samples were sold or moved to other parts of the world.

She and Owen will have bigger conflicts at hand, with shared responsibilities and a shared need for redemption. That’s a compelling story I’m excited to tell.

To see the full answers Colin had for the questions featured here and other intriguing questions about Bryce and her character Claire, please visit BDH Network and view their visit digital magazine. Also, please let us know your thoughts in the comments below and on our forums.

Source: BDH Network

The Tonight Show becomes Jurassic World: “Fallon” Kingdom next week!

Posted on by Josh Evans

The domestic opening for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is less than two weeks away and next week from June 11th to June 15th, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon is going to be Jurassic themed. The show is being rebranded to Jurassic World: “Fallon” Kingdom and will include visits and interviews from the stars of the new film.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Universal Pictures today announced that next week will be the inaugural Jurassic World: “Fallon” Kingdom on The Tonight Show. With a weeklong series of events to celebrate all things Jurassic, Jimmy welcomes to the show guests including the film’s stars, Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom arrives in theaters on June 22.

All week long we will see Jurassic World themed comedy skits and some Jurassic suprises are promised. Chris Pratt will appear on the show on Thursday and Bryce Dallas Howard will be on Friday’s Show. The show airs weeknights at 11:35PM EDT on NBC.

(BDH Network)

Are you excited for Jurassic World: “Fallon” Kingdom week on The Tonight Show? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and on our forums.

Source: PR Newswire

An Exclusive Look Inside of Jurassic World: Evolution

Posted on by Jack

Dream it. Build it. Survive it. Do you remember that tagline? It’s quite simple really, and perfectly summarises what a park building game is, and especially what Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis was.

That game was loved – and still is, and fifteen years later we are set to receive the new generation’s version of this game. Jurassic World: Evolution.

A week ago, Alex and myself were lucky enough to visit Frontier Developments in Cambridge and meet with many of the team that are developing this upcoming park-building game. We saw the game in it’s final stages of development and met with various members of the animation team, the creative team, the sound team, who are now putting those crucial final touches on the game.

We also had the opportunity to play the game. And that we did. For a good few hours! We played on the islands of Isla Matanceros and Isla Muerta, two of the Five Deaths island chain that sits near Isla Nublar.

While most of what we were able to play has been previously revealed, the camera mode within the Park Ranger Jeeps is something previously unseen, and I don’t believe the Dilophosaurus attacks on the park visitors has been seen before!

View our full gallery below!

We had a lot of fun at Frontier and we thoroughly enjoyed our time playing Jurassic World: Evolution! Our friends at Jurassic Unicast were also attending and have shared their own content from the day on their channel!

The game is available on Tuesday June 12 and is available on PC, Playstation 4 and Xbox One. Don’t miss out – be sure to pre-order your copy now!

New Behind The Scenes Look at the Art and Practical Effects of ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’!

Posted on by Samantha Endres

With the first impressions from the world premiere for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom now online, some fans may want to turn away from further trailers and tv spots for risk of seeing too much of the movie before release. If you are one of these people, but you still have a craving for something Jurassic, then a bunch of behind the scenes looks at the movie are beginning to pop up across social media!

While these still provide spoilers for some excited audience members, a behind the scenes look at a movie often discusses more of the technical aspects of making a movie, rather than outright story spoilers.

So tread carefully, but if you want to learn about the animatronics that have been designed and featured in the movie, the French magazine L’écran Fantastique have published some photos featuring a number of animatronics, as well as interviews with Colin Trevorrow about the creation of the new trilogy, and Neal Scanlan, who is the lead designer for the animatronics.

The images show the different stages of animatronic creation include models of the Baryonyx and Tryannasaurus Rex heads, a cast for the Indoraptor leg, and the work-in-progress versions of the T.Rex and Indoraptor heads. Other images show Blue, the T.Rex, and the Indoraptor animatronics being used on set.

Blue appears to have a full body animatronic in the scene where she is on the table, and only a head will be used for other scenes. The Indotraptor doesn’t appear to be a full body animatronic, but will have a practical head, foot, and arm. You can get a feel for the size of the Indoraptor in the image of the man holding the arm. No wonder the little girl in the trailer looks so scared!

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pic.twitter.com/H7xnQaA1EH

— CK_595 (@clark595) May 8, 2018

Details from the interviews were translated from the article (if you would like to avoid all potential spoilers, don’t read the details below). Thanks to Twitter user @clark595 for translating!

