Interviews – Page 5 – Jurassic Outpost

Two New Interviews with Jurassic Park Arcade Developers!

Posted on 15th September 201615th September 2016 by Jack

Over the past few weeks, contributor Joshua Malone has been speaking with two developers from Raw Thrills about their latest arcade game Jurassic Park, which was released at the end of last year. The game was received incredibly well by fans and gamers alike, providing an interesting story between Jurassic Park 3 and leading up to Jurassic World.

Without spoiling the game, it involves the “clean-up” of Isla Nublar that happened before Jurassic World construction began, so it gives us a look at an abandoned island that many fans have wanted to see for quite some time.

Like traditional arcade games it is eccentric, colourful and ridiculous – and that’s what makes it fun. Aside from that, the art direction alone feels very “Jurassic Park”, mixing the deep Nublar jungles with InGen’s concrete buildings and facilities. The dinosaurs are very hybrid-esque with colourful skin patterns and wild behavior, and the game itself flows very nicely. It’s a perfect two player game.

The first interview is with John Scott who was the Lead Programmer for the game:

What new ideas did you try to incorporate into the game that people haven’t seen in previous Jurassic titles? (be it games, books, or the films)
The movies mostly focus on the chaos of dinosaurs getting out. But someone had to get them back to safety! That’s the adventure we wanted to present to players. Something that still shows the incredible danger of these dinosaurs but where they could still feel the accomplishment of bringing them back under control.

And the second was with Nate Vanderkamp, who was the Lead Artist and a Primary Game Designer:

Was there a reason RAW Thrills wanted this game to take place on Nublar (the first JP island) and not Sorna (Site B?)
I think that it just had more of the iconic locations from the original film (Visitor Center, Jungle Waterfall, Kitchen, Entrance Gate). Many people have nostalgia when thinking back to JP and we hoped to connect with players on that level.

The interviews are rich with new information and a great behind the scenes look at the game itself. Check out John Scott’s interview here, and the interview with Nate Vanderkamp here!

If you can find this game in your local arcade then make sure you play it! Huge thanks to Josh for speaking with these two talented developers from Raw Thrills and for coming to us with the interviews! Be sure to check out our interviews page for more interviews we have published over the past few years.

Frank Marshall talks Jurassic World 2; confirms Hawaii!

Posted on 29th July 201630th July 2016 by Chris Pugh

Whilst talking all things Jason Bourne with Steve Weintraub over at Collider, Frank Marshall dropped a little more info about Jurassic World 2, confirming that they’ll will indeed be returning to Hawaii and that pre-production is well underway in London. While most of this was shared in a prior article, the Hawaii confirmation is new!

COLLIDER: I want to jump onto something else, I recently spoke to Bryce [Dallas Howard] for Pete’s Dragonand she mentioned to me that you guys are gonna start filming the nextJurassic World early next year, and I saw a little promo poster when I was at CinemaCon. So I have to ask you, with Jurassic World, what was your wishful number at the worldwide box office and how much did you just demolish it, were you prepared for this kind of crazy success?

MARSHALL: No, I wasn’t, and that’s the honest truth. I was hoping to open at 100, they were projecting 100 which is huge, and that would’ve be the biggest opening for a movie that I’ve produced, but we pretty much doubled my expectations [Laughs] at every turn.

COLLIDER: I’m very excited about your director for the sequel, what can you tease people about where you’re at in the development process?

MARSHALL: We’re in pre-production, in fact I just got back from London from meeting with Juan Antonio [Bayona] and the production designer. We’re designing, he’s doing storyboards, and we’re in full pre-production to start shooting sometime early next spring.

COLLIDER: If I’m not mistaken, Colin [Trevorrow] and his writing partner, Derek [Connolly], developed a story for the sequel, are you guys still sticking with that story, or has Bayona taken more of an ownership of the story?

MARSHALL: No, as a director Bayona has his input but Colin and Derek are writing the script, so there have been numerous meetings and we have the template for the movie, but of course he’s putting in his own ideas and taking ownership of it, but it’s pretty much the same story that they originally came up with.

COLLIDER: Do you look at the challenge of coming up with new action set pieces with dinosaurs as something exciting, is it nerve-racking, can you talk about the pressure on one-upping what you’ve done before?