Further, a Spanish publication, Academia Revista digital del Cine Español, recently featured director J.A. Bayona, and the article included storyboards and concept art from the film. A cool thing to note is that it’s referred to as ‘Ancient Futures’ on multiple images, which was the working title before it became ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’! The magazine also shows another look at the model for the Indoraptor arm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, taking a further look at the animatronics IGN released a video on the practical effects used in Fallen Kingdom. Check it out below!


 

While many of these practical puppets were later replaced by CGI, these behind the scenes looks are always a blast. Do you enjoy seeing behind the scenes images from movies? Let us know in the comments!

Source: Academia Revista digital del Cine Español

Michael Giacchino has seen a cut of Fallen Kingdom and is excited to work with Bayona

Posted on by Josh Evans

Almost one year ago exactly is when we first learned that Academy Award winning composer Michael Giacchino would be returning to work on the score for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Giacchino previously wrote the score on 2015’s Jurassic World and is one of the busiest composers currently in Hollywood. Just in 2017 Giacchino worked on The Book of Henry, Spider-Man: Homecoming, War for the Planet of the Apes and Coco. In 2018 besides Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom he is set to compose the score for Incredibles 2.

In an exclusive interview with Collider, Giacchino briefly touched on Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, sharing how excited he is to work with his good friend J.A. Bayona and that he actually has already seen a cut of the film.

COLLIDER: And as for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, I mean we got the idea through the hiring of J. A. Bayona that it’d be a bit of a darker film and they said that as well, but it very much looks like it might have this kind of thriller/horror aspect. Is that something that’s kind of reflected in the score?

GIACCHINO: Well, again, haven’t even written a note of music for that one yet either (laughs).

COLLIDER: Fair, totally fair.

GIACCHINO: But I have seen it, and yes. I love J. A., he and I have known each other for many years, we’ve been friends and we’ve been hoping to work on something together so this, I think, is gonna be a really fun project to do with him. I love his storytelling sensibility and I’m excited to take the storytelling and the franchise somewhere new and different and perhaps that is darker and more moody and more suspenseful. But again, I gotta wait and see where it takes me, but looking forward to that one too.

Michael Giacchino with J.A. Bayona in 2013

What do you think of Giacchino’s comments on working with J.A. Bayona on Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom? Let us know in the comments below and on our forums!

Special thanks to Fede and Matt on Twitter for the heads up on the interview.

Source: Collider

Dr. Jack Horner sits down with us and talks Jurassic Park, Jurassic World 2, Chickenosaurus and more! Listen!

Posted on by Chris Pugh

On Sunday April 2nd, the Jurassic Outpost team met with Dr. Jack Horner at the first official fan event we sponsored in collaboration with Universal Pictures. To say the least, we were thrilled that he joined us at the event – and there is no question, he stole the show! He sat down with Darice Murphy from Universal Pictures and answered numerous questions from fans before moving on to a more personal meet and greet with those attending (we believe roughly 100+)!


While video from the event is still coming from us soon, yesterday Dr. Horner was kind enough to join us for a more intensive chat and answer our biggest questions as we geek out over dinosaurs. Spoilers: yes he is working on Jurassic World 2, and says the script is great. He also dishes out his thoughts on the Jurassic Park Dilophosaurus, feathers, Velociraptor size, and much more – and it doesn’t stop there! Dr Horner also chats Terra Nova, his sweltering experience on the Jurassic World set, Chickenosaurus, and how he accidentally tortured a sum of money out of George Lucas!

I imagine some of you are sitting here asking “What on earth is Chickenosaurus?” Well, let me tell you, it’s nothing short of amazing. Dr. Horner is working with top minds in an attempt to reverse engineer a chicken, bringing out its dormant biological features such as a snout with teeth, hands with claws, and of course a tail. He hopes to have successfully engineered these dinosaurs within 3 years – I ask if we can expect a park to visit, but he took it a step further and suggested them as pets. Now you’re John Hammond, Dr. Horner.

So what are you waiting for? Give our hour long interview a listen on Youtube above, or podbean below! Be sure to sound off in the comments below, on youtube, and rate us on iTunes.


Huge thanks to Dr. Horner to taking time out of day to speak with all of us fans!

Justice Smith excited for Jurassic World 2

Posted on by Josh Evans

During a video interview recently, which Jurassic Outpost has been unable to verify the date or the exact source of the interview at this moment, Justice Smith expressed his excitement for the upcoming Jurassic World sequel. It was first reported on December 1st by The Hollywood Reporter that Justice Smith was added to the cast. There have been unverified rumors that he could be playing a character by the name of “Clint” in the sequel.

In the 28 second video clip that was posted on the jurassicworldtrilogy Instagram account, Justice Smith, with a huge smile, had this to say:

Hi guys, it’s Justice Smith. Hello. Jurassic World 2, I can’t talk about it, but it’s going to be really cool. There’s going to be dinosaurs and stuff. So look out for that.

There is then a question to him about something at the end of May where he responds that he will be in London until June filming the Jurassic World sequel. There has been rumors that the end of filming would be sometime in June or July, so if Smith is there on the last day it appears filming is scheduled to wrap up sometime in June. Though there is always the chance Smith is scheduled to end his filming before the rest of the actors. See the full 28 second clip below.

"Jurassic World 2" star Justice Smith sending out a brief special message on the sequel.. Smith says he will be staying and remaining with us filming in London, U.K. all the way up until June 2017, meaning the possibility of part or most of its cast and filming extensively being centred and taking place within London during this period. English actors Toby Jones and Rafe Spall are expected to appear alongside returning stars (and American representatives) Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. London and Hawaii will be the home and setting of filming over the next couple of months with much of the films setting taking place on the mainland. Filming will begin in February next month in both London and Hawaii. Stay tuned for further exciting announcements coming soon! #jurassicpark #jurassicworld #spielberg #bayona #universal #universalstudios #film #movie #movienight #chrispratt #brycedallashoward #justicesmith #dafnekeen #rafespall #tobyjones #owengrady #clairedearing #islanublar #islasorna #london #hawaii #dinosaur #jurassicworld2 #jurassicworldsequel #jurassic #dinosaursruletheearth #movies #filmproduction #filming

A video posted by Jurassic World 2, June 2018. (@jurassicworldtrilogy) on

So while there is not a whole lot of information in the clip itself it is still exciting to see the cast talking about the production which is going to kick off real soon. So what do you think about Justice Smith’s enthusiasm for the upcoming sequel and what do you think his character might be up to in the sequel? Let us know in the comments below and on our forums.

Thank you to Ana on Twitter for the heads up.

Source: jurassicworldtrilogy on Instagram

Exclusive: Colin Trevorrow Talks Jurassic World 2 and more! (Surprise Guest: J.A. Bayona!)

Posted on by Jack

Hold on to your butts, and whip out the popcorn – today we have a very special episode of our Podcast, featuring director Colin Trevorrow! Colin took time out of his busy schedule to speak to us about The Book of Henry, Jurassic World, and of course, the Jurassic World sequel!

Colin Trevorrow

Not only did Colin join us and talk all things Jurassic, he brought in a very special surprise guest at the end (Spoiler: Jurassic World 2 director J.A. Bayona!)

So if you’re wondering if dinosaurs will be rampaging around London, how large of a role Hawaii will play, if animatronics will be more strongly featured, or if the sequel will be scarier, what are you waiting for? Give it a listen here!

Or on YouTube here:

If you’re not currently in a position to listen, don’t stress. We will be updating the article soon with all the highlights!

“It will be more suspenseful and scary. It’s just the way it’s designed; it’s the way the story plays out. I knew I wanted Bayona to direct it long before anyone ever heard that was a possibility, so the whole thing was just built around his skill set.”

“Film has become so cutthroat and competitive; it felt like an opportunity to create a situation where two directors could really collaborate. It’s rare these days, but it’s something that the directors that we admire used to do all the time—one writes and produces and the other directs, and the end result is something that’s unique to both of them. I’m in the office right now, I’ve been here every day since July working closely with J.A., listening to his instincts, and honing the script with Derek to make sure it’s something that all of us believe in.”

Jurassic World was built upon 12 years ideas from Steven Spielberg, but the sequel is fresh territory to go in whichever direction they [Colin Trevorrow and Steven Spielberg] choose.

“Jurassic World had to restart the engine. This movie has to prove it has a reason to exist”

Jurassic World 2 is “Built upon the concepts and stories that Crichton created with the novels.”

“A mistake made a long time ago just can’t be undone.” is a real world theme that plays heavily into JW2. “You can’t put it back into the box”

Dialog from the first book is in JW2. “It makes me feel like such a good writer (…) Look at me, that’s a hell of a sentence”

Crichton has the ability to make things completely bonkers feel real and motivated. That’s the goal with these movies, to make these large ideas feel part of our world.