MARSHALL: I think we have that pressure both on Bourne movies and on Jurassic movies [Laughs], we set the bar pretty high. For me it’s always about story, as long as the action sequences move the story forward, that’s what’s important, and I think just having to look and see how we can involve the characters in the story with whatever dinosaur we have in the action sequence. So, it’s a challenge but a healthy challenge.

COLLIDER: I believe you guys shot in Hawaii last time, are you shooting again in Hawaii or are you going to new locales?

MARSHALL: Yes, we’ll be shooting again in Hawaii just like the last one.

It’s very exciting that we have further confirmation that Jurassic World 2 will be returning to the beautiful locales of Hawaii. Rejoice, Reel News Hawaii! Curiously, the wording almost alludes to it being the primary setting, but perhaps Frank was keeping the answer simple to avoid letting more slip. I’m certainly up to seeing more of the islands, but also very hopeful the latest sequel will introduce brand new locations and environments as well.

How do you feel about a 5th trip back into familiar jungle? Comment below!

Source: COLLIDER

Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy & Frank Marshall talk the Jurassic franchise, JA Bayona and more!

Posted on 15th June 201615th June 2016 by Chris Pugh

Today The Hollywood Reporter published a fantastic interview with Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall which talked the industry, particularly managing franchises like Jurassic Park and Star Wars. It’s a fantastic, candid piece that explores the creative processes of these amazingly talented individuals which I recommend reading in full, however below are some choice excerpts that pertain to the Jurassic franchise.

*Image courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter*

On Steven Spielberg’s involvement with Jurassic World, and hiring Colin Trevorrow:

SPIELBERG I was very involved in breaking the story, working on the script with [director Colin Trevorrow] and [writer Derek Connolly]. I was not on the set, but I watched dailies every day. If I felt something about the dailies, I would send a note to Colin directly. But Colin was doing a great job; you could tell by the rushes. I didn’t even find Colin, Frank did.

KATHLEEN KENNEDY Well … I …

SPIELBERG Oh — Kathy. Sorry. Anyway, Kathy told Frank, and Frank told me.

KENNEDY I saw [Trevorrow’s debut movie] Safety Not Guaranteed when I was looking for who was going to direct [Star Wars:] Episode 7. Then when Frank and Steven were looking for a director, and I had already decided on J.J. [Abrams], I said, “Hey, I know this is going to be off the wall and you’re not going to immediately think this young director could do this movie, but I’ve come to the realization he is the real deal, and he could handle it.”

FRANK MARSHALL Then I cold-called him. I looked at his movie and thought he definitely knew what he was doing.

SPIELBERG I looked at his movie and thought it was really good, but I wasn’t convinced until the last scene ’cause that film could have gone two ways. When this [character] who I thought was certifiably insane actually invented something that could travel through time, that crystallized the choice that it had to be Colin to do Jurassic World.

On who’s ‘in charge’ of Jurassic now:

So when you have Jurassic World, I assume you feel pretty possessive?

SPIELBERG No, I don’t. I honestly don’t feel possessive at all. I think Colin feels possessive now — and he should. I passed the torch to Colin.

You really feel that way?

SPIELBERG I absolutely do. He’s the guy who has to feel possessive.

KENNEDY Don’t you feel that? I mean, I think it’s all about the joy that comes from the ability to keep it going and keep audiences entertained.

MARSHALL It’s what you did with Star Wars now.

On hiring Jurassic World 2 director Juan Antonio Bayona:

MARSHALL We spent a lot of time with Colin. We’re doing that on [the next] Jurassic, too, with Juan Antonio [Bayona]. Kathy and I have spent a lot of time with Juan Antonio over the years. We had talked about him doing Jurassic World, but he has a long process for production.

SPIELBERG We had been very impressed with his Naomi Watts movie about the tsunami [The Impossible]. You’ve got to pick the right directors, and that’s what Kathy has done so brilliantly on the Star Wars series. Rian Johnson and Colin are the two best directors who could be doing Episode 8 and 9. And that’s the whole key. I think Harry Potter had a huge infusion of a second life when Alfonso Cuaron did No. 3. He changed the paradigm of Harry Potter and gave it another six years just based on the art he brought to the third movie.

It sounds like the Jurassic franchise is in great hands! It’s fascinating to learn that JA Bayona was in talks to direct Jurassic World before Colin Trevorrow was chosen. If you haven’t already, b e sure to give the full article a read, which goes into more detail and talks Star Wars as well. As always, sound off in the comments below and stay tuned for the latest news!

Source: The Hollywood Reporter