This movie doesn’t need to be ‘bigger’. It’s not about ‘bigger better dinosaurs’ or ‘bigger action sequences’. Brings up Raptors in the Kitchen scene vs Indominus Rex Helicopter explosion, and how the simplicity of the former is just as effective – if not more.

“I think the lack of animatronics in Jurassic World had more to do with the physicality of the Indominus, the way the animal moved. It was very fast and fluid, it ran a lot, and needed to move its arms and legs and neck and tail all at once. It wasn’t a lumbering creature. We’ve written some opportunities for animatronics into [Jurassic World 2] – because it has to start at the script level—and I can definitely tell you that Bayona has the same priorities, he is all about going practical whenever possible.”

Budgetary requirements of JW also led to less animatronics. One of the rewards of success is they can make more with JW2. They will utilize the general animatronic rules of the franchise: best used when standing still, or with less complex actions.

Even when working with CG, it’s important to work with real effects as well. (For example: a model helicopter was built for JW crash.)

[ILM] are looking into using motion capture on real animals for JW2 – beyond traditional motion studies.

With JW he sometimes gave instructions to animate the Indominus like it was a animatronic

There are new dinosaurs in the movie which were real and existed. They are looking at existing paleoart, and defining the Jurassic Park version from there: there is a specific look to Stan Winston dinosaurs, and it’s important to stay true to it.

Colin is proudly ‘guilty’ of caring about the Dinosaurs as much as the people. They’re characters.

On feathered dinosaurs: Jurassic World addressed the issue of featherless dinosaurs with Dr. Wu’s speech. “Whether or not that will evolve or change over the course of the films? I cannot tell you. We will see.”

The Jurassic Park East Dock sign in Jurassic World was swapped out for the Research sign due to the latter alluding to more about the old park, further expanding the world.

“I feel like an idiot to say I did not expect it, but that’s the truth. None of us did.” Zara’s Death, Claire’s Heels. He hopes people can see his intention for the scenes, just as he can see their interpretation. “Claire wasn’t going to let uncomfortable shoes stop her from being a total badass and getting shit done”

“Zara was about surprising viewers with an unearned death (which is something we are dealing with a lot in the world now). It’s an Amblin thing… seeing something we probably shouldn’t get to see as a child

Hawaii is a primary location but not the only one. But yes, part of the story takes place in the familiar fictional territory Hawaii represents.

The movie does not take place in the UK, they’re only making the movie there. So, no dinosaurs rampaging through London.

On militarized dinosaurs in JW2 “I’m not that interested in militarized dinosaurs, at least not in practice. I liked it in theory as the pipe dream of a lunatic [Hoskins]. When that idea was first presented to me as part of an earlier script it was something that the character that ended up being Owen was for, that he supported, something that he was actively doing even at the beginning. Derek and I, one of our first reactions was ‘No if anyone’s gonna militarize raptors that’s what the bad guy does, he’s insane.'”

“Jurassic World War feels like a cartoon to me. I’d watch that cartoon with my kid, but I wouldn’t make it.” – It’s not the sequel, but don’t let that stop you from making the fun fanart!

Jurassic World 2 is about our relationship with animals, and how we share the planet with other living things. There’s mention of militarization in the sequel, but there’s also mention of open source and humans living along dinosaurs – he favors the latter for the sequels story.

On how much he had planned for the trilogy when making Jurassic World: “I knew the end. I knew where I wanted it to go.”

Kids who saw Jurassic World will be threes years older by JW2. A jump from 9 years old to 12 is huge. It’s about making the story grow up for them, and it’s why he’s bringing in a Spanish horror director.

The structure of Jurassic World was about getting bigger and bigger as the story progressed. JW2 is very inspired by the structure Jurassic Park (which had its biggest sequence in the middle and then funneled into a  series of claustrophobic and intimate scenes towards the end).

J.A. Bayona on the sequel: “I was very surprised by the story.” He likes the idea of having a lot of things you do not expect, but also remain respectful to the tradition and legacy. “There are things you really don’t expect and it is very exciting”

Jurassic World 2 does have a title, but it remains secret, and they won’t share when it’ll go public

Colin Trevorrow: “Go see A Monster Calls to understand why he’s the right guy for JW2.”

We can’t stress enough how thankful we are that Colin Trevorrow took some time out of his very busy schedule to speak with us! We ran a little longer than we expected, but thankfully he didn’t set the Raptors loose on us to see things to a swift end.

So who else is now unbelievably excited for the sequel